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Medigram - March 19, 2009


NEWS BRIEFS

Deadline nears for IHI challenge

April 1. That’s the date by which the Institute for Healthcare Improvement has challenged every U.S. hospital to test the Surgical Safety Checklist in at least one operating room on one day. Developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Checklist is a tool that has been shown to significantly reduce operating room mortality and harm. IHI’s Wisconsin Node has developed this toolkit to help Wisconsin hospitals meet the challenge. Additionally, this interactive map on IHI’s Web site shows hospitals that have tested the Checklist or plan to.

To learn more about the challenge and how to get involved, contact Judy Frisch, Node Coordinator, MetaStar, at 800.362.2320 or jfrisch@metastar.com.


Health care roundtable at YPS Annual Meeting open to all

All Wisconsin Medical Society members are invited to join the Society’s Young Physicians Section (YPS) for a roundtable discussion featuring key leglislators. So far, Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Waunakee) has confirmed his attendance. Tim Bartholow, MD, Senior Vice President of Member Services, Policy Planning and Physician Professional Development for the Society will also participate. This roundtable is part of the YPS Annual Meeting being held at the Monona Terrace in Madison on April 17 at 3:30 p.m.

Sen. Erpenbach is Chair of the Committee on Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief and Revenue and was the lead author of the past Healthy Wisconsin Bill. Doctor Bartholow was a physician in Sauk City, Wis. until November, when he joined Society staff with the goal of improving the health care system in our state.


Helping physicians help patients quit smoking

Research has shown that raising cigarette taxes helps many people cut back on smoking. It’s also shown that 70 percent of smokers see a physician on an annual basis. Put two and two together, and it’s clear that physicians can have an impact on patients’ smoking-cessation efforts.

When the federal cigarette tax increases 62 cents on April 1, lots of patients may be seeking help to kick the habit. The Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line (1-800-QUIT-NOW) is one resource patients who smoke may find helpful if they are trying to curb their tobacco use.

Meanwhile, the 2008 U.S. Public Health Service Clinical Practice Guideline: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence (click here to view the Guideline and related materials) is a resource designed to help physicians assist patients with smoking-cessation efforts. Medscape offers a free one-hour continuing medical education (CME) program based on recommendations from this Guideline. To access this program, click here.

For more information on smoking-cessation resources for patients and physicians, contact Lezli Redmond, assistant director for intervention programs at the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, at 608.265.4143 or lr3@ctri.medicine.wisc.edu.


Photos needed for IPFCF’s 2010 Patient Safety Calendar

Each year, more than 14,000 participants in the State of Wisconsin Injured Patients & Families Compensation Fund (Fund) receive the Fund’s Patient Safety Calendar, a resource stocked with essential dates, patient-safety tips and photos from health care events around Wisconsin.

For the 2010 calendar, the Fund’s Risk Management and Patient Safety committees need digital photos of Wisconsin health care facilities, providers and staff participating in events, providing therapy and interacting with patients. Fourteen photos that represent the theme “Healthy You” will be selected to complement monthly patient-safety tips related to art, dance, music and animal-assisted therapies, as well as physical and occupational therapy.

Photos should be e-mailed to Denise Fitzpatrick at denise.m.fitzpatrick@marsh.com no later than July 17. The images must be at least 5.1 megapixels and cropped to fit in an 8-by-10-inch space. For each photo submitted, please include a caption identifying the location of the shot, plus the date, event and name of the organization hosting the event.


‘Principles’ help strengthen physician-hospital relationship

The American Medical Association (AMA)-Organized Medical Staff Section (OMSS) developed principles to improve the working relationship between physicians and hospitals and ultimately foster better patient care and improve patient safety. A printable version of the section's principles for strengthening the physician-hospital relationship is available here.

You can send an e-mail to order a poster of the principles for your medical staff lounge.

CAPITOL INSIDER

Wasserman appointed to MEB

Former State Assembly Representative and Society member Sheldon Wasserman, MD, is the newest member of the Medical Examining Board (MEB), as Governor Jim Doyle nominated the longtime legislator to the MEB earlier this month. The Senate Health Committee and then the full Senate will act upon Dr. Wasserman's nomination soon; in the meantime, he attended his first meeting Wednesday.

