|
| Hot Issues |
| Publications |
| Advocacy Center |
| Research & Data |
| Education |
| News Media Center |
| Find a Hospital Job |
| Membership |
| Corporate Partners |
| Home |
Search:
 |
Monday,
January 10, 2005
With authorization from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Ohio Department of Health will now budget for two validations surveys and 16 full surveys during 2005 related to patient complaints. While patient complaints can be filed with ODH, all patient complaints are reviewed by CMS, and CMS determines what complaints require investigation by ODH. All CMS surveys, whether to validate certification or to investigate complaints, will be unannounced and hospitals should be prepared for such inspections without notice. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Hospitals Beware of Phone Scam
In a new twist on an old scam, a hospital in Pennsylvania is reporting a
con in which four calls to Afghanistan costing $1,400 were placed
through the hospital’s trunk lines and billed to a patient’s home phone.
In previous similar scams, calls were placed to foreign countries,
including Afghanistan, through the hospital’s switchboard operator. OHA
has not received information that any Ohio hospitals have been hit by
the scam or about how the scam was accomplished. If this scam surfaces
in your hospital, please contact OHA Communications Manager Mary
Sterenberg at 614-221-7614 or
marys@ohanet.org.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Calling for federal medical liability reform this year, President George W. Bush last week launched a campaign seeking a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages--one of the key tenets of his reelection bid. Speaking in Illinois Jan. 5, Bush said changes are needed to curb “junk lawsuits” that needlessly drive up insurance premiums for hospitals and physicians, forcing many doctors to reduce services or leave medicine altogether.
Medical liability reform on the federal level has been attempted and thwarted several times in the last few years after passing the House of Representatives, but stalling in the Senate. Republicans are expected to re-introduce medical liability reform legislation in the next few weeks.
A transcript of Bush’s speech is available at www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050105-4.html. Find more information about Ohio’s medical liability crisis at www.AskYourDoctorOhio.com. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
OHA Monitors Current Flu Season
This year’s flu season started slowly but continues to gain momentum
across the country. Ohio is currently experiencing only sporadic cases
and no hospitals have reported capacity problems to OHA. Last week the
Ohio Department of Health expanded the pool of people eligible to
receive influenza vaccine to include individuals aged 50-64 and
out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of high-risk individuals.
Preempting hospital overcrowding due to influenza or other unusual seasonal illness, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will grant a bed waiver request from any hospital to use PPS-exempt beds. Hospital interested in pursuing a waiver should contact Carol Jacobson at OHA at carolj@ohanet.org or 614.221.7614. Critical Access Hospitals are not eligible to make such a request under the new CMS policy.
CMS also recently announced a demonstration project to provide antiviral medicines to Medicare beneficiaries. Running through May 31, the project examines whether coverage would reduce the impact of influenza on beneficiaries -- especially those on Medicare Part B without drug coverage. Beneficiaries can take prescriptions for anti-viral flu treatments to Medicare-participating pharmacies and if they have met their deductible, Medicare will pay 80 percent of the cost of the drug up to the Medicare-allowed payment.
For more information on flu activity, visit www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/ or www.fluwatch.com, and to learn more about influenza in Ohio, visit www.ohanet.org/flu/. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org)
Wednesday,
January 12, 2005
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) last week issued an advisory opinion not to prosecute a hospital for subsidizing two years of medical malpractice insurance coverage for two neurosurgeons. OIG stated the arrangement could potentially violate laws prohibiting kickbacks for patient referrals but that the circumstances surrounding the situation minimized the risk of fraud and abuse under the Anti-Kickback Statue. As an advisory opinion, the decision applies only to the case in question and does not serve as a legal precedent.
The case involved two neurosurgeons who learned their malpractice carrier would not renew their policies and would raise the price of “tail coverage” on services already provided if the physicians did not retire. The hospital, which was unable to recruit other neurosurgeons to the area, agreed to purchase the tail coverage for the physicians and pay 75 percent of the premium difference between their old policy and a policy with a new carrier. The physicians agreed to practice in the community, serve on hospital committees, accept on-call coverage and provide Medicaid and indigent care. To view the Advisory Opinion, visit http://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/advisoryopinions/2004/ao0419.pdf. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
New Campaign Vows to Save 100,000 Lives
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) announced last month a
new campaign, “100,000 Lives Campaign,” encouraging hospitals to use
certain proven interventions to reduce preventable infections, adverse
drug event and heart attack deaths. The campaign is designed to save
100,000 lives by June 2006. Many of the interventions correlate to
requirements for other agencies.
