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Medigram - June 19, 2008


TOP STORY

Secretary Leavitt announces selection of Wisconsin Medical Society, MetaStar and WCHQ as 1 of 12 sites for major EHR Demonstration

Wisconsin Medical Society CEO Susan Turney, MD, welcomed Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to Society headquarters last Friday to announce that a collaboration of key Wisconsin health care stakeholders has been selected to take part in a national Medicare demonstration project.

The five-year, first-of-its kind project provides core incentive payments to primary care physicians for reporting 26 clinical quality measures related to diabetes mellitus, heart failure, coronary artery disease, and the provision of preventive care services such as immunizations and cancer screenings, for Medicare beneficiaries. Additional bonus payments will be based on how well the physicians use certified electronic health records (EHR) to improve the quality of patient care at the local level.

Click here to read a Society press release about the award presentation last Friday.

Click here to read a press release issued by the Department of Health and Human Services about the EHR Demonstration.

Click here to read Madison media coverage about the award.

If you have questions about the EHR Demonstration, contact Cindy Helstad, PhD, RN, the Society’s Director of Research.

NEWS BRIEFS

Reminder: First of three meetings about lawsuit to restore IPFCF fund

A special meeting to update members and others about the Society’s lawsuit to restore the $200 million raided from the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund is being held at the Wausau Country Club Tuesday, June 24 at 6 p.m.

The agenda will include:
  • Introduction
  • Video presentation about the suit
  • Legal update
  • Key messages to assist you in talking to your patients, community members and local media
  • Finances
  • Call to action
  • Q&A
The event begins with a 30-minute social featuring hors d'oeuvres and a cash bar, followed by the presentation at 6:30 p.m. Please RSVP to Mary Oleson by June 23, 2008.

This meeting is the first of three being scheduled across the state this summer. Please make every effort to participate as we work together to restore to the Fund the money that rightfully belongs to injured patients and their families. If you cannot attend this meeting, watch your e-mail for future dates and locations. Click here for more information.


Society seeks physician nominees for BadgerCare Plus Clinical Advisory Committee

The Department of Health and Family Services’ Division of Health Care Access and Accountability (DHCAA) is creating a Clinical Advisory Committee on Health and Emerging Technology (CACHET) that will advise the Department Secretary and Medicaid Director on evidence-based benefit design recommendations. DHCAA is looking for members on the CACHET who are practicing physicians, medical professionals engaged in academic research on evidence-based medicine, medical directors of HMOs, clinical nurses, and quality assurance specialists, among others.

The CACHET will make recommendations on the following topics:
  • Core benefit design and modifications for the BadgerCare Plus Childless Adults expansion initiative based on utilization review by creating a prioritized list of services for childless adults that will reflect changes in medicine and medical technology and budgetary constraints;
  • Identification of Wisconsin centers of excellence for particular medical procedures;
  • Identification of services that should and should not be covered based on new and emerging technologies and procedures using evidence-based medicine for the entire BadgerCare Plus population; and
  • Methodologies for tiering HMOs based on quality indicators.
CACHET members will meet in person for a full day, semi-annually. The first meeting will be held in mid-September. If you are interested in being nominated for the committee, please e-mail a biosketch or resume to Susan Wiegmann, PhD, by Monday, June 23.


2009 National Patient Saftey Goals announced

The Joint Commission this week announced the 2009 National Patient Safety Goals and related requirements for each of its accreditation programs and its Disease-Specific Care Certification Program. The National Patient Safety Goals promote specific improvements in patient safety by providing health care organizations with proven solutions to persistent patient safety problems. These goals apply to the more than 15,000 Joint Commission-accredited and -certified health care organizations and programs.

Major changes for 2009 include three new hospital and critical access hospital requirements related to preventing deadly health care-associated infections due to multiple drug-resistant organisms (MDROs), central line-associated bloodstream infections and surgical site infections. These additions build on an existing goal to reduce the risk of health care-associated infections and recognize that patients continue to acquire preventable infections at an alarming rate within hospitals. The new requirements related to central line-associated bloodstream infections also will take effect for ambulatory care facilities and office-based surgery practices, home care organizations and long term care organizations. In addition, prevention of surgical site infections will be a new requirement for ambulatory care facilities and office-based surgery practices. These new infection-related requirements have a one-year phase-in period that includes defined milestones, with full implementation expected by January 1, 2010.

