Minnesota Hospital Association

Newsroom

July 11, 2016

MHA Newsline: July 11, 2016

In this issue 

Sherrie Eischens, RN, honored with MHA Good Catch for Patient Safety Award

The Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA) in May honored innovative programs and outstanding leaders in health care at its 32nd annual awards ceremony.   

Seventeen awards were given for extraordinary achievement in categories ranging from advocacy on behalf of hospitals and volunteerism to innovation and improvement in patient care and patient safety.   

Sherrie Eischens, RN, of CHI St. Joseph’s Health in Park Rapids received the MHA Good Catch for Patient Safety Award, which recognizes a hospital professional who speaks up to prevent potential harm to patients.   

Eischens’ attention to detail and willingness to speak up prevented a patient from harm. An elderly patient was admitted to the Ambulatory Care Unit with orders from a local clinic for a bronchoscopy and biopsy of a right lung mass. When admitting the patient and confirming the procedure to be performed prior to assisting with obtaining the informed consent, the patient stated that he thought he was having a left lung mass biopsy.   

Eischens stopped the admission process and consulted with the surgeon, who confirmed the location of the mass in the left lung by reviewing the scans. The patient was correct and went on to receive the correct procedure. Eischens used one of St. Joseph’s recommended error prevention techniques – "STOP AND RESOLVE" whenever there is a question about a physician order – to keep the patient safe.   

Additional award winners will be profiled in upcoming issues of Newsline. To learn more about the award winners, visit the MHA websitereturn to top   

Honoring Choices advance planning partnership with hospitals continues

In 2015, the Minnesota Legislature made a one-time appropriation of funds to Honoring Choices Minnesota, a not-for-profit public health initiative of the Twin Cities Medical Society, to identify and collaborate with health care sites and communities in greater Minnesota in developing robust advance care planning (ACP) programs. 

MHA distributed a letter of introduction to member hospitals around the state explaining the program and inviting interested sites to contact Honoring Choices. Staff from MHA and Honoring Choices performed sites visits to discuss the model and encourage health systems and communities to participate.   

Nine communities reached out to Honoring Choices to learn more and six projects, encompassing eight communities, are underway in the following communities: 

  • Faribault and Owatonna (joint project) 
  • Staples 
  • Ely 
  • Luverne 
  • Aitkin and Crosby (joint project) 
  • St. Luke’s Hospital, Duluth 

Participating communities are able to address the critical need for advance care planning while promoting awareness among community members. The assistance of Honoring Choices enables development of an ACP process based on best practices and proven experience by engaging diverse stakeholders in the community along with the local health system.   

“I’m excited to see the enthusiastic support that Honoring Choices has received in communities,” said Dr. Rahul Koranne, chief medical officer, MHA. “Implementing Honoring Choices as a standard across Minnesota is a significant step as we strive to enable every adult Minnesotan to develop an advance care plan that is easily accessible for caregivers.”   

Honoring Choices is hosting its seventh annual Sharing the Experience Conference on July 21 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Ramada Plaza Conference Center, 1330 Industrial Blvd. NE, Minneapolis. As the keynote speaker, Koranne will share some of his experiences from across the health care continuum and reflect on why health organizations across Minnesota should work to collaborate on ACP in service of their local communities.   

Learn more and register onlinereturn to top   

Twin Cities Medical Society to host July 26 educational forum on Zika virus

The Twin Cities Medical Society will host “Summer of Zika,” a free educational forum, on July 26 from 6-8 p.m. at the University of Minnesota, Moos Tower, Room 2-620, 515 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455.   

After the session, participants will be able to: 

  • Describe the clinical manifestations of Zika virus infection: typical illness, fetal damage, Guillain-Barré syndrome 
  • Define mosquito vectors and vector control 
  • Counsel travelers to Zika transmission areas and persons living in endemic areas 

Forum sponsors include MHA and MHA members HealthEast Care System, HealthPartners, Allina Health, Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Hennepin County Medical Center, North Memorial Health Care and Maple Grove Hospital.   

Learn more and register online. With questions, contact Emily Larsen, marketing and communications coordinator, Twin Cities Medical Society, 612-623-2885. return to top   

New Medical Assistance cost-based payment methodology for Critical Access Hospitals gets underway

In the 2015 legislative session, MHA successfully spearheaded the effort to add new funding ($5.1 million for 2016-17 and $6.2 million for 2018-19) for increased Medical Assistance payment rates for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). This legislation also included a new cost-based payment methodology for CAHs. Having a cost-based system enables the Department of Human Services (DHS) to provide updated payment rates without the passage of additional legislation.   

MHA is pleased to report that the new CAH inpatient per diem rates were implemented on June 25, 2016. Because this new cost-based payment methodology had an effective date of July 1, 2015, claims submitted on or after June 25, 2016, will pay at the new per diem rate as long as the discharge date on the claim is on or after July 1, 2015.   

For discharges on or after July 1, 2016, the per diem rates will be increased by an additional 3 percent for state fiscal year (SFY) 2017. DHS sent the SFY 2016 and 2017 rates to all CAHs via rate letters dated August 24, 2015. DHS will be sending an updated rate letter to all CAHs to include the SFY 2016 and SFY 2017 inpatient rates, as well as the hospital fiscal year 2017 outpatient rates.   

The 2015 MHA legislation created hospital-specific per diem payment rates designed to pay a percentage of costs within these three reimbursement tiers: 

  • Hospitals with 2012 base year payments at or below 80 percent of base year costs will have a per diem payment rate set so that aggregate annual reimbursement equals 85 percent of costs. 
  • Hospitals with 2012 base year payments greater than 80 percent and up to 90 percent of base year costs will have a per diem payment rate set so that aggregate annual reimbursement equals 95 percent of costs. 
  • Hospitals with 2012 base year payments at or above 100 percent of base year costs will have a per diem payment rate set so that aggregate annual reimbursement equals 100 percent of costs. 

On July 1, 2016, the per diem payment rates were increased using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Inpatient Hospital Market Basket index. In addition, payments will be rebased using 2014 costs on July 1, 2017.   

DHS has indicated that it plans to have the rebased payment system in place for PPS hospitals prior to the end of the year. Payment rates will be adjusted back to November 2014, which was the implementation date in statute. Because of the potential negative impact caused by budget-neutral rebasing, MHA extended the numerous policy payment adjustors, as well as the +5/-5 percent rate bands, through this rebasing process. This language was also part of MHA’s 2015 legislation.   

For financial questions regarding this rebasing process, contact Joe Schindler, vice president of finance, MHA, 651-659-1415. return to top   

Nominations for Minnesota Business magazine’s Leaders in Health Care Awards close July 15

Nominations are open through July 15 for the 2016 Leaders in Health Care Awards, presented by Minnesota Business magazine. The awards recognize individuals and companies that have supported and accelerated Minnesota’s health care environment in areas such as community outreach, employee wellness, workforce development, corporate philanthropy and workplace innovation.   

Finalists for the awards will be announced Aug. 16. Awards will be presented at a celebration on Oct. 27.   

To make a nomination for an award category or to learn more about the 2016 Leaders in Health Care Awards, visit the Minnesota Business websitereturn to top

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