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Monday,
August 20, 2007 The Akron Regional Hospital Association (ARHA) and OHA are hosting a pharmacists’ roundtable Sept. 28 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Andy Kubalak from the Ohio Environment Protection Agency’s Division of Hazardous Waste will be the speaker. The roundtable will continue discussions begun at the spring OHA pharmaceutical waste management seminar in Columbus. Attendance at the seminar last spring is not mandatory to attend this roundtable, and handouts from the spring program will be available. All Ohio hospital pharmacists are invited.
For
more information or to RSVP, contact Susan Zabo at
614.221.7614 or by e-mail at
susanz@ohanet.org. Please RSVP by Sept. 17. While
the roundtable is free, lunch is available for $10 and
payment can be mailed to Susan Zabo, 155 East Broad St.,
15th Floor, Columbus, Ohio 43215. Seating is
limited to the first 35 registrants. Information about
pharmaceutical waste is available on OHA’s Web site at
www.ohanet.org/p2. (Susan Zabo,
susanz@ohanet.org) Tuesday, August 21, 2007 HCAP 2007 Assessment Rule Approved; Model and Payment Schedule Finalized The Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review yesterday approved the 2007 Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP) assessment rate rule, thereby setting the stage for $326.4 million in federal funding to be distributed to Ohio hospitals over the coming weeks. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has issued final assessment notices to all hospitals that participate in HCAP, including the due dates of assessments and expected payment dates. The Final 2007 HCAP Assessment and Distribution model, along with model descriptions and analysis, are available online at www.ohanet.org/hcap/. As in years past, ODJFS will collect assessments and return payments to hospitals in two equal installments. ODJFS requires all assessments and payments be made via electronic fund transfer (EFT). Hospitals can ensure they are set up for EFTs by contacting the Auditor of State at 800.282.0370. The dates for the assessments and distributions are as follows:
Finally, the data verification process for HCAP 2008 has already started and hospitals should soon receive a certified letter from ODJFS and OHA’s HCAP data verification package, which includes a summary of the data that will be used to determine HCAP 2008 payments. Hospitals have only 30 days from the receipt of the certified letter from ODJFS in which to correct any errors in the as-filed Medicaid cost reports. (Ryan Biles, ryanb@ohanet.org) AHA Calls Hospital Employees to ActionIn a nationwide effort called My Care Counts, the American Hospital Association (AHA) is asking all hospital staff – executives, physicians, nurses and more – to add their name to the MyCareCounts.org Web site urging members of Congress to reject cuts to hospital services under the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The site has a how-to-guide and flier to help hospitals spread the word about MyCareCounts.org/.
Wednesday,
August 22, 2007 All Ohio hospitals are invited to attend a stakeholders meeting of the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) on Monday, Aug. 27 where the department will explain its work in developing reforms tailored to Ohio to provide health care coverage to Ohio's uninsured residents. The meeting is from 3-5 p.m. at ODI, Lobby Conference Room, 2100 Stella Court, Columbus, OH 43215. Contact the ODI public liaison, Carly Glick at Carly.Glick@ins.state.oh.us or 614.719.1524 with questions. Health Care Organizations Launch Rx Response Organizations involved in the manufacturing, distribution and dispensing of pharmaceuticals announced last week the creation of Rx Response, a program to ensure the continued delivery of medicines during severe public health emergencies. Rx Response is designed to facilitate the sharing of information and to help address risks to the medicine supply chain during a disaster. The program will be activated on a case-by-case basis, but existing mechanisms such as a disaster declaration by a U.S. governor or the U.S. president will be used to help guide initiation. Partners involved in Rx Response include the American Hospital Association, American Red Cross, National Community Pharmacists Association and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, all of whom worked with the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security to develop this program. Rx Response partners also stress the importance of patient preparedness, which resonates with next month’s National Preparedness Month initiatives. The RX Response Web site provides a wallet card template where consumers can print a personal list of medications and other medical information in case of emergency. For more information or to view a news release, visit www.rxresponse.com.
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
Jennifer Lough, RN
A look inside Jennifer’s nomination
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Thursday,
August 23, 2007 The state of Ohio has an opportunity to establish alternate non-emergency health care providers through a new grant of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which would allow hospitals to share the cost of providing non-emergency care in their emergency departments and offer Medicaid beneficiaries access to primary care services. All state Medicaid agencies are eligible to apply for the grant. That includes the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), which is processing the information. If ODJFS applies for the grant, it must submit an application by Sept. 21. Learn more at www.cms.hhs.gov/GrantsAlternaNonEmergServ/. If Ohio receives a grant, the state could establish additional physician’s offices, health care clinics, community health care centers, hospital outpatient departments or similar health care providers to diagnose and treat non-emergency patients who might otherwise seek care in hospital emergency departments. Preference will be give to providers that serve rural or underserved areas where Medicaid beneficiaries may not have regular access to primary care services or those that partner with local community hospitals. (Bridget Gargan, bridgetg@ohanet.org)
OHA Represents Hospitals in Energy Case, Rate Talks
Friday, August 24, 2007
The OHA
Board of Trustees endorsed the American Hospital
Association’s heath reform framework, “Health for Life:
Better Health, Better Health Care,” at its August meeting.
The framework is built around five goals involving:
The
Board also voted to support the AHA-backed Coalition to
Protect America’s Health Care with a $25,000
contribution and encouraged the coalition to continue
seeking voluntary contributions from hospitals and
health systems. In 12 campaigns since 2000, the
coalition has helped hospitals obtain payment
improvements and avoid threatened payment reductions to
the tune of $23,000 for every dollar invested in
coalition efforts.
Hospitals’ Heartbeat
Mandy
Vuozzo
A look inside Mandy’s nomination
- © 2001-2008 OHA. Last updated
January 03, 2008. |