For more information, click here.


Give a ‘country’ doc a well-deserved break

Nominations are now being accepted for 2008 Country Doctor of the Year. The award recognizes an outstanding physician who practices in a rural community.

“Our real intent is to honor an outstanding country doctor and to shine a light on the great work that rural physicians continue to do, even as their numbers dwindle,” says Joe Caldwell, president of Staff Care, Inc., which has sponsored the award for the past 16 years.

The winner will receive a fill-in physician for two weeks, so he or she can enjoy some time off, something quite difficult for rural doctors.

Eligible physicians are those who practice in communities with a population of 20,000 or less and are engaged in primary care practices, including family medicine, internal medicine, general medicine and pediatrics. To nominate a rural doctor, visit www.countrydoctoraward.com or call 800.685.2272. The deadline is September 15.

QUALITY & EFFICIENCY

For the next several weeks, Medigram will feature a series of articles about the Wisconsin Health Information Organization (WHIO) and its role in health care transparency efforts underway in Wisconsin. In last week’s installment: WHIO Q&A: Who, what and why?” Society CEO Susan Turney, MD, addressed several key questions about WHIO. This week, Society member Tim Bartholow, MD, provides more insight on WHIO’s Physician Cabinet. Click here to read more.

CAPTIOL INSIDER

Medicare cut still looms, Congress considering options

Congress continues to work on a legislative solution to prevent a looming 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians. On June 6, U.S. Senate Finance chair Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced S 3101, which includes continuation of current payment rates through the end of the year and a 1.1 percent increase for 2009. On June 12 the Senate failed to pass a cloture motion that would end debate on the bill and allow a vote for passage (the vote was 54-39, with 60 votes needed).

Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), ranking minority member of Senate Finance, on June 11 announced his intention to introduce his own Medicare omnibus bill, which would include a reimbursement fix similar to that in S 3101. It appears that the Senate will need to find a compromise in order for a fix to take effect before the July 1 deadline.

Society members are encouraged to contact Wisconsin Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold and ask their support in preventing the 10.6 percent cut. You can contact them through the American Medical Association’s Action site or by calling the AMA hotline at 800.833.6354.

For more information, contact Mark Grapentine.


MEB begins to address license time issue

The state’s Medical Examining Board (MEB) has started to examine its licensing requirements with an eye on shortening the time it takes to acquire a Wisconsin medical license. These efforts, spurred by concerns the Society and other organizations raised over the current length of time for new applications, began in earnest at the MEB’s monthly meeting on June 18. (Click here to view a previous story about this issue in the June 6 Medigram.)

While the MEB asked staff from the Department of Regulation and Licensing to further research the potential effects of certain changes (such as combining hospital privilege and employment verification forms, for example), the Board did make one immediate change: extending the time period from six months to one year for the department's acceptance of various application items. Many physicians and organizations have expressed frustration over the previous six month limitation. The Board said it would also look at potentially modifying reporting requirements for post-graduate training, medical liability history and items used to verify medical school graduation.

For more information, contact Mark Grapentine.


November 2008 elections: Wisconsin poll shows Obama +9

Most state legislative races won’t start in earnest until the July 4 parades, but the presidential race is in full swing—especially in Wisconsin, considered one of the key "swing states" for November. A recent Survey USA poll of 538 likely Wisconsin voters shows presumptive Democratic nominee Barack Obama leading Republican counterpart John McCain by a 52-43 margin. Polls this early in an election season don't necessarily hold throughout the upcoming months, but may provide some insight. You can read more about the poll and some of the demographic breakdowns here.

Wisconsin's swing state status also means that Wisconsin TV audiences are seeing some of the first Obama vs. McCain election ads of the season. See a McCain effort to separate himself from President Bush on the environment here. Independent liberal group MoveOn.org is airing its own ad, an anti-McCain message tied to the Iraq war. And just today, the Obama campaign debuted this one-minute general biography piece.

