News briefs
MA law requires ED interpreters
Massachusetts hospitals are required to provide interpreter services in all emergency departments to non-English-speaking patients, according to a law that became effective July 1. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) says hospitals must designate a coordinator of interpreter services and notify emergency department (ED) patients of their right to an interpreter and are prohibited from using underage family members as interpreters. MDPH also has developed a Best Practice Guideline for developing interpreter services to assist the state’s hospitals.
MDPH commissioner Howard Koh, MD, said the new law will ensure that accurate and timely information will be gathered in hospital EDs, where clear communication can mean the difference between life and death. The regulations also require the following:
• posting of notices and signs informing ED patients of their right to interpreter services;
• hospitals to perform an annual language needs assessment in their service areas.
ED visits top 100 million
U.S. emergency departments (ED) recorded 103 million visits in 1999, up 14% from 90 million visits in 1992, according to a report by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of hospitals providing emergency care did not increase during the 1990s, meaning existing hospitals cared for an additional 35,000 patients each day, the report points out. The report attributes the increase in ED visits to overall population growth and the increase in the number of seniors.
The most common reasons for a visit to the ED were stomach and abdominal pain, chest pain, and fever. About 17% of ED visits in 1999 were deemed emergent, meaning the patient needed to be seen by a doctor within 15 minutes. Another 30% were classified as urgent, meaning the patient should be seen by a doctor within an hour. The report is available at www.cdc.gov/nchs/.
Reorganized HCFA gets new name
The Department of Health and Human Services agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid is no longer the Health Care Financing Administration. In mid-June, it became the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, who announced the change at a Washington, DC, press conference, also outlined a reorganization of the agency, to be called CMS, with three new centers of service. The Center for Beneficiary Choices will focus on the Medicare+Choice program. The Center for Medicare Management will focus on the traditional fee-for-service program, dealing with providers. The Center for Medicaid and State Operation will focus on such programs as Medicaid, SCHIP, and insurance regulation administered by states. The action was the first in a series of reforms at the agency, Thompson said.
CMS administrator Tom Scully announced a $35 million campaign scheduled for this fall to improve education of seniors about their Medicare and Medicaid benefits and choices.
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