Question of the Week: Healthcare Job Outlook

Modern Healthcare reports that despite a national loss of 85,000 jobs in December 2009, employment in the healthcare sector grew.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported an addition of 21,500 jobs in healthcare in December 2009. Unlike many other fields, healthcare achieved a net gain in jobs each month in 2009. The highest number of new jobs opened up in physicians' offices, while hospitals saw the slowest growth in the healthcare field. Although December posted the second-lowest job addition number for hospitals in 2009, hospital employment was still able to add 1,400 jobs to the workforce.

The BLS results indicate that while the nation's unemployment rate hangs at 10%, healthcare is one of the few fields to have experienced growth.

The question of the week is, have you been experiencing this job growth in healthcare? Vote in the poll on the NAMSS Blog website. Use the comment field to let us know what kind of setting you work in and if you have noticed job growth in any of the positions at your workplace.


Source: Modern Healthcare
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20100108/REG/301089971

Question of the Week: Using the Internet in Credentialing

Attorney Mark Kadzieleski recently gave a presentation in which he recommended that MSPs "Google" applicants and practitioners in the reappointment process.

While Google might not provide the same in-depth information as a primary source, it and other Internet search engines are definitely a resource worth considering. For example, HR professionals are increasingly using Google and conducting searches of applicants' social networking pages like Facebook and MySpace to gain more information about candidates. An Internet search of a practitioner's name may help MSPs discover not only information about a candidate's character, but also information such as additional practice locations that the practitioner may not have disclosed on his or her application.

It is important to remember that while it may be useful, an Internet search is not a verified source of information on an applicant. When performing an Internet search, make sure that the "John Doe" that comes up in your search results is the same "John Doe" that has applied for privileges at your facility.

The question of the week is, do you use Internet search engines to obtain information about applicants and those going through the reappointment process? If you are performing Internet searches of your applicants, let us know what type of information you have been obtaining in the comment field.

Question of the Week: OPPE, FPPE, and Allied Health

As this year comes to a close, many of us are looking for ways to make things more efficient and less complicated in both our lives and our work.

One area that gets complicated for MSPs is how to track OPPE and FPPE for allied health professionals (AHPs). We are supposed to monitor the performance of AHPs, but this is difficult to do since all AHPs have a sponsoring physician and credit for procedures are usually recorded in the physician's name, not the AHP's name.

Some facilities have addressed this problem by developing activity logs that allow their AHPs to keep track of procedures they performed. If your facility has implemented a best practice, we'd love for you to share it in the comment field.

The question of the week is, do you currently track OPPE and FPPE for allied health professionals? Provide your answer in the poll on the NAMSS Blog homepage.

Question of the Week: Should Facilities Use Surveillance to Ensure Compliance?

An article in today's American Medical News highlights how Maryland is using $100,000 in federal stimulus funds to train volunteers who will secretly monitor hand washing in 45 of the state's 47 acute care hospitals.

Maryland isn't the only state turning to surveillance methods. Rhode Island Hospital requires surgeons to participate in at least two video-recorded surgeries a year after five wrong-site surgeries were reported in the past two years. In 2007, the Massachusetts Legislature considered mandating video recorded surgeries.

There are those who support the use of surveillance and those who don't. Dr. Mark Chassin, president of The Joint Commission says that if surveillance helps hospitals determine what is affecting performance, then it can be an aid. However, Chassin cautions against the improper use of surveillance data as ammunition against individuals in their personnel files.

Dr. Mark E. Rupp, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America believes that some providers will not like the "Big Brother" feeling that this system may impose.

What do you think? Is surveillance an effective way to boost compliance and help facilities identify practices that need improvement? Or do you think that this oversight method will cause more provider stress and anxiety?

Let us know what you think by taking this week's poll and providing your comments below.


Source: amednews.com
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/11/30/prl21130.htm

Question of the Week: Online Doctor's Visits

A post on the blog, Hospital Impact, highlights a new subscription service called Hello Health, which allows patients to schedule an appointment and meet with a doctor online.

The service is aimed at providing both patients and doctors with a convenient forum where they meet in less time than a traditional office visit.

Currently the service is not covered by any insurance companies, so patients must pay out-of-pocket for all services, but may be able to receive a reimbursement depending on their health plan.

It will be interesting to see if Hello Health picks up steam and helps to improve patient-provider communication. It will also be interesting to see if Hello Health and any other similar services eventually seek to have the time spent on online patient visits covered by insurers. If so, this could raise interesting challenges on how to credential and privilege providers working in an "online practice."

The question of the week is, what do you think of the online doctor's visit? Is it a good strategy for improving the delivery of care, or will it have little impact?



Source: Hospital Impact

http://www.hospitalimpact.org/index.php/2009/11/11/innovation_in_healthcare_a_look_at_onlin?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Hospitalimpactorg+%28hospitalimpact.org%29.

Question of the Week: Health Reform

The House passed its bill over the weekend, and the Senate is expected to start debate on the issue on November 16.

There are several issues that are expected to cause controversy, including the inclusion of a public-run health plan, and whether those who receive federal subsidies to purchase health coverage should be allowed to select plans that cover selective abortion.

This week's question is, what do you think is the most difficult issue for our lawmakers to tackle as they debate our nation's healthcare system? Vote in the poll on the right of the NAMSS Blog page and let us know your thoughts in the comment field below.

Question of the Week: Registered Dietitians

This month's issue of HCPro's Briefings on Credentialing reports the movement toward Registered Dietitians (RDs) seeking clinical privileges so that they can write diet orders at their facilities. Currently, only licensed independent practitioners are required to write orders according to CMS regulations.

The American Dietetic Association supports the movement toward granting RDs clinical privileges. The ADA believes that allowing RDs to write diet orders on their own allows them to practice within the full scope for which they are trained. They acknowledge one issue, and that is that the physician in charge of a patient's care can still be liable in a malpractice suit, even if the patient's injury is a result of the dietitian's order.

The credentialing of RDs is a practice that facilities have handled in different ways. Some facilities delegate it to their human resources offices, while medical staff offices take care of it in other facilities. If the movement toward granting RDs clinical privileges picks up steam, it is likely that credentialing of RDs will become a function of the medical staff office.

The question of the week is, who currently performs the credentialing of Registered Dietitians in your facility? Take the poll on the right side of the NAMSS Blog page, and leave any comments or thoughts on this topic in the comment field below.

Question of the Week: Telemedicine

Today we're launching a "Question of the Week" on the NAMSS Blog. Each week, we will feature a new poll on an issue facing MSPs. This will allow you to get a pulse on what your colleagues think, and on practices that are implemented in other facilities.

This week's topic is telemedicine. The following article from Scripps Howard News Service includes comments from several health experts who believe that although telemedicine is addressed in health reform proposals, the government is not making enough of an investment in this technology. (Link to article: http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/telemedicine-getting-short-shrift-congress-health-care-reforms)

We all know that telemedicine can expand access to care, especially in rural areas. However, we also know that there is still debate over how credentialing of telemedicine providers should be handled. Recently, The Joint Commission amended its credentialing by proxy standards in order to comply with the CMS Conditions of Participation, which currently do not recognize this practice.

So this week's question is, how does your facility currently perform credentialing for telemedicine providers? Vote in the poll to the right, and feel free to discuss your views on the issue in the comment field below.

We are also looking for other "Questions of the Week." If there is a topic or question you would like to see on the NAMSS Blog, e-mail your idea to news@namss.org.