OHA - HEALTH e-NEWS

Monday, March 28, 2005

CMS Releases HIPAA Complaint Procedures

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a notice in Friday’s Federal Register outlining the procedures for filing complaints about noncompliance with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations except the medical privacy rule, which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The procedures currently are used only for complaints related to the transactions and code sets standards but will be applicable to the security rule and other transactions-related regulations, including the National Provider Identifier standard, as of the date health care providers must comply with those additional rules. Providers must be in compliance with the security rule on April 20. The guidelines, available online at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-5795.pdf, also include CMS procedures for accepting and reviewing complaints. For more information on HIPAA, visit www.bricker.com/hipaa/.

OHA’s Center for Education will also host HIPAA Security: Compliance Tool Kit, a program offering a detailed understanding of HIPAA regulations, guidelines for risk assessment completion and the tools to complete it. The program will be held March 30 in Columbus and information and registration are available online at www.ohanet.org/education/education_programs.asp. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

Tuesday, March 29, 2005
OHA Offers Amendment to Establish Recalibration Equity
OHA is seeking legislative support for an amendment to House Bill 66—the state biennial budget bill—that would instruct the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to both rebase and recalibrate Medicaid inpatient hospital payment rates and outpatient services. The amendment responds to ODJFS’ proposal to recalibrate the level of reimbursement for inpatient and outpatient hospital services, which will reduce payments to hospitals by at least $66 million in fiscal year 2006. Hospitals currently face a proposed freeze to inpatient and outpatient Medicaid reimbursement levels that will cost them $142 million over the next two years and cause the shortfall between provider payments and costs—already at $167 million—to rise even further. Adding an additional $66 million in reductions from a recalibration would bring the total impact on Ohio’s hospitals to over $200 million.

OHA has activated its grassroots advocacy network to contact members of the House Finance Committee in support of the amendment. For more information on the impact of ODJFS’ proposed recalibration and the importance of supporting OHA’s recalibration equity amendment, view an OHA white paper at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/resources/recalibrationwhitepaper.pdf. To view the amendment, visit www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/resources/BudgetAmendment5.pdf. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

NQF Outlines Hospital Boards’ Responsibility to Quality

In the March issue of Trustee magazine, the National Quality Forum (NQF) issued guidance to hospital boards of trustees on their responsibility for overseeing the quality of care in their facilities. NQF outlined four principles in its Call to Responsibility and offers specific strategies related to each principle. The principles suggest boards should take concrete steps to fulfilling their role in ensuring quality, enable effective evaluation of their role in this process, develop an understanding of quality in patient safety, clinical care and health care outcomes and oversee and take accountability for their facilities’ participation and performance in national and other quality measurement efforts. For more information, view a news release online at www.qualityforum.org/news/prCalltoResponsibility3-16-05FINAL.pdf or view a full version of NQF’s Call to Responsibility at www.qualityforum.org/. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Statehouse Rally to Fight Medicaid Cuts
The Coalition to Protect Ohio’s Future is calling on all Ohioans to send a message to state legislators: don’t cut funding for health care. The coalition is holding a rally April 12 at the Statehouse asking the public to voice support for children, seniors, persons with disabilities and the working poor by opposing cuts and inadequate funding for health care and supporting continued funding for working Ohioans enrolled in Medicaid who earn up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The rally will also oppose cuts to education programs and local government and support additional funding for food banks, children’s behavioral health care and child care eligibility increases. Learn more about the rally at www.protectohio.org/. OHA is one of more than 350 endorsers of the coalition.

OHA opposes proposed reductions in eligibility for working adults currently on Medicaid and elimination of vision and dental benefits, and proposed reimbursement cuts to hospitals in Gov. Bob Taft’s biennial budget proposal. Additionally, OHA is seeking legislative support for an amendment to House Bill 66—the state biennial budget bill—that would instruct the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to both rebase and recalibrate Medicaid inpatient hospital payment rates and outpatient services. Find more about Medicaid, including analysis of the budget proposal and a white paper on the recalibration, at www.ohanet.org/medicaid/. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)

