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 website. return 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 online. return 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 website. return to top