ED Management – November 1, 2007
November 1, 2007
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APC panel: Don't finalize plan for observation packaging
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Advisory Panel on ambulatory payment classification (APC) groups has recommended that CMS not finalize the proposal to implement observation packaging for 2008, as CMS had originally proposed. -
Despite longer wait times, satisfaction still improves
In findings that at first glance may seem puzzling, the 2007 ED Pulse Report patient satisfaction survey by Press Ganey Associates indicated that while ED wait times continue to increase, so does patient satisfaction. -
Decrease liability risks of sedation in your ED
Increasingly, the anesthesia department is directing guidelines and training requirements for procedural sedation in hospitals, including the ED. -
Major liability risk with procedural sedation
There are two major liability risks associated with training requirements for procedural sedation: Failing to adhere to your organization's criteria, or having criteria inconsistent with accepted medical practice. -
OIG advisory opinion clarifies some call issues
The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) has responded to a request for an advisory opinion on the on-call coverage and uncompensated care arrangement established by an unnamed not-for-profit medical center. -
Opinion 'plays into hands' of on-call specialists
The advisory opinion recently issue by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Inspector General (OIG) in response to a hospital with an existing on-call coverage payment arrangement "has played into the hands of on-call specialists," ... -
Save time with 'admission folder'
Searching for various forms needed for patients being admitted from the ED was a constant frustration for nurses at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. -
ED Accreditation Update: Physicians, medical staff may report safety concerns without fear of disciplinary action
In a Sept. 5, 2007, revision of its accreditation participation requirement for concerns about hospital safety and quality of care, The Joint Commission specifically stated that physicians and medical staff members who have such concerns "may report those concerns with the understanding that retaliatory disciplinary action is prohibited." -
ED Accreditation Update: SBAR techniques help EDs comply with handoff regs
A communication strategy using the SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation) template is being implemented by EDs to improve handoffs to other hospital departments. -
ED Accreditation Update: SHEA assails proposed infection control standards
The Joint Commission has proposed standards revisions that could weaken infection control programs "significantly at a time when health care-associated infections (HAIs) are receiving increasing attention by legislators, payers, and consumers," ... -
2007 Salary Survey Results: ED manager salary 'dam' begins to break, as hospitals respond to shortages
In last year's report on the 2006 ED Management Salary Survey, we noted that while there was a shortage of ED nurses and physicians, compensation for ED directors and managers had failed to reflect that shortage.