Interim Rule Opens Hospital Corridors to Hand Sanitizer Dispensers

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last week issued an interim final rule to allow hospitals and other health care facilities to place alcohol-based hand-rub dispensers in exit corridors if they meet certain safety precautions. The rule is slated to take effect May 24 after a 60-day comment period. The American Society for Healthcare Engineering commissioned a study demonstrating that the dispensers can be installed safely and as a result, the National Fire Protection Agency last year amended the Life Safety Code that CMS enforces. The CMS rule will offer health care workers greater access to hand-rubs, contributing to hand hygiene and ultimately the safety of patients. View the interim final rule in last week’s Federal Register at http://frwebgate6.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=108306486345+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

Thursday, March 31, 2005
OHA Supports Nurse’s Advance Directives Community Education
OHA and several other organizations are voicing their support for a Fairfield Medical Center nurse accused of practicing law without a license by providing community education on advance directives as required by federal and state law. The nurse and hospital must respond to the Ohio Supreme Court’s assistant disciplinary counsel by tomorrow to answer questions raised after a Lancaster attorney saw an ad for the community seminar in the newspaper and wrote to the state’s Supreme Court requesting an investigation. The disciplinary counsel can dismiss the complaint or send it on to the Supreme Court.

OHA and Bricker & Eckler LLP, the law firm representing the nurse and the hospital, this week submitted letters to the disciplinary counsel noting the requirement that hospitals provide community education regarding advanced directives. The only materials provided to participants of the session were a copy of the advance directives forms and information on the subject prepared by the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) and the Ohio State Medical Association for public distribution at such events. The Ohio Hospice and Palliative Care Organization also plans to submit a letter supporting the efforts of the nurse and the hospital to educate their community on this issue. To view OHA and Bricker & Eckler’s letters, or to join the more than 750 visitors to download the advance directives packet and forms for help in making end-of-life decisions, visit www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/advance_directives.htm. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)

Eisenberg Award Applications Sought

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Quality Forum are now accepting applications for the 2005 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Awards, designed to recognize individuals and health care organizations that are making significant contributions to improving patient safety and quality. The awards are presented each year in up to four categories, including individual achievement, local and national system innovation and research.

Nomination forms are available at www.jcaho.org and www.qualityforum.org. The deadline to apply is May 27. The 2005 awards will be presented in conjunction with the National Quality Forum’s Annual Membership Meeting Oct. 6 and 7 in Washington, DC. Award recipients will be notified of the Award Panel’s decision no later than Sept. 1. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)

Friday, April 1, 2005
Hospital Quality Improvement Project Launches in Cincinnati
OHA, the Greater Cincinnati Health Council and 17 Cincinnati hospitals are partnering to launch the Greater Cincinnati Hospital Quality Improvement Project to seek opportunities to improve hospital care community-wide. The initiative draws together hospital quality management professionals, medical directors, physicians and area business leaders to share best practices and other information. Participating hospitals will receive hospital-specific data, and aggregate data may also be shared with the community.

The project is modeled after similar partnerships in Dayton and Columbus. The Dayton collaborative received the national Codman award for quality improvement from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 2002 for its efforts. To learn more about the new collaborative, view a news release online at www.gchc.org/publications_read.asp?ID=114&RootID=70&ContentID=142 or contact Nancy Strassel or Lynn Olman at the Greater Cincinnati Health Council at 513.531.0200. (David Engler, davide@ohanet.org)

OHA Wins National Pollution Prevention Award
OHA is a recipient of the Champion for Change Award from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (H2E), a national award recognizing an organization’s efforts to reduce waste and prevent pollution. H2E will present the award to OHA April 12 at the H2E Awards Breakfast and Workshop in Chicago.

OHA is the only state hospital association to receive an H2E award this year, and one of only a handful that have been recognized since H2E was formed in the late 1990s. OHA is being honored for its statewide leadership through the Pollution Prevention University, which teaches hospitals how to reduce waste streams, reuse and recycle, and properly dispose of hazardous wastes, and its Mercury Challenge Program to eliminate mercury. The OHA initiative is overseen by an Environmental Leadership Council, chaired by Mel Creeley, president of East Liverpool City Hospital. Find out more at www.ohanet.org/p2/.

H2E is a joint program of the American Hospital Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, Health Care Without Harm and American Nurses Association working to eliminate the use of mercury in health care, cut health care waste in half and reduce the use and production of hazardous substances. Learn more about becoming an H2E Champion for Change at www.h2e-online.org/. (Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org; Susan Zabo, susanz@ohanet.org)