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Monday,
April 2, 2007 In a unanimous decision sending shockwaves through Ohio medical liability circles, the Ohio Supreme Court recently modified Ohio law concerning parental claims arising from injuries to minors. In Fehrenbach v. O’Malley, 113 Ohio St.3d 18 (2007), the court considered, “whether the provisions of R.C. 2305.16, which toll a statute of limitations for a minor child’s negligence claim, inure to the benefit of parents bringing derivative claims for loss of consortium and medical expenses by also tolling the statute of limitations for those claims.” Medical malpractice claims in Ohio generally must be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues. Ohio Revised Code Sec. 2305.16 tolls this statute of limitations while the child is a minor. In Fehrenbach, the parents brought an action as their child’s guardian and in their own right for loss of consortium over five years after the claims accrued.
The Ohio Supreme Court noted the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure require the parents’ claim to be filed at the same time as the child’s complaint. In addition, the court reasoned allowing the loss of consortium claim’s statute of limitations to be tolled while the child is a minor avoids piecemeal litigation. Accordingly, the court held that “because a parent’s claim for loss of consortium against a third party for injuries to the parent’s minor child is an interest that is ‘joint and inseparable’ from the child’s own claim for purposes of R.C. 2305.16, the parent’s claim may be tolled during the child’s disability.”
Claims involving injuries to minors that were previously filed within one year due to a derivative claim now may be filed anytime before the minor turns age 19. This decision will significantly increase loss exposure in numerous pending cases involving minors’ injury claims where the parents’ claims were not filed within a year of accrual. In addition, it is likely to increase the number of major claims that will be filed for the first time many years after the injury to the minor occurred. (Mary Gallagher, maryg@ohanet.org)
Events Recognize, Improve Services for Crime Victims In recognition of Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office will hold its 2nd Annual Rally in Remembrance Friday, April 27 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Ohio Statehouse Atrium in Columbus. Hospital representatives and others are encouraged to attend this event in honor of victims, survivors and those who serve them. The rally will feature music, crime prevention demonstrations, exhibits by victim service providers, speakers and more. The Attorney General’s Office also will sponsor a related conference on victim assistance, Two Days in May, May 7-8 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Columbus. With a specific focus on domestic violence, the conference will help equip hospital associates and others to help victims and their families. It will provide information about initiatives such as the Perfected Claims Program to help victims receive financial assistance more quickly and Advocates Dedicated to Victim Assistance and Continuing Education (ADVANCE). Presenters will include experts in crime victim assistance, law enforcement, criminal justice and medicine, as well as victims sharing their stories. Registration is $25 per person and registration forms, available at www.ag.state.oh.us/events/TDIM_reg.pdf, must be submitted by April 25. Commitment to Communities SPOTLIGHT The efforts of Ohio’s hospitals – and the 300,000 people working in these facilities – go far beyond providing basic health care services. Below is one example of the many ways Ohio’s hospitals support their communities.
Surgery
Staff Stitches Caps Fisher-Titus Medical Center’s surgery department employees use their skills in different ways. As a community service project, Director of Surgery Mary Jane Patterson and her staff have been stitching surgical caps for pediatric patients. The caps are given to patients as they prepare for surgery and children can then take them home when they leave the medical center. This is an ongoing project and the group plans to keep an inventory of 25 caps per month. The caps feature florals, seasonal prints and fun fabrics with Dora the Explorer, Batman, Nemo and more.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week announced its contingency plan for health care providers, health plans and others that must implement a National Provider Identifier (NPI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Covered entities that make a “good faith” effort to comply with the NPI provisions may, for up to 12 months from the original May 23 deadline, implement contingency plans that could include accepting legacy provider numbers on HIPAA transactions to maintain operations and cash flows. The NPI is an identifier that will be used by covered entities to identify health care providers, eliminating the current need for multiple identifiers for the same provider.
While the May 23 deadline will not change, CMS will not take action on a complaint against a non-compliant entity if it can demonstrate it is making a good faith effort to comply. Providers that have not obtained NPIs should do so immediately and all providers should communicate with their payers to establish whether they will require either a legacy number or an NPI or both. To apply for an NPI, visit https://nppes.cms.hhs.gov. Additional information on this issue is available at www.cms.hhs.gov. (Charles Cataline, charlesc@ohanet.org)
Thursday,
April 5, 2007 · Implementation of NIOSH/AHSP Hazardous Drug Standards · Overview of the Joint Commission’s Medication Management and Environment of Care Standards · Identification of RCRA hazardous waste · Handling of hazardous and non-hazardous waste pharmaceuticals
The cost to hospitals of managing pharmaceutical waste has dramatically increased, with many medications considered hazardous waste and the volume of such waste enough to make the hospital a large generator under Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hazardous waste regulations. Designation as a large generator requires rigorous and expensive documentation and management of the waste, and invites increased scrutiny from the EPA and others.
OHA encourages hospital safety directors, pharmacists, compliance officers, facility directors, risk managers, nurses, directors of environmental services and other health care professionals to attend. A $35 registration fee includes continental breakfast and lunch. Register at www.ohanet.org/p2 or contact Susan Zabo at 614.221.7614 or susanz@ohanet.org. The training is sponsored by a grant to the Ohio Hospital Association Research and Educational Foundation from the Ohio Environmental Education Fund.
Commitment to Communities SPOTLIGHT The efforts of Ohio’s hospitals – and the 300,000 people working in these facilities – go far beyond providing basic health care services. Below is one example of the many ways Ohio’s hospitals support their communities.
Reaching for the Future Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center
Last November, more than 50 high school students along with
parents, siblings and guests attended the Medical Explorers
Program to learn about the surgical side of the medical
field. To give students a glimpse of a career in health
care, students saw a simulation of a laparoscopic surgery
conducted by a surgeon and experimented with the surgical
equipment, toured the surgical suites, sterile processing
and an operating room and spoke with representatives of
Muskingum College and Ohio University’s College of
Osteopathic Medicine to learn about pursuing medical courses
and degrees. Medical Explorers in a program chartered by the
medical center and the Boy Scouts of America for area high
school students, and participants meet at the hospital once
a month during the school year to learn about medical
careers.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Ohio
Association of Rehab Facilities Offers Medicaid Managed Care
Seminar
Hospital rehabilitation directors/managers, physical, occupational and speech therapists, admissions staff and billing department staff are encouraged to attend. The seminar offers 5.25 continuing education credits. Learn more or register online at http://www.oarf.net/. © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
