News Briefs
News Briefs
States gain billions of dollars from new DSH rule
Several states will either retain existing or receive additional Medicare disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments — estimated to be $2.14 billion between fiscal years 2001 and 2005 — because of a technical change in the government’s DSH calculations, according to a rule issued by the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) in Baltimore.
The change affects New York, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont, says AHA News. HCFA issued the rule to clear up confusion among fiscal intermediaries, who may or may not have paid hospitals for including certain types of patient days in their DSH calculations. This rule affects DSH payments prospectively; HCFA previously cleared up the issue for past cost reports.
JCAHO publishes guide to sentinel events
Providers wondering how to handle sentinel events can now refer to a guide published by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.
"What Every Hospital Should Know About Sentinel Events" provides statistics on the most prevalent adverse events in health care, including where these events tend to occur and who is usually affected, to assist health care leaders in identifying high-risk activities, and populations before a sentinel event occurs.
Chapters address the causes of sentinel events, strategies for prevention, the development of a root cause analysis and an action plan, ethical considerations, and legal issues. In the guide, providers can also find:
• comparisons between Joint Commission data on sentinel events and other sources of data regarding adverse medical events;
• information regarding liability and the Joint Commission’s Sentinel Event Policy;
• a detailed explanation of the Sentinel Event Policy and the alternative procedures to filing a root cause analysis.
For more information on the guide, call the Joint Commission’s Customer Service Center at (630) 792-5800.
Implementing compliance program top concern
Getting a compliance program implemented was the top concern mentioned in a survey of corporate compliance officers. Healthcare Management Advisors in Alpharetta, GA, received 400 responses to the question, "What is the most pressing compliance problem facing your organization?"
Here are the other problems cited by the compliance officers:
• getting education programs for staff (24.6%);
• responding to technical questions (13.2%);
• deciding about possible self-disclosure (11.7%);
• starting and managing a hotline (8.0%).
AHRQ seeks best practices for patient safety
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in Rockville, MD, announced that the agency is seeking investigators to test the effectiveness of the transfer and application of "best practices" to improve patient safety by reducing preventable medical errors.
AHRQ will award up to $2 million in fiscal year 2000 to support four to six projects under this request for applications (RFA) titled "Systems-related Best Practices to Improve Patient Safety." Letters of intent are due by March 10, 2000, and applications are due by April 27, 2000. Public and private for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including universities, clinics, state and local government units, nonprofit firms, and nonprofit foundations may submit applications.
Projects funded under the RFA should use rigorous research methods to test the transfer and application of best practices that reduce medical errors, and determine tangible and measurable improvements in patient safety across a variety of settings that result from their use.
Partnerships speed up process
To speed the translation of these best practices into safer patient care in as many health care settings as possible, applicants are encouraged to form partnerships or consortia that provide a wide range of multidisciplinary, technical expertise. These partnerships can include academic, public, and private health care organizations that offer a laboratory in which to evaluate error reduction and improved patient safety strategies.
To obtain a copy of the RFA, see "Systems-related Best Practices to Improve Patient Safety" on AHRQ’s Web site http://www.ahrq.gov/fund. The RFA and application forms are available from the AHRQ Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 8547, Silver Spring, MD 20907. Telephone: (800) 358-9295. Faxed copies are available from AHRQ Instant Fax by calling (301) 594-2800 from a fax machine with a telephone handset.
CCS-P certification exam offered twice in 2000
The American Health Information Manage-ment Association (AHIMA) in Chicago will be offering the Certified Coding Specialist — Physician-based (CCS-P) certification exam twice this year.
The exam recognizes physician-based clinical coders who pass a mastery-level exam measuring their competence in CPT, ICD-9-CM, and HCPCS Level II coding systems. Exam dates are June 10 (early application deadline is April 21; late application deadline is May 5) and Sept. 16 — early application deadline is July 21; late application deadline is Aug. 11.
For more Information, contact AHIMA at (312) 233-1160 and request the CCS-P certification guide, or visit the association’s Web site at http://www.ahima.org and follow links to "certification."
CSI announces seminar schedule for 2000
The Computer Security Institute (CSI) Educational Resource Center (ERC) in San Francisco has announced the publication of its Information Security Seminars 2000 schedule. The institute has scheduled more than 60 two-day seminars for 2000, in cities across United States and Canada.
Topics include Internet security, encryption, secure Web commerce, PKI, Windows 2000, Windows NT, firewalls, advanced network security, intrusion management, forensic investigation, awareness, risk analysis, intro to computer security and more.
The CSI ERC has added new classes and new instructors to focus on the challenges and threats brought about by the trends toward e-commerce, increased network intrusions, and the need for forensic investigations, as well as the release of Windows 2000.
To receive a copy of the CSI Information Security Seminars 2000 catalog with class descriptions, contact CSI at (415) 905-2626, e-mail at [email protected], or go to the Web site http:// www.gocsi.com.
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