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Monday,
October 11, 2004
The Ohio Osteopathic Association (OOA) and the American Osteopathic Association have joined forces to raise awareness about the medical liability insurance crisis in Ohio and to encourage Ohioans to learn more about the importance of the Ohio Supreme Court. The associations have arranged for a 20-foot-long by 10-foot-high mobile billboard to visit Ohio urban areas for three weeks beginning Wednesday. The billboard reminds Ohioans that for pregnant women, sick children, the chronically ill and others, now is not the time to find out their doctors can’t be there. It directs viewers to www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com for more information.
The message truck will visit several hospitals as well as shopping malls and sporting events in Dayton, Cincinnati, Akron, Cleveland, Canton, Columbus and Toledo. OOA welcomes ideas for special events along the route. To share suggestions, or for more information on the schedule or route for the mobile billboard, contact Cheryl Markino, OOA Director of Communications at 614.299.2107 or by e-mail at PR@ooanet.org. (Mary Yost, maryy@ohanet.org)
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Immunization Program will offer a one-hour NetConference to update health care providers on flu immunizations and the flu vaccine supply. Scheduled for Oct. 14 at noon Eastern Time, the program will include a question-and-answer segment. The Web site for the program is www.cdc.gov/nip/ed/ciinc/ and participants may register for continuing education credits on the site.
CDC also offers additional resources and information on this year’s vaccine shortage:
Proof of Immigration Status Not Required
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week announced
hospitals can receive funding for the emergency care they provide to
undocumented immigrants without reporting patients’ immigration status.
In response to concerns voiced by the American Hospital Association,
hospitals and patient advocates, CMS reconsidered an implementation plan
proposed in July that required hospitals to obtain direct evidence of
emergency patients’ immigration status.
The Medicare Modernization Act allocated $250 million for each of the next four years to offset the cost of providing care to undocumented immigrants. Although the majority of the funding will be allocated to the six states with the most undocumented immigrants, Ohio would receive approximately $1 million a year based on its percentage of the total number of undocumented immigrants residing in all states. The program will support all aspects of emergency treatment-including hospital, physician and ambulance services-that have been strained by providing uncompensated care to undocumented immigrants. CMS will release formal guidance on this policy shortly and the proposed implementation plan is available at www.cms.hhs.gov/providers/mma1011.pdf. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
October 13, 2004
Hospitals participating in the Hospital Quality Alliance, previously known as the Quality Initiative, should preview their first-quarter 2004 quality data before Nov. 6. Hospitals can access the data, based on information submitted for the 10 quality measures, at www.qnetexchange.org to verify accuracy. Significant errors should be reported to Ohio KePRO. For additional information, contact the QualityNet help desk at 1.866.288.8912 or qnetsupport@ifmc.sdps.org.
Hospitals taking part in the initiative and receiving a full market basket payment update in fiscal year 2005 may not withhold their data from public display, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will work to correct all substantive errors before publicly releasing the data. Hospitals not eligible for the annual payment update may choose not to publicly display the data by contacting Ohio KePRO by the Nov. 6 deadline. CMS plans to release the information online at cms.hhs.gov in November. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Hospitals Among First to Receive Flu Vaccine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Aventis
Pasteur, creator of the remaining flu vaccine, will work together to
distribute 22.4 million doses of unshipped vaccine to areas of need
throughout the country. Over the next six to eight weeks, about 14.2
million doses will go to high-priority providers, including hospitals,
long-term care facilities, nursing homes and private providers caring
for young children. The remaining doses will be shipped to other
high-need areas. The specific implementation plan has not yet been
released, but CDC and Aventis continue working with state and local
health departments to identify people on the vaccination priority list.
To view a CDC news release, visit
www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r041012.htm.
The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) ordered 270,000 doses of influenza for the 2004-2005 flu season to ship to local health departments, in addition to 100,000 doses for the federal Vaccines for Children program. ODH will focus on immunizing the fragile populations for whom influenza can be fatal. CDC labeled the following groups as priority for receiving vaccinations: children ages 6-23 months; adults ages 65 and older; persons ages 2-64 with underlying chronic medical conditions; all women who will be pregnant during flu season; residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities; children 6 months to 18 years on chronic aspirin therapy; health care workers with direct patient care and out-of-home caregivers; and household contacts of children below six months of age. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Error Reduction to Take Flight
The Aviation Consulting Group is seeking to collaborate with a teaching
hospital to develop a human factors training course for doctors,
anesthesiologists, OR teams, ER teams and nurses, similar to safety
training in the aviation industry. The goal of the training is to create
an awareness of error-provoking behavior and lessen the severity of
errors.
The group is looking for a teaching hospital to help develop a human factors medical personnel course, which would be utilized by hospitals nationwide once established. The participating hospital will receive the training free of charge. Contact Bob Baron at baronb@tacgworldwide.com or 1-800-294-0872 if interested in participating. Visit www.tacgworldwide.com for more information.
Thursday,
October 14, 2004
Highlighting the threat of the medical liability insurance crisis to health care, a survey released this month by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) reports medical liability premiums are continuing to increase.
