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Monday,
August 7, 2006 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has released updated recommendations regarding the use of influenza vaccine and antiviral agents. The changes include but are not limited to:
View the full recommendations at www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5510a1.htm?s_cid=rr5510a1_e. (Carol Jacobson, carolj@ohanet.org; Rick Sites, ricks@ohanet.org)
Tuesday, August 8, 2006 As part of the campaign, the FDA recommends that health care professionals consider ISMP’s List of Error-Prone Abbreviations, Symbols and Dose Designations when communicating medical information (http://www.ismp.org/tools/errorproneabbreviations.pdf). A toolkit of resource materials, including a brochure, a poster for display in health care facilities, PowerPoint slides for use at conferences or meetings, and a patient safety video, are available at http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01390.html. Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Ann McNeilly, LPN Satellite Office Coordinator, Ashtabula Clinic Jefferson Office Ashtabula County Medical Center Jefferson
A look inside Ann’s nomination – Ann McNeilly, LPN, exemplifies the essence of good customer service going above and beyond her job responsibilities. She has helped uncounted patients navigate the complex world of health care. Ann is as giving in her personal life as in her professional life having raised four college graduates, traveling at times halfway around the globe to be present in the lives of her grandchildren, and acting as a surrogate grandmother to countless others. She is actively involved in the youth program of her local church as well as other community efforts. She would be an excellent ambassador to represent Ohio’s hard working health care community as the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year.
Gov. Taft Signs Public Disclosure Legislation At a bill-signing event held today in Cincinnati, Gov. Bob Taft officially signed into law legislation requiring hospitals to report additional pricing and quality information to the Ohio Department of Health. The department will make the information available to the pubic upon request and will provide it on a public Web site, if funding is allocated by the legislature in the future. The legislation also expands previous requirements that hospitals make price information lists on certain services available to patients. OHA supports the legislation in its current form, but only after the association brought about significant changes to the legislations to that it was consistent with OHA’s Principles of Public Reporting of Data approved by the OHA Board of Trustees. Consistent with the principles, the new law will help educate consumers by producing reliable information and it does so in a cost effective manner. In addition to the new reporting requirements under HB 197, hospitals currently report publicly-available information to various government entities. To help link consumers with this information, OHA last year developed The Consumer’s Guide to Quality Health Care in Ohio, a Web site with a wide range of information about the cost and quality of health care in Ohio. Hospitals are encouraged to inform patients, employees and their communities about these informational resources. To help hospitals communicate with these various audiences, talking points on why hospitals support health care transparency, a PowerPoint on the history, provisions and timeline for implementation of HB 197 and more resources are available at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/public_disclosure.htm. A member bulletin with additional information is available at www.ohanet.org/Bulletins/2006/06-006.htm. (Jeff Klingler, jeffk@ohanet.org) Want to share a hospital employee
perspective on patient safety?
Thursday, August 10, 2006 Revised Data Reporting Forms Required Due TUESDAY A final reminder to hospitals that they must submit a REVISED Notice of Participation form to Ohio KePRO by Tuesday, Aug. 15, to maintain their enrollment in the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment update program and receive the 2.0 percent payment update. The form is available at www.qualitynet.org and must be signed by the hospital’s chief executive officer and received by Ohio KePRO by Aug. 15. The form can be faxed to Ohio KePRO at 216.447.7925) but the original form then MUST be mailed to Ohio KePRO. Hospitals that sign up must submit AMI, heart failure, pneumonia and SCIP measure sets to the QNet data warehouse effective with July 2006 discharges. If a hospital elects to withdraw from participation in the program, it should submit a Withdrawal of Participation form, available at www.qualitynet.org, to Ohio KePRO. KePRO also must receive this form no later than Aug. 15, 2006. If the hospital withdraws from the program, it will receive a 2.0 percentage point reduction to its payment update. (Rosalie Weakland, rosaliew@ohanet.org)
CMS Issues Proposed 2007 OPPS Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week released its proposed Medicare payment rule for hospital outpatient services in calendar year 2007. The rule includes a 3.4 percent inflation update in Medicare payment rates for services paid under the outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) for 2007. However, beginning in 2007, the rule proposes to tie the outpatient payment rate update to the reporting of inpatient quality measures. Those hospitals that are required to report quality measures for inpatient services in order to receive the full inpatient prospective payment system update but fail to do so, would receive the OPPS update minus 2.0 percentage points. Beginning in 2008, as required by the Deficit Reduction Act, the agency also proposes a major revision of payments for ambulatory surgical centers that would base ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment rates on the hospital outpatient payment system and would significantly increase the number of procedures covered in an ASC. View the proposed rule at www.cms.hhs.gov/HospitalOutpatientPPS/HORD/list.asp#TopOfPage and fact sheets at www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/?media=facts. After reviewing the more than 1,000 pages of the rule, OHA will issue a member bulletin with more information. The rule will appear in the Aug. 23 Federal Register. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)
Friday, August 11, 2006 OHA staff met with Attorney General Jim Petro this week to discuss the hospital community’s concerns about Petro’s revised draft rules for charitable organizations, including hospitals. The dramatically revised rules, available at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/resources/petro_rules072806.pdf, remove the objectionable conflict of interest, executive compensation, community benefit reporting and hospital billing and collection provisions.
While OHA applauds Petro’s attention to the important issues of governance and accountability of charitable organizations, the association suggested his two goals of the revised rules – obtaining hospital Form 990s and establishing an advisory council – could be accomplished immediately, without public rulemaking. In addition, OHA expressed concern about the timing of the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review process and technical problems and vague language still contained in the revised proposal.
Petro expressed interest in convening an ad hoc committee outside of the administrative rulemaking process; however, he is committed to adopting regulations of some kind before his term ends in December. Petro did commit to fix as many of the technical problems as possible and will take OHA’s timing concerns into consideration.
OHA will continue to work with the attorney general and his staff along with the broader coalition of charitable organizations on the outstanding issues. More information on this issue is available online at www.ohanet.org/advocacy/state/issues/charitable.htm. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)
Hospitals’ Heartbeat A 2006 nominee for the Albert E. Dyckes Health Care Worker of the Year Award
Anita Tokos, RN Critical Care Unit Aultman Hospital Canton
A look inside Anita’s nomination – Devoting more than 30 years to the profession of nursing, Anita Tokos, RN, has truly earned a reputation for excellence among her coworkers, peers and community – both in her professional career and personal life. She is a valued asset to the Aultman Health Foundation, always going above and beyond the call of duty. Currently a critical care step down nurse, her clinical experience includes Neonatal Intensive Care, medical-surgical, rehabilitation and clinical supervision. In addition to her work in the community as a pastoral associate, she has served for 16 years on the Malvern Local Board of Education. As a bedside nurse, Anita displays compassion toward patients, commitment to the nursing profession, clinical excellence and community involvement. Anita is truly deserving of this acknowledgement. © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
