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Monday, June 17, 2002
Medical Board Reviewing Office Surgery Rules
The State Medical Board of Ohio is working to develop rules to govern office-based surgeries. Developed out of a concern for patient safety, the rules would establish requirements for certain procedures conducted in physician offices, such as liposuction; the administering of anesthesia in the office setting; and mandatory reporting. The Scope of Practice Advisory Committee of the medial board last week continued a year and a half of discussions of the proposed rules and is scheduled to meet again July 12 before asking the full medical board for approval. Following approval, the rules would be filed with the Joint Committee of Agency Rule Review.

The OHA Quality Improvement and Accreditation Committee reviewed the proposed rules at its last meeting. Although the rules do not impact hospital practice, the committee reviewed definitions within the rules for any broader implication within the hospital setting. The rules do not limit the scope of practice of licensed registered nurses in the office setting. More information is available on the Ohio State Medical Association Web site at www.osma.org/legal/draft.cfm. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)

HIPAA Seminar
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is airing a seminar tomorrow via satellite broadcast on implementation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Meeting the HIPAA Challenge: “Implementing the Administrative Simplifications of HIPAA,” planned for 2-3:30 p.m., will provide physicians and the health care provider community information on completion of the compliance form, including covered entities and tax ID; information on testing; information on requesting an extension; and a panel discussion with CMS HIPAA experts. CMS will simultaneously Webcast the broadcast at http://cms.livewebcasts.com/ and it will remain available online for three months.

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(Editor’s note: StateHealthClips.com has gone to a subscription service. Please note that the link to access clips will change daily. If you visit www.statehealthclips.com, you will be required to enter a subscriber password. No password is required for the link published in HEALTH e-NEWS Plus.)

Tuesday, June 18, 2002
Ohio Law to Require Criminal Checks for Nurses
Nursing students and nurses who want to transfer their license to Ohio must soon comply with a new Criminal Records Check law recently passed in Ohio. Transferring nurses are required to submit their fingerprints to the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation (BCII) beginning July 8. All students entering a pre-licensure nursing program after June 1, 2003, who wish to sit for the NCLEX RN or PN examination will also be required to submit their fingerprints to BCII. Students enrolled in a pre-licensure program before June 1, 2003, are not required to submit fingerprints.

Fingerprinting may be arranged through local law enforcement agencies such as the local police department, the sheriff or the highway patrol. A list of agencies by county is available at www.usacops.com. It is recommended that nurses submit their prints at least six to nine months prior to completing their nursing education or applying for transfer to allow enough time for the Ohio Board of Nursing to receive BCII results. Transfer applicants with a valid license in another state can apply for a one-time temporary permit good for 180 days to allow for the processing time. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)

Celebrate Health Care Workers
Help celebrate National Healthcare Risk Management Week June 17-21, which was developed to raise the visibility of the critical role that risk managers play in health care and to instill occupational pride in the nation’s risk managers. More information is available at www.ashrm.org or 312.422.3980.

Helping advance the specialty practice of staff development for the enhancement of high-quality health care outcomes is National Nursing Staff Development Week, scheduled for July 2-9. For more information, visit www.nnsdo.org or call 850.747.0995.

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(Editor’s note: The news clips are being password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members will be notified separately of the password. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)

Wednesday, June 19, 2002
House Committees Report on Medicare Bill
Two House committees will report this week a Medicare bill that is currently projected to provide more than $13 billion in provider payments over 10 years to hospitals. The reform package also contains additional funding for rural hospitals and a prescription drug benefit funded independently of payments to hospitals. The bill will move to the House floor for likely passage next week.

This legislation, The Medicare Modernization and Prescription Drug Act of 2002, is the result of collaboration between Republican lawmakers, the American Hospital Association, and other advocates from the health care community. If enacted, it would represent a considerable turnaround from the nearly $17 billion in hospital reductions formerly proposed. More information on the bill is available at http://www.kaisernetwork.org. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

OIG Solicits Hospital Suggestions on Compliance Guidance
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) is planning to revise its compliance program guidance for the hospital industry and is asking hospitals for their recommendations. Noting the many changes in government health programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, since the last set of hospital-specific compliance guidance was published in 1998, the OIG says it plans to revise and update the guidelines this year. The agency, responsible for investigating provider fraud and abuse, believes hospitals are in excellent positions to provide feedback on problems and inefficiencies within compliance programs.