At its meeting, the MEB:
  • acted favorably on a Society-supported proposal to update administrative rules related to physician assistant prescribing procedures. The rule-change proposal is the culmination of years of collaboration between the Society and the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants.
  • approved exploring the possibility of creating an endorsement mechanism for easier cross-border medical licensing with Minnesota. The Society’s Council on Legislation recently reviewed the proposal, which came from past president Mark Belknap, MD. While the Council was generally positive, some aspects of the plan need further exploration, including potential effects on the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund. The Council’s concerns were shared with the MEB, and will be part of further discussions.
For more information, contact Mark Grapentine, JD.


Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance begins budget work

The Wisconsin Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance (JCF) this week started work on Governor Jim Doyle’s $64.6 billion biennial budget as agency secretaries testified in support of the proposal. It is the first opportunity for the 16-member committee to present questions on the spending bill; the hearings extended into the evening hours.

The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau has released its 706-page summary of the budget proposal, which is officially titled 2009 Assembly Bill 75. Next week JCF begins its “road show,” giving members of the public the opportunity to speak on issues contained in the budget. Next week’s meetings are in Sparta, West Allis and Eau Claire, with a special listening session scheduled for March 28 in Ashland. The week of March 30 will take the committee to Racine, Appleton and Cambridge.

For more information, contact Mark Grapentine, JD.

FOUNDATION FOCUS

2009 summer fellowships announced

Thanks to the support of the Foundation’s IV League members, the Foundation was able to award six summer fellowships for 2009. These fellowships provide medical students the opportunity to increase their knowledge of how community organizations and/or government work with the medical profession to address health issues in Wisconsin.

In fact, Kyle Jones, a student at the Medical College of Wisconsin, recently published the results of his work as a 2006 summer fellowship recipient. Titled “The Potential Impact of Medicaid Reform on the Health Care–Seeking Behavior of Medicaid-Covered Children: A Qualitative Analysis of Parental Perspectives,” Jones’s article appears in the March issue of the Journal of the National Medical Association. To read the article, click here.

It is only through the generous support of the following IV League members that these fellowships were possible this year: Dr. Timothy and Janice Bartholow; Drs. Bryan and Yolanda Becker; Dr. Steven and Susan Bergin; Clarence Chou, MD; Dr. Richard and Wendy Dart; Drs. Noel and Lakshmi Deep; Dr. Robert and Signe Durnin; Drs. David Falk and JoAnne Robbins; Dr. Erik and Margy Gundersen; Dr. Charles and Jean Holmburg; Dr. Norm and Nancy Jensen; Drs. George Lange and Marlene Melzer-Lange; Dr. Bradley and Susan Manning; Sandra Osborn, MD; Thomas Pagedas, MD; Dr. Gregory and Sandra Shove; Kenneth Simons, MD; David Toivonen, MD; Dr. Susan and Peter Turney; Sridhar V. Vasudevan, MD; and Drs. Jeffrey and Valerie Zapolsky.

For more information, or to join the IV League, contact Melissa Breen.


2009 Fundraising Event and Silent Auction April 16

There is still time to register! Click here for details and the registration form.





QUALITY CORNER

Safe Practices for Better Healthcare—2009 Update: A Consensus Report

A new National Quality Forum (NQF) report, Safe Practices for Better Healthcare—2009 Update, presents 34 practices that have been demonstrated to be effective in reducing the occurrence of adverse healthcare events. This revised set of NQF-endorsed safe practices has been updated with current evidence and expanded implementation approaches, and it provides additional measures for assessing the implementation of the practices. To read the report, click here.

FAQ

Question:
What is the Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund (Fund)?

Answer:
The Fund was created in 1975 for the purpose of paying the portion of medical malpractice claims that exceed the limits of primary medical liability insurance coverage. Wisconsin law requires physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals to have medical liability insurance. Most health care professionals purchase medical liability policies from private insurance carriers that pay claims up to $1,000,000 for each claim arising from an occurrence in a year or $3,000,000 for all claims arising from all occurrences in a year.

For more information about the Fund, click here. To learn about the Society's lawsuit to restore the $200 million taken by the State in 2007, click here.