For more information about how you can help strengthen the voice of physicians in the state and U.S. Capitols, contact Mark Grapentine, Jeremy Levin or Beth Alvin.

YOUR PRACTICE. YOUR FUTURE.

Court of Appeals upholds trial court’s rejection of informed consent claim

In the case of Richard Bubb v. William Brusky, MD (et al), the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision announced June 11, ruled against a patient who appealed the trial court’s decision not to allow the jury to decide whether the physicians in the case failed to obtain adequate informed consent.

Click here to read more about the decision.

FOUNDATION FOCUS

Niesen chosen as first recipient of the Robert ‘Jason’ Gore Scholarship


Matt Niesen pictured with daughter Audun and son Hayes.

Chivalry. Honor. Loyalty. Those are the values Jason Gore lived and those are the qualities the Foundation’s Scholarship Committee considered when selecting Matthew Niesen as the first recipient of the Robert “Jason” Gore Scholarship.

Robert Gore—known by most as Jason—was only 23 when he was killed in Iraq on April 21, 2005. Jason shared a very deep connection and sense of adventure with his grandfather, Society member Donald Gore, MD. Doctor Gore and his wife, Jacqueline, established the endowed scholarship within the Foundation to advance their grandson’s legacy as a compassionate individual with a zest for life that was tempered by his selflessness, commitment to others and a wonderful sense of humor. Jason’s hope was to study physics or biomedicine.

“The Foundation’s Scholarship Committee referred to information provided by Dr. and Mrs. Gore as they reviewed the many applicants for this scholarship. Respecting the intent of Dr. and Mrs. Gore to honor Jason’s spirit by assisting a medical student who exemplifies the values Jason lived was our priority,” said Scholarship Program Coordinator Eileen Wilson.

Niesen will be entering his fourth year at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. As an undergraduate student, he realized a lifelong dream by earning a spot on the Badger Football team as a walk-on. After a year he left the team to concentrate on academics as an avenue to another dream—to become a physician and devote his life to caring for others. He has excelled academically and credits his work ethic to the example set by his mother—a single parent—and the sacrifices she made to raise four children, all of whom graduated from college.

Now married with two children, Niesen expressed his gratitude for the $5,000 scholarship in honor of Jason. “After reading about Jason, I realize how fortunate I am to be seen as someone who exemplifies some of the values that he lived by. I will do my very best to honor him by continuing to live by the same values. Namely, I will devote my life to caring for people with the same compassion and love that he showed for others and continue my own personal quest for excellence. And, as it sounds like Jason would have wanted it, I will be sure to have fun while I’m doing it.”

QUALITY CORNER

New AHRQ Report: Identifying, Categorizing, and Evaluating Health Care Efficiency Measures

Health care efficiency measurement has lagged behind the measurement of health care quality. Providers, payers, purchasers, consumers, and regulators all could benefit from more information on value for money in health care. Purchasers, particularly large employers, have demanded that health plans incorporate economic profiling into their products and information packages. Despite the importance, there has not been a systematic and rigorous process in place to develop and improve efficiency measurement as there has been for other domains of performance. Recognizing the importance of improving efficiency measurement, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has sponsored this systematic review and analysis of available measures. To read the report, click here.

FAQ

Question:
What is a life settlement?

Answer:
A life settlement is a financial transaction in which a policy owner possessing an unneeded or unwanted life insurance policy sells the policy to a third-party purchaser (ie, an investment company). These transactions can result in cash payments that are higher than the cash surrender value of the policy. Life settlements are a sophisticated wealth management tool in which to participate if a policy owner has out-lived family or beneficiaries, premiums are no longer affordable, the owner is not interested in paying premiums, estate size or tax policy has changed, or the insurance policy was originally acquired to fund a buy-sell agreement and now the company has been sold or dissolved.

To find out if a life settlement is right for you, contact a Wisconsin Medical Society Insurance & Financial Services’ agent at 866.442.3810.

Check with your plan administrator or your Wisconsin Medical Society Insurance & Financial Services agent to learn more about your particular plan, or use the on-line contact form.