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John B. Garver III, JD, and Jennifer Csik Hutchens, JD, attorneys in the Charlotte, NC, office of the law firm Robinson Brandshaw, offer these tips for healthcare risk managers deciding whether to use the Stark Voluntary Self-Referral Disclosure Protocol (SRDP), and if so, how to then prepare a SRDP submission.
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As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule on implementation of the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) for accountable care organizations (ACOs), others released their notices regarding legal issues related to ACOs.
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The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has issued its Work Plan for 2012, indicating what areas will be of most interest for investigations and enforcement action. Much of the work plan involves a greater focus on the new issues raised by the changes introduced by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)
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The National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ) honored several people in September for their efforts to improve quality and safety in healthcare.
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They come from 45 states, represent 14% of Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, and are the first class of hospitals to be recognized as top performers in the commission's annual report.
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Being accredited by The Joint Commission makes a difference in outcomes for patients with certain diagnoses, according to a study in the October issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine.
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The final rule related to recovery audit contractors (RACs) for Medicaid was released in mid-September (http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-09-16/pdf/2011-23695.pdf), just over three months before it goes into effect. It provides a variety of guidance and opt-outs for states that have many compliance experts scratching their heads.
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Imagine the ongoing dismay of a high school math teacher who year in and year out has to teach students how to do the problems the right way, and year in and year out sees the same mistakes over and over again.
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Grena Porto, a principal consultant with QRS Healthcare Consulting in Delaware, has made a career out of advocating for patient safety and improved quality. It should not have surprised some people, then, when she posted on a patient listserv all the reasons why she believes peer review doesn't work and detailed a number of cases to illustrate why.
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One survey every three years is trying enough. But for Novant Health's Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC, that would have seemed like a vacation. Between June and August of this year, the hospital had a Joint Commission survey, a CMS survey, and the regular biannual visit from the local health department.
