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Monday,
January 6, 2003
Blood Industry Advised on Impact of Smallpox Vaccine
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued guidance for the blood
industry to establish procedures for properly qualifying blood donors
who have received the smallpox vaccination or had exposure to the
vaccine. The recommendations prepare for the slight risk that the
vaccinia virus could be passed on through blood transfusion to certain
small populations who may develop adverse reactions to the vaccine.
The guidance includes questions that blood and plasma collection facilities should use in identifying potential donors who have received the vaccine. It also includes recommendations for deferring certain donors and for quarantining and retrieving products after donation if necessary.
The recommendations, issued late last month, pertain to the non-emergency smallpox vaccination. Procedures would be modified in the event of a widespread emergency vaccination because of an actual outbreak. The FDA recommendations are available online at www.fda.gov/cber/gdlns/smpoxdefquar.htm. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)
Studies Show Workforce Shortages Impact Quality of
Care
The January issue of Consumer Reports magazine reported that
adequate staffing was the largest factor in achieving overall patient
satisfaction. It found that ample care and attention from doctors,
nurses and other hospital staff members translated into happier and
healthier patients.
The magazine surveyed 21,144 people on the care they or a relative received from U.S. hospitals. Twenty-two percent of those who were less than highly satisfied with their hospitals complained of unanswered calls for assistance or insufficient attention. Staffing also affected the health of the patients surveyed. Patients who felt they received attentive care reported fewer serious health complications than patients who felt they lacked adequate attention. A study by the Harvard School of Public Health supported these findings. It gave evidence that lower patient-to-nurse ratios reduce the risk of common hospital-related complications, with 9.4 fewer cases of cardiac arrest and shock in hospitals with adequate nurse staffing levels.
Despite the negative impacts of workforce shortages, hospitals continue their efforts to provide quality care to consumers. Consumer Reports readers rated their experiences with hospitals better than that of banks, restaurants or hotel chains. To read the results of the survey, visit www.consumerreports.org. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)
Tuesday,
January 7, 2003
AHA Offers Workforce Resource to Hospitals
The American Hospital Association (AHA) has developed a workforce
resource kit for U.S. hospitals built around its 2002 report, In Our
Hands: How Hospital Leaders Can Build a Thriving Workforce. The kit
includes publications featuring Ohio hospitals and examples of their
best practices for recruitment and retention.
The resource kit focuses on helping hospitals achieve the five objectives for improving the health care workforce outlined in AHA’s report: fostering meaningful work, improving the workplace partnership, broadening the base, collaborating with others and building societal support. It offers specific examples of successful programming and resources to build commitment, loyalty and job-satisfaction in current employees.
The kit will be sent to all hospitals with an AHA membership this month free of charge, and nonmember hospitals can purchase the report by visiting www.aha.org. For additional information on Ohio’s hospital workforce and additional Ohio best practices for recruiting and retaining staff, visit OHA’s Workforce Forum Web site at www.ohanet.org/workforce/. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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,
January 8, 2003
Peer
Review Legislation Enhanced
Gov. Bob Taft this afternoon
signed into law legislation, introduced at the request of the Ohio
Hospital Association (OHA), to modernize Ohio’s peer review law. The
bill provides protection from civil liability to health care providers
participating in peer review processes. Enactment of the bill provides
health care entities, including hospitals, additional safeguards to
conduct effective peer review processes to further quality improvement.
Passed last year, Senate Bill 179, sponsored by Sen. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon), also allows a legal presumption that a hospital or health insuring corporation did not negligently credential a medical staff member as long as the hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or the American Osteopathic Association. Previously, hospitals were not assured the same level of protection and were in greater jeopardy of having the peer review privilege eroded.
The bill also gives physicians and other health care providers assurances that they can participate in peer review processes without fear of being subpoenaed into court or sued for calling into question medical practices of their peers.
The peer review legislation is one of three OHA-supported tort reform bills passed last year to address problems of reduced access and rising costs for medical malpractice insurance in Ohio. Also signed today was Senate Bill 120, legislation that links liability to actual responsibility. Senate Bill 281, legislation that caps non-economic damages and limit fees of personal injury lawyers, has yet to be signed. Senate Bill 179 and Senate Bill 120 become effective in 90 days. For more information, see an OHA news release at www.ohanet.org/media/news_release/. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)
Establishment of Drug Repository In
the Pipeline
Gov. Bob Taft this
week signed legislation requiring the Ohio Pharmacy Board to establish a
drug repository program for the collection and redistribution of
prescription drugs in their original unopened packaging. House Bill 221,
sponsored by Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton), is intended to provide drugs
to individuals unable to afford them by making available unused drugs
that would otherwise be discarded.
