Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Ohioans First Initiative Launched
Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Nick Baird and Ohio's top health care leaders yesterday announced a new initiative of 13 Ohio health care organizations-- including OHA -- to eliminate dangerous medical abbreviations, a major cause of medication errors. Launched during National Patient Safety Awareness Week, the Ohioans FiRXst initiative's initial goal is to eliminate the use of five dangerous abbreviations by 2005, which include misread decimal points and symbols. The list of the abbreviations is available on the Ohioans FiRXst Web site, www.ohioansfirst.org.

HHS Inspector General Resigns
The director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the office that investigates health-related fraud and abuse, announced that she will resign her position effective June 1. Janet Rehnquist informed President Bush of her decision to resign last week.

Rehnquist, the daughter of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, has received criticism for her management actions and is currently the target of a congressional investigation. She faces investigation regarding a government-issued handgun in her office, the delay of the audit of Florida’s pension fund until after the election of Gov. Jeb Bush and the elimination of several of her agency’s senior-level staff members among other issues. President Bush appointed Rehnquist as inspector general in August 2001. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)

Peterson noted that community hospitals’ most critical concern over specialty hospitals - physician self-referral - could drain resources from full-service community hospitals that provide necessary, but money-losing, services such as emergency room care, trauma care, burn centers and other preventative health care programs to Ohio’s citizens. If community hospitals lose revenue from more profitable services typically provided by specialty hospitals, Peterson cautioned the proliferation of specialty hospitals could be devastating to Ohio’s full-service hospitals that Ohioans depend on for vital medical care.

Wary that Ohio could be on the threshold of a major health care crisis, Peterson also noted the specialty hospital issue is not isolated to just Central Ohio or the state, but impacts community hospitals across the nation.

A copy of Peterson’s testimony is available online at www.ohanet.org in What’s New. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org)

The recently introduced budget bill, House Bill 95, is also currently working its way through the House. HB 95 contains a proposal that would require a hospital to accept, as payment in full, the lesser of 95 percent of the Medicaid fee-for-service payment or billed charges from a Medicaid HMO if the hospital has no contract with the HMO of a patient it has treated. This proposal revokes hospitals’ ability to choose not to contract with certain HMOs, requiring them to do business regardless of a signed contract.

Next Wednesday, March 19, representatives from Ohio’s pediatric hospital community will hold a rally at the Statehouse in Columbus to protest the reductions in Medicaid funding. MetroHealth will hold an additional town hall meeting on March 22 in Cleveland to prepare for a day of lobbying and a rally planned for April 9 in Columbus. For more information on the impact of Medicaid reductions to Ohio’s hospitals and communities, visit www.ohanet.org/medicaid/. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Thursday, March 13, 2003
U.S. House Passes Safety Bill
The U.S. House has passed the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2003 (H.R. 663). This bill removes barriers to patient safety by providing legal protection for information collected to advance patient safety research and education. It will encourage caregivers to voluntarily share information about medical errors by creating a safe environment that supports candid discussion of errors, their causes and ways to prevent them. The bill, passed in a 418-6 House vote late yesterday, is expected to be taken up by the Senate in the next few weeks. The Institute of Medicine has called on Congress to provide legal protection for information collected to advance patient safety research and education. Some OHA-backed initiatives to prevent medical errors and improve patient safety include the Ohio Patient Safety Institute, www.ohiopatientsafety.org/, and Ohioans FiRxst, www.ohioansfirst.org. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)

Shaken Baby Bill Hearings Underway
Hearings began this week in the House Health and Family Services Committee on legislation establishing an education program to inform new parents about the risk of shaking a baby. Rep. John Widowfield (R-Cuyahoga Falls), the sponsor of House Bill 76, detailed the program and highlighted OHA’s concerns about the bill related to the filing of participation forms and potential liability exposure of hospitals.

The bill would require hospitals to offer new parents a video to view that describes the medical effects on infants of shaken baby syndrome and ways to prevent its occurrence. Hospitals would then be required to provide parents who choose to view the video with a participation form, which hospitals would keep on file after being signed by the parents. Annual data reporting of participation forms is also included in the legislation.

The bill, as introduced, addresses OHA's initial concern that the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) should pay for the video. OHA will continue to advocate that participation forms should be kept with the parents, if their purpose is to reinforce the parents' commitment, or on file at ODH, if the purpose is to track participation in and outcomes of the program. OHA will also discuss potential liability concerns with OHA's Risk and Insurance Management Committee. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org).

Friday, March 14, 2003
Buckeye Institute Proposes Medicaid Reform
The Buckeye Institute, an organization that analyzes Ohio government programs, taxes and regulations, today offered recommendations on changes to the state’s Medicaid program. The report released by the institute gave several short- and long-term proposals to lower costs including: choosing hospitals based on the lowest price for a specific service, enrolling a large percentage of beneficiaries with disabilities into managed care, block granting Medicaid funds to innovative areas and facilities and the concept of a “Health Mart.”

OHA applauds the Buckeye Institute’s efforts to confront the multifaceted issue of Ohio’s Medicaid program, but advises caution regarding any proposals that do not recognize Ohio’s dismal experience with Medicaid managed care in recent years including reduced access to care for the state’s most vulnerable populations and the failure of numerous Medicaid HMOs. OHA looks forward to exploring the recommendations of the institute to determine their possible impact on Ohio’s health care community and the Medicaid population. For further information, look for updates on OHA’s Medicaid Web site at www.ohanet.org/medicaid/. (Berna Bell, bernab@ohanet.org)

Hospital Safety Campaign Hits 50th Year
Hospitals don’t want to miss out on the 50th annual Ohio Hospital Safety Campaign, which awards hospitals for excellent workplace safety. Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the campaign was begun in 1953 by OHA and the Industrial Commission of Ohio. Hospitals are asked to submit 2002 safety data from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to OHA by April 1. Hospitals with the best safety records will receive awards and all participants will receive certificates. This year’s winners will also be invited to attend the OHA Recognition Dinner June 9 to be recognized for their outstanding safety records. More information on the safety awards and recognition dinner are available at www.ohanet.org/annualmeeting/Awards/. (Stacey Walton, staceyw@ohanet.org)

OHA Welcomes New Associates
OHA is pleased to welcome three new associates to its team. Laura Landis and Rhonda Major-Mack serve as executive assistants in the State Policy and Advocacy department. Laura maintains the legislative files and database and contributes to correspondence between OHA and the legislature, Congress and others. Rhonda works with risk management, human resources and nursing issues. Teresa Epley has also joined OHA’s staff. As an executive assistant, she oversees communication with committees and contributes to various OHA projects.

To learn more about OHA associates or to find contact information, visit www.ohanet.org/about_oha/staff.asp or call 614.221.7614.