The House Judiciary Committee April 17 began considering legislation (H.R. 5) that would cap medical malpractice awards, as part of its plan to find savings under the budget proposal the House passed in March.
The Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare Act of 2012 would create federal rules for medical malpractice cases, including a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages. The markup is expected to conclude April 18.
For the full article:
http://healthlawrc.bna.com/hlrc/4225/split_display.adp?fedfid=25843469&vname=hcenotallissues&jd=a0d1n3w6k5&split=0
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
missourian.com: Mercy Opens New Hospital in Joplin
April 11, 2012
The startling thing in first seeing the new Mercy Hospital Joplin — the factory built, trucked-in replacement for the building destroyed by last May’s tornado — is how attractive and permanent it looks. Joplin has a new hospital as of mid-April, and this one isn’t tents or trailers.
For the full article:
http://www.emissourian.com/more_news/business_news/article_7b0b2117-ca4d-5e26-8daf-7f2d0b922772.html
The startling thing in first seeing the new Mercy Hospital Joplin — the factory built, trucked-in replacement for the building destroyed by last May’s tornado — is how attractive and permanent it looks. Joplin has a new hospital as of mid-April, and this one isn’t tents or trailers.
For the full article:
http://www.emissourian.com/more_news/business_news/article_7b0b2117-ca4d-5e26-8daf-7f2d0b922772.html
Friday, April 13, 2012
H&HN Daily: Combating Physician Stress
Physician burnout is on the rise. Help your medical staff cope by providing stress relievers such as job flexibility, ancillary services and time to exercise.
Mitchell Best and Alan Rosenstein, M.D., April 12, 2012
Almost 87 percent of physicians report they feel moderately to severely stressed and burned out on an average day, and almost 63 percent of them are feeling more stressed and burned out than they did three years ago, according to a recent survey.
For the full story:
http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag/HHNDaily/HHNDailyDisplay.dhtml?id=1560003741
Mitchell Best and Alan Rosenstein, M.D., April 12, 2012
Almost 87 percent of physicians report they feel moderately to severely stressed and burned out on an average day, and almost 63 percent of them are feeling more stressed and burned out than they did three years ago, according to a recent survey.
For the full story:
http://www.hhnmag.com/hhnmag/HHNDaily/HHNDailyDisplay.dhtml?id=1560003741
Thursday, April 12, 2012
amednews.com: Criminal background checks provide patchwork protection against rogue doctors
About two-thirds of medical boards have the authority to investigate whether a physician has a criminal history, but rules vary by state.
Carolyne Krupa, April 2, 2012
Driving under the influence, tax evasion, fraud, battery and sexual assault.
These are some of the charges that have been revealed in criminal background checks of physicians by medical boards around the country. Often the doctors in question try to hide their criminal past, but that has become increasingly difficult.
During the last 15 years, concerns over public safety have led to many state medical boards being given authority to investigate as a condition of licensure whether doctors have a criminal history. But how that authority is used varies from state to state.
For the full story:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/04/02/prsa0402.htm
Carolyne Krupa, April 2, 2012
Driving under the influence, tax evasion, fraud, battery and sexual assault.
These are some of the charges that have been revealed in criminal background checks of physicians by medical boards around the country. Often the doctors in question try to hide their criminal past, but that has become increasingly difficult.
During the last 15 years, concerns over public safety have led to many state medical boards being given authority to investigate as a condition of licensure whether doctors have a criminal history. But how that authority is used varies from state to state.
For the full story:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/04/02/prsa0402.htm
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
A NAMSS' Government Relations Update
NAMSS’ President, Connie Riedel; Industry & Government Relations Chair, Nancy Lian; and the Government Relations team are keeping busy this year with various meetings and discussions with industry and government leaders to advance NAMSS’ strategic plan. We’d like to take a moment to tell you about some of our latest initiatives.
Capitol Hill
As you may know, Senator Tom Udall plans to introduce a bill, “Increasing Telehealth and Access to Care through Streamlining Licensing and Credentialing Portability Act.” This legislation tackles both licensing and credentialing inefficiencies by establishing a national licensing body and a credentialing data-exchange system for primary source-verified data.
The bill makes great strides simply by recognizing the current inefficiencies within the licensing and credentialing processes, but taking on both issues in one bill is difficult.
Creating a federal license could, in theory, increase efficiencies for telehealth providers, but the draft bill goes beyond these providers and offers the licensure for all practitioners. There are many complex issues, such as creating a national scope of practice, which would be extremely difficult to establish a consensus among all stakeholders.
We are also concerned with the bill's ambiguity regarding critical issues such as jurisdiction and the ability to sanction providers. While we appreciate that this is not the intent, NAMSS is concerned that these issues could undermine patient safety.
