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Medigram - May 28, 2009


NEWS BRIEFS

Council on Health Care Access to meet June 3

Concerned about the issue of health care access? Take part in the Wisconsin Medical Society’s Council on Health Care Access, which will meet Wednesday, June 3.

Society members may access the agenda and draft meeting minutes in the members-only section of the Society Web site by clicking here. Member login is required, so if you do not remember your login information, click here for instructions. If you have questions, please contact Merry Earll.


Celebrate National Time Out Day June 17

National Time Out Day (NTOD) is a yearly event that emphasizes how important it is for the entire surgical team to pause and communicate as a group to confirm key information about the patient and the procedure before all invasive procedures. Taking this simple step can prevent errors from happening, protecting both patients and physicians.

This year’s event, which is June 17, includes a video contest sponsored by the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN). For more information on the contest, click here. AORN has also developed a poster to remind health care professionals that every day is Time Out Day. The poster may be downloaded here or ordered by calling 800.755.2676, ext. 1.

NTOD is a collaborative effort by AORN, The Joint Commission, the American Nurses Association, the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgical Facilities and the Council on Surgical and Perioperative Safety. For more information on Time Out Day, click here or contact Gayle Davis.


Build a culture of safety with June 18 webinar

Teamwork is the key to building a culture of safety at your practice. Learn more at a June 18 webinar sponsored by the Wisconsin Injured Patients and Families Compensation Fund (Fund). The presentation will be geared toward physicians, nurses, practice managers and other staff responsible for building a safe and caring environment for patients. Topics to be covered include:
  • how to assess the culture and data of your practice
  • strategies for implementing a just culture
  • ways to enhance teamwork and communication, including tips on minimizing and managing disruptive behavior.
Presenters will include Denise Fitzpatrick, Kris Oliveira and Monica Santoro, senior consultants with Marsh Risk Consulting.

For more information on this presentation, call 800.606.4193. Registration must be completed by June 5. To register, click here.


Don’t miss June 23 CMS conference call about ICD-10-CM/PCS

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will hold a conference call from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. June 23 to introduce physician specialty group representatives to ICD-10-CM/PCS. The call will also include implementation tips.

The call is designed to help your practice by:
  • describing what ICD-10 implementation will mean for physicians’ offices.
  • providing guidance on how ICD-10 implementation may be approached in a manageable way.
  • dispelling some common myths about implementation of the new system.
  • outlining coding resources from CMS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Academy of Professional Coders, the American Hospital Association and the American Health Information Management Association.
To reserve a phone line for this call, you must register by 11:30 a.m. on June 22. Click here to register. A PowerPoint document to accompany the call is available here. Please note that this call is open only to physician specialty group representatives and their appropriate committee members.


Wisconsin Poison Center faces significant funding cuts

The Wisconsin Poison Center (WPC), the only center in the state that provides poison and toxicology consultation, completes more than 10,000 consults for Wisconsin health care facilities each year, decreasing the length of hospital stays by an average of one to three days. However, the center’s future may be jeopardized if its funding is cut in the upcoming weeks, according to WPC Medical Director David Gummin, MD.

In January, Gov. Doyle’s administration withdrew nearly 50 percent of the funding promised to WPC through a 2008-2009 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). The governor’s budget proposal for the upcoming biennium would preserve this reduced level of funding for the long term, and the Joint Finance Committee approved this reduction just a few days ago.

Doctor Gummin, a Society member, encourages concerned physicians to contact their legislators and ask them to reinstate poison center funding to $425,000 per year, as authorized in the last biennium. To locate your legislator, click here.

NEWSMAKERS

Schwartz receives MCW’s Randle E. Pollard Award

The faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Department of Urology have awarded Society member and 2009 MCW graduate Ian Schwartz, MD, the Randle E. Pollard Endowed Prize in Urology.

Doctor Pollard, a Milwaukee urologist and 1958 graduate of the Marquette University Medical School, which transformed into MCW in the late ’60s, established the prize to recognize a fourth-year medical student with an interest and aptitude in urology.

Doctor Schwartz, a native of Osseo, Wis., will complete preliminary surgical and urologic residencies in Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota.

F.Y.I. FOR YOUR INSURANCE

What types of insurance are needed to open a medical practice?


When opening a new medical practice, there are many things that a physician should consider before seeing patients—in particular, insurance coverage.

An insurance agent with experience in the health care industry is an essential part of the team of professionals that should be assembled to launch a new practice. It’s wise to contact an agent at least seven to eight months prior to opening a practice. Types of insurance coverage that will be needed include:
  • medical professional liability insurance for all practicing health care professionals as well as the business.
  • business owners and business continuation insurance.
  • umbrella coverage.
  • workers compensation coverage.
  • employee benefit coverage such as health, dental, life and disability.
  • employee practices liability insurance coverage.
  • personal coverage: health, life, disability, auto and homeowners.
Wisconsin Medical Society Insurance & Financial Services, Inc. is able to help whether you’re setting up a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation. We can tailor the needed insurance coverage into a package that fits any entity type.

For more information, call 866.442.3810, e-mail insurance@wismed.org or use our on-line contact form.

QUALITY CORNER

New policy report available: Coverage When It Counts

The Georgetown University Health Policy Institute has released a new report—Coverage When It Counts: What Does Health Insurance In Massachusetts Cover And How Can Consumers Know?—that explores how people can determine if health insurance options provide adequate coverage for their needs. The report also details the complex challenges consumers face when making choices about which health insurance plan to purchase.

Using Massachusetts as an example, the report’s authors suggest a new method for evaluating health insurance plans and make specific recommendations for states that are working to increase transparency in health insurance pricing. Specifically, they recommend the development of standardized health plan comparison tools—patterned on the FDA nutrition label, but for health insurance—that could help consumers understand the types of medical events for which health insurance may be needed and the relative levels of protection provided under different policies.

To read the full report, click here.

FAQ

Question:
What is AHRQ?

Answer:
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is the health services research arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), complementing the biomedical research mission of its sister agency, the National Institutes of Health. AHRQ is a home to research centers that specialize in major areas of health care research such as quality improvement and patient safety, outcomes and effectiveness of care, clinical practice and technology assessment, and health care organization and delivery systems. It is also a major source of funding and technical assistance for health services research and research training at leading U.S. universities and other institutions, as well as a science partner, working with the public and private sectors to build the knowledge base for what works—and what does not work—in health and health care and to translate this knowledge into everyday practice and policymaking.