Under the legislation, the board will develop eligibility criteria for hospitals, pharmacies and nonprofit clinics to receive and dispense donated drugs under the program as well as standards for accepting, storing and dispensing drugs. OHA amended the legislation to clarify that participation in the program is voluntary. The legislation goes into effect 90 days after Taft’s signature. The board has nine months after the effective date to adopt rules governing the repository. Other provisions take effect one year after the bill’s effective date. OHA will track the repository’s development and inform members of its impact on hospitals. Watch for an upcoming OHA bulletin for more information. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)
Thursday,
January 9, 2003
Hospital Leaders Urge Payment Relief in D.C.
Urging payment relief for health care providers, 60 hospital leaders
from around the nation this week kicked off the first American Hospital
Association Advocacy Days of the year on the day the 108th Congress
was sworn in. Hundreds more hospital leaders joined the advocacy efforts
throughout the week, meeting with their elected officials and urging
Congress to pass the provider payment relief package. Congress took key
steps toward provider payment relief last year - the House passed a bill
and legislation was introduced in the Senate - but ran out of time to
pass the relief package before the session ended.
Key to the message is pushing representatives to sign a bipartisan letter urging Medicare relief. The letter is being circulated in the House by members of the House Ways & Means and Commerce committees. On top of OHA’s federal advocacy agenda is securing relief from the pending Hospital Care Assurance Program falloff of $46.8 million in federal funding. OHA encourages hospitals to contact their members of Congress immediately and urge lawmakers to pass the provider payment package by February. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
OHA, OPSI Host Patient Safety Roundtable
OHA and the Ohio Patient Safety Institute (OPSI) hosted the first
annual Midwest Patient Safety Roundtable in Columbus on Tuesday. Patient
safety representatives from Minnesota, Michigan, Kentucky and Ohio
attended, sharing current initiatives and discussing opportunities for
future collaboration. The group discussed differences in funding,
projects and legislation among the states and also began development of
a shared vision for the future of patient safety for the Midwestern
states.
OPSI is a statewide effort to improve the safety of patients through the sharing of information, resources and expertise. For more information on OPSI and patient safety in Ohio, visit www.ohiopatientsafety.org/. Hospital employees working with quality or patient safety issues who do not receive OPSI’s monthly Patient Safety Bulletin should contact Rosalie Weakland at 614.221.7614 or rosaliew@ohanet.org to be added to the mailing list. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Hospitals Encouraged to Air Public Health Program
Each month, the Ohio Department of Health produces PH-1, Public
Health Television, a thirty-minute public health program on topics from
healthy eating tips and school-based programs to starting an exercise
program. This monthly TV magazine is broadcast on more than 60 cable
systems throughout Ohio in an effort to educate the public about health,
nutrition and disease prevention.
Each edition of PH-1 features interviews with doctors, other health professionals and everyday Ohioans who are working to improve their personal health. OHA member hospitals that are interested in airing PH-1 in their facilities, contact Cindy Stump at 614.221.7614 or cindys@ohanet.org. OHA provides this service to its members free of charge. (Cindy Stump, cindys@ohanet.org)
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)
Friday, January
10, 2003Hospitals Invited to Bioterrorism Preparedness Conference
A national teleconference for hospitals on nuclear, biological and chemical terrorism preparedness will be held Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The conference focuses on educating hospitals about the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations’ (JCAHO) new emergency management standards and equipping hospitals to meet these standards, which are part of the 2003 quality-rating process.
Jeff Aldridge, president of Security Assessments International, will host the meeting along with featured speakers Roger Camplin, a nationally recognized expert on JCAHO standards, and Bryan Koontz, director of safety and security for the High Point Regional Health System. Koontz will speak about the development of his hospital’s new emergency management plan, which received high marks in a “mock” JCAHO survey.
The conference is sponsored by Security Assessments International and Impact2Go, and interested hospitals can learn more by visiting www.saione.com/NBC/index-2.htm or by calling Phillip Launt toll free at 877.833.5958. Hospitals, health systems and associations can register for $249 before Jan. 15 and $299 after this date.
OHA Center for EducationLook for the following educational opportunities offered by OHA. More information is available at www.ohanet.org/education/education_programs.asp or 614.221.7614.
- Mastering Charge Masters Phone Briefing Seminar Series 2003, Jan. 16
- 2003 Walk Through: The Review and Accreditation Standards and Survey Process, Jan. 17 - Columbus
- Effectively Managing Multiple Generations, Jan. 23 - Columbus
DAILY NEWS CLIPS
(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.)