MGMA’s Cost Survey: 2004 Report Based on 2003 Data shows the average increase in the cost of medical liability insurance for a full-time equivalent physician in a medical group practice in 2003 ranged from 5.9 percent for neurological surgeons to as high as 49.2 percent for anesthesiologists, with many liability crisis states experiencing larger increases. The report also indicates that as overall costs increase, many practices are forced to take cost-cutting measures like reducing support staff, potentially creating a greater shortage in availability to areas like primary care. For more on the 2004 cost survey, based on 2003 data, visit www.mgma.com/press/2004cost.cfm. To learn more about Ohio’s medical liability insurance crisis and its connection to the Ohio Supreme Court, go to www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
OIG Says Medical Center Can Subsidize Liability Premiums
Hospitals in health professional shortage areas (HPSAs) may have some
hope of helping doctors that face skyrocketing medical liability
premiums to keep treating patients in their hospitals.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) in September issued an advisory opinion stating it would not impose sanctions on a medical center in an HPSA for subsidizing medical liability insurance premiums for four community-based obstetricians, even though the arrangement did not meet all of the requirements necessary to fit within the safe harbor. Hospitals have been leery to subsidize doctors’ liability premiums in fear of violating federal anti-kickback statutes and the Stark laws.
While this opinion is binding only on the requesting medical center and does not address the arrangement’s relationship to the limited Stark law exception, it demonstrates the OIG’s willingness to consider obstetrician premium subsidies in HPSAs. To find out if your hospital is in a HPSA, go to www.odh.state.oh.us/odhprograms/visa/j1maps.pdf. The complete OIG opinion can be viewed at www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/advisoryopinions/2004/ao0411.pdf. To learn more about Ohio’s medical liability insurance crisis and its connection to the Ohio Supreme Court, go to www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)
Hospitals a Key Focus in Vaccine Shortage
As the plan unfolds for ensuring all high-risk populations have access
to a flu vaccination this season, new information impacting hospitals
continues to circulate. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) updated the implementation plan for vaccine distribution, noting
hospitals and long-term care facilities that placed orders with Aventis
Pasteur will be among those receiving complete shipments. Efforts also
continue to identify hospitals and long-term care facilities that
ordered from Chiron to assess their needs. Updated materials are online
at
www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccineshortage.htm.
CDC is also tracking incidents of inflated influenza vaccine pricing. Report price inflation situations to Jim Harrison at jrh@cdc.gov and include the following information: name and phone number of the person reporting the incident; name and phone number of the entity inflating prices; name of a contact person at this entity; vaccine presentation (10-dose vials, etc.); and price.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized hospitals and health care entities to redistribute influenza vaccine to alleviate shortages this flu season. When redistributing vaccine, hospitals should document and maintain the following information: vaccine brand name; manufacturer and distributor; lot number; number of doses transferred; and recipient’s name and address. All redistributions must comply with FDA requirements, available online at www.cdc.gov/nip/publications/vac_mgt_book.htm#flu.
Friday,
October 15, 2004
Implementation of privacy regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) went more smoothly than expected for providers, according to a report of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued last week. Organizations representing providers and health plans also told GAO that new privacy procedures have become routine practice for staff. However, providers called the requirements to account for certain information disclosures and to develop agreements with business associates that extend privacy protections “downstream” unnecessary and burdensome. Other problems were the general public’s lack of knowledge of their rights under the privacy rule and reduced access to data for research groups because of delays.
To address the problems, GAO recommends the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) require patients be informed of mandatory disclosures to public health authorities, and that HHS conduct a public information campaign to improve patients’ awareness of their rights. View the full report at www.healthlawyers.org/docs/ask2004/GAO_04_965.pdf. Learn more about HIPAA by visiting the HIPAA Privacy Joint Information Center of OHA, the Ohio State Medical Association and Bricker & Eckler, LLP, at www.bricker.com/hipaa/.
Licensure Suspensions Listed Online
The State Medical Board of Ohio now offers online
access to notices of licensure suspensions following its monthly
meetings. Hospital associates responsible for physician credentialing
are encouraged to visit the “Medical Board Alerts” section of the
medical board’s Web site,
www.med.ohio.gov/,
each month to be aware of these suspensions. A schedule of the meetings
is available online at
www.med.ohio.gov/minutesandagenda.htm.
OHA Center for Education
Don’t miss the following educational seminars
offered by the OHA Center for Education. Call 614.221.7614 or visit
www.ohanet.org/education/education_programs.asp for more
information.
The Ohio Society for Healthcare Facilities Management announces its Annual Meeting and Conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel, Worthington, on Dec. 8.
A four-part telephone seminar series will help participants understand the requirements of ISO 9001:2000, document structure, internal audit and management review process, and requirements to gain and maintain certification. Seminars are Oct. 20, Nov. 3, Nov. 17 and Dec. 1.
Medicare Billing & Patient Accounts for Hospitals - Nov. 3, Dublin; Nov. 4, Cincinnati; Nov. 8, Perrysburg; Nov. 12, Cuyahoga Falls
OSHCA 2004 Fall Conference - Nov. 4-5, Newark