The campaign seeks to enlist 1,500 to 2,000 hospitals nationwide. To learn more, attend the IHI teleconference on Jan. 18 from 2 to 3 p.m. Information about the campaign and attending the teleconference are available at www.ihi.org/ihi/programs/campaign. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
January 13, 2005
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) voted yesterday to recommend that Congress extend the 18-month moratorium on physicians making referrals to specialty hospitals in which they hold a financial interest. Commissioners cited the need for more time in examining how such facilities impact general acute-care hospitals and to refine DRGs to differentiate cases between specialty and general hospitals. If Congress accepts MedPAC’s recommendations, the moratorium, set to expire in June, would be extended until December 2006.
Separate from its specialty hospital action, MedPAC recommended an update of market basket minus 0.4 percent in fiscal year 2006, despite its recent data supporting a full market basket update for hospital inpatient and outpatient services and urging from hospital advocates to recommend a full payment update. The reduction would apply to all hospitals paid under the Medicare prospective payment system, though the Medicare Modernization Act authorized a full update for hospitals sharing data on 10 key quality indicators for fiscal years 2005-2007.
OHA will continue to closely monitor MedPAC activities as well as the congressional and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services processes this year, advocating that no reductions be made to the currently authorized hospital updates. (Jonathan Archey, jonathana@ohanet.org)
Talks With Medical Board a Stepping Stone
In an inaugural meeting of its kind, OHA yesterday met with the State
Medical Board of Ohio to discuss mutual key health care matters facing
hospitals and physicians in Ohio. The medical board plans to meet
annually with various statewide health organizations, including OHA, to
engage discussion and develop a collaborative approach to address
important issues. OHA was the first statewide group to participate in
the new dialogue.
Topics on the docket included the supply of physicians in Ohio, electronic medical records, the Federation Credentials Verification Services, legislation granting physician-delegated prescriptive authority to physician assistants, and mandatory reporting of hospital disciplinary sanctions. OHA will continue to work with the medical board on these and other key issues. (Jean Scholz, jeans@ohanet.org)
Friday,
January 14, 2005
The Ohio Department of Health’s (ODH) 2004 Annual Hospital Registration and Planning Report form will soon be available to hospitals online. Required of all Ohio hospitals by the Ohio Revised Code, the reporting form must be completed, notarized and submitted to ODH by March 4. The report requests hospital data such as location, corporate owner, classification and size. It also gathers statistical data on surgical, neonatal and emergency room services, magnetic resonance imaging and bed utilization. Used by ODH for registration purposes, the information is also available to other groups for planning, comparative studies and trend analyses.
For more information on hospital registration, visit www.odh.ohio.gov/odhprograms/hospreg/hosp1.htm. OHA will alert members when the form is available and will provide a link to both the form and instructions for use. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
CEOs on the Move
David J. Ameen has been appointed president
and chief executive officer of St. Charles Mercy Hospital,
Oregon. Taking on his new role Jan. 31, Ameen replaces Cathleen
Nelson, who resigned in June to become president of United Health
Partnership but remains on OHA’s Board. Carol Whittaker, Mercy’s
vice president of nursing services, is serving as interim president.
James W. Pope began serving as president and CEO of Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital Jan. 4, succeeding James W. Brumlow Jr. Though he has stepped down from his position of CEO of Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers, Rusty Brunicardi will continue as president of the hospital and Phil Ennen has been appointed CEO. Phil has been chief operational officer of the hospital for the past 18 years.
After four years of service, Chip Hubbs, CEO of Memorial Hospital of Union County, Marysville, and Larry Thornhill, president of Berger Health System, Circleville, have retired from the OHA Small and Rural Committee. OHA thanks these leaders for their service to small and rural hospitals across Ohio.