A copy of the OIG solicitation to hospitals appeared in the June 18 Federal Register and is available at http://oig.hhs.gov/authorities/frnotices.html. Hospitals seeking to send comments should visit the Web site for more information. (Jonathan Archey, (jonathana@ohanet.org)

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Thursday, June 20, 2002
Trauma Template Online
Now available online is a template for transfer agreements to help hospitals comply with the trauma law, which goes into effect Nov. 3. The template is available on the joint OHA, Bricker & Eckler trauma Web site at www.bricker.com/attserv/practice/hcare/trauma/. Template trauma protocols, which also need to be in place by November, will be posted in the next couple weeks. OHA will soon issue a bulletin to hospitals to outline the provisional trauma status requirements of the law as well. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

JCR Offers Discount on Services
Joint Commission Resources (JCR), a subsidiary of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), is offering a “Summer Special” promotion on consultations and custom education programs. These programs can assist health care organizations in achieving both JCAHO standards and the new staffing effectiveness standards effective for all accredited hospitals on July 1. Organizations that book prior to Aug. 1 will receive a 20 percent discount on professional fees and all participating organizations will receive a 10 percent annual discount on all JCR publications. For more information, see www.jcrinc.com. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

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(Editor’s note: The news clips are now password-protected on the OHA Web site. OHA members have been notified separately of the password and can access today’s and archived news clips at www.ohanet.org/healthenews/. HEALTH e-NEWS Plus subscribers can still access news clips through the daily e-mail without a password.)

Friday, June 21, 2002
Working Wonders
Hospitals’ best practices to recruit and retain the best in health care.

Hospitals continually strive to make their workplace the best possible for current and future employees. OHA would like to highlight one of the many best practices of Ohio hospitals working to retain and recruit talented and dedicated employees.

With the national workforce shortage in mind, two Ohio doctors took part in an innovative program to see what it’s like to walk in the shoes of their health care colleagues.

Donna A. Woodson, M.D., a family practitioner with Fallen Timbers Family Physicians Inc. in Maumee and president of the Academy of Medicine in Toledo, and Michael Hoeflinger, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with West Side Orthopedic Group Inc. in Maumee, were paired with two nurses from St. Luke’s Hospital in Maumee for one day as part of the “Nurse-for-a-Day” program. The physicians shared in the daily duties of the nurses, Lori Peth, RN, and Patty Jennings, RN, performing routine tasks such as assessing patients, starting intravenous lines, changing dressings, charting and transporting patients.

As intended, both doctors came away with a greater appreciation of the nurses’ struggles, triumphs and hard work. The goal of the program was to improve the physician-nurse-patient relationship, according to Woodson, who designed the program. The St. Luke’s Hospital Medical Staff and the Academy of Medicine in Toledo sponsored the program.

More information about this and other hospital’s best practices is available on OHA’s Hospital Workforce Forum at www.ohanet.org/workforce/practices/. Send your hospital’s best practices to Jean Scholz at jeans@ohanet.org or call 614.221.7614 for more information.

Society Fall Conferences
Don’t miss the following fall conferences of OHA’s affiliated societies. Contact the OHA Center for Education at 614.221.7614 for more information.

Ohio Society for Healthcare Risk Managers (OSHRM): Aug. 22-23, Wyndham Dublin Hotel
Ohio Society of Hospital Human Resources Administrators (OSHHRA): Sept. 12- 13, Deer Creek State Park
Society of Ohio Healthcare Attorneys (SOHA): Sept. 19-20, Cherry Valley
Ohio Network for Physician Recruiters (ONPR): Sept. 27, Jessing Center
Ohio Society of Healthcare Executive Assistants (OSHEA): Oct. 11, Quest Business Center
Ohio Organization for Nurse Executives (OONE): Oct. 23-25, Cherry Valley
Ohio Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy (OSHCA): Oct. 10-11, Cherry Valley
Ohio Society of Directors of Volunteer Services (OSDVS): Oct. 31 - Nov. 1, Cherry Valley

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