Credentialing, as you know, goes much further than licensure and could benefit from the government evaluating the current process. Assessing the significant resources that the current process requires could help MSPs better focus on ensuring that medical staffs are qualified to provide high quality services. The data-exchange idea contained in the Senator’s draft bill is a good start.
We have discussed this with Senator Udall’s staff over the past several months and will continue to work with his office on these efforts.
HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator
We also recently met with Jodi Daniel, Director of Policy and Planning, as well as other members of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), to discuss our mutual goal to update and modernize the healthcare system. We shared our vision for improving the credentialing process and provided insight into the system’s current inefficiencies. We certainly put credentialing on ONC’s radar and we look forward to continuing to make strides in improving the system.
Capitol Hill
As you may know, Senator Tom Udall plans to introduce a bill, “Increasing Telehealth and Access to Care through Streamlining Licensing and Credentialing Portability Act.” This legislation tackles both licensing and credentialing inefficiencies by establishing a national licensing body and a credentialing data-exchange system for primary source-verified data.
The bill makes great strides simply by recognizing the current inefficiencies within the licensing and credentialing processes, but taking on both issues in one bill is difficult.
Creating a federal license could, in theory, increase efficiencies for telehealth providers, but the draft bill goes beyond these providers and offers the licensure for all practitioners. There are many complex issues, such as creating a national scope of practice, which would be extremely difficult to establish a consensus among all stakeholders.
We are also concerned with the bill's ambiguity regarding critical issues such as jurisdiction and the ability to sanction providers. While we appreciate that this is not the intent, NAMSS is concerned that these issues could undermine patient safety.
Credentialing, as you know, goes much further than licensure and could benefit from the government evaluating the current process. Assessing the significant resources that the current process requires could help MSPs better focus on ensuring that medical staffs are qualified to provide high quality services. The data-exchange idea contained in the Senator’s draft bill is a good start.
We have discussed this with Senator Udall’s staff over the past several months and will continue to work with his office on these efforts.
HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator
We also recently met with Jodi Daniel, Director of Policy and Planning, as well as other members of the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC), to discuss our mutual goal to update and modernize the healthcare system. We shared our vision for improving the credentialing process and provided insight into the system’s current inefficiencies. We certainly put credentialing on ONC’s radar and we look forward to continuing to make strides in improving the system.
Monday, April 9, 2012
amednews.com: Data bank information needs careful interpretation
April 9, 2012.
How transparent should the National Practitioner Data Bank be?
Scenario: How transparent should the National Practitioner Data Bank be?
The National Practitioner Data Bank recently has been through a shutdown and restart. Some of the physician data can lead to mistaken conclusions. Some physicians worry about government reach into their practice matters and the media’s instinct to use any available data for a physician “gotcha” story.
In September 2011, the Dept. of Health and Human Services blocked access to the public use data file of the National Practitioner Data Bank, which contains information on malpractice payments and disciplinary actions of health care professionals. HHS’ action raised debate about whether such information should be kept from the public. Some medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, argue against release of data bank information on grounds of known inaccuracies and likely misinterpretation by the public. Patient advocacy groups, among others, stress that NPDB transparency is essential for advancing safety and quality.
For the rest of the story:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/04/09/prca0409.htm
How transparent should the National Practitioner Data Bank be?
Scenario: How transparent should the National Practitioner Data Bank be?
The National Practitioner Data Bank recently has been through a shutdown and restart. Some of the physician data can lead to mistaken conclusions. Some physicians worry about government reach into their practice matters and the media’s instinct to use any available data for a physician “gotcha” story.
In September 2011, the Dept. of Health and Human Services blocked access to the public use data file of the National Practitioner Data Bank, which contains information on malpractice payments and disciplinary actions of health care professionals. HHS’ action raised debate about whether such information should be kept from the public. Some medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, argue against release of data bank information on grounds of known inaccuracies and likely misinterpretation by the public. Patient advocacy groups, among others, stress that NPDB transparency is essential for advancing safety and quality.
For the rest of the story:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/04/09/prca0409.htm
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
ABMS Establishes Time Limits for Achieving Board Certification A new policy defines a limited period for "Board Eligibility"
February 2012 - For the first time, a new policy of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), effective on January 1, 2012, establishes limits to the time that can elapse between a physician's completion of residency training and achievement of Board Certification.
The policy establishes a window of no fewer than three years and no more than seven years between training and certification. Within that timeframe, the maximum time allowed will depend on the specialty.
Click here for the full press release:
http://www.abms.org/News_and_Events/Media_Newsroom/Releases/release_BoardEligibility_02072012.aspx
The policy establishes a window of no fewer than three years and no more than seven years between training and certification. Within that timeframe, the maximum time allowed will depend on the specialty.
Click here for the full press release:
http://www.abms.org/News_and_Events/Media_Newsroom/Releases/release_BoardEligibility_02072012.aspx
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)