In this issue
Hospital
spotlight: Fairview Ridges Hospital works to reduce Door-to-Doc time
This past spring, Fairview Ridges Hospital was awarded the MHA
Innovation of the Year award, large hospital category, for its development of a
series of innovative measures designed to improve its system of patient arrival
and triage within the Emergency Department. With the firm belief that patient
care, safety and satisfaction are optimized when definitive care is expedited,
they focused on improving the time between patient arrival and physician
contact time – known as Door-to-Doc time. Innovative measures such as triage at
the bedside and double RN triage during peak hours brought the average
Door-to-Doc time from 54 minutes in 2011 to 17.4 minutes in 2013. As
Door-to-Doc time decreased, the department’s national overall patient
satisfaction scores for similar size hospitals increased from the 68th
percentile in 2011 to the 92nd percentile in 2013. Read more about
Fairview Ridges Hospital and the other MHA award winners here. return to top
CMS
advisory panel to consider supervision levels of certain outpatient therapeutic
services
The Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment, which advises
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the appropriate
level of supervision for individual hospital outpatient therapeutic services,
will hold its next meeting Aug. 25-26 in Baltimore.
MHA encourages members to have their chief medical officer, chief nursing
officer or other clinical staff identify specific outpatient therapeutic
services that require only general supervision and request an opportunity to
provide testimony before the panel. Email submissions by
July 25.
As of Jan. 1, 2014, CMS ended the direct supervision enforcement moratorium for
critical access hospitals (CAHs) and small, rural hospitals. All hospitals must
comply with CMS’s direct supervision requirements. MHA developed a tool for members to better understand and adapt to thevarious elements of the direct supervision requirements.
The August meeting will be the last opportunity this year to have individual
outpatient therapeutic services re-designated as “general supervision”
services.
For questions, contact Ann Gibson, vice president of federal
relations and workforce, 651-603-3527. return to top
Electronic
cigarettes banned in hospitals, clinics and doctor’s offices effective July 1,
2014
The use of electronic cigarettes is now banned in hospitals, clinics and other health carefacilities as of July 1, 2014. The law does not prohibit the use of
electronic cigarettes in licensed residential health care facilities in a
designated, separate enclosed area that meets applicable regulations or in a
locked psychiatric unit in a separate well-ventilated area as approved by the
treating physician. The law does not require new signage or posting of
this restriction.
More information on the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act can be
found here and more information on e-cigarettes can
be found here. return to top
MN
among states with lowest rates of opioid painkiller prescriptions
Minnesota continues leading the nation in high quality, low cost
care. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) found Minnesota prescribes opioid painkillers at a much
lower rate than average, and far below states with the highest rates. In 2012,
the state averaged 62 prescriptions for every 100 people. The national average
was 82.5 prescriptions per 100 people, and Alabama and Tennessee had the
highest rates with 143 prescriptions per 100 people. In one example, nearly 22
times as many prescriptions were written for oxymorphone in Tennessee as were
written in Minnesota. Minnesota’s effective programs like the prescription drug
monitoring program are models for other states to help decrease their rates of
opioid painkiller prescriptions.
According to the report, 46 people in the US die every day from an overdose of
prescription painkillers. Nearly 260 million prescriptions for painkillers were
written in 2012. return to top
MHA’s
Matt Anderson promoted to SVP for policy & strategy
Matt Anderson has been
promoted to senior vice president for policy and strategy of the Minnesota
Hospital Association (MHA). Since 2006, he has been vice president for
strategic and regulatory affairs at MHA. In this new role, Anderson will
oversee MHA policy-related activities including advocacy and government
relations at both the state and federal level, information services, finance,
workforce and legal affairs.
“Matt’s organizational and planning skills, along with his ability to
collaborate effectively with others, will bring greater coordination and
process to our policy development, data analytics and advocacy efforts for our
members,” said Lawrence Massa, president & CEO of MHA.
Prior to joining MHA, Anderson served in legal and policy roles for the
Minnesota State Colleges & Universities (MnSCU) system, the Hennepin County
Attorney's Office and the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. He is a graduate
of the University of Minnesota Law School and St. John's University. return to top
340B
Drug Pricing Program overview, benefits and solutions offered at
upcoming program
An MHA education program on Aug. 13 will provide an overview of
the 340B Drug Pricing Program and discuss benefits to eligible entities. The
program will also include a regulatory overview and solutions for hospitals
including the contract pharmacy model, things to consider and operationalizing
a program.
Speakers will include representatives from SunRx, an organization that helps
health care safety net organizations manage their discount drug program, save
money, expand access, ensure adequate compliance protections and offer savings
to the uninsured. Brent Thompson, Pharm.D., pharmacy director at First Light
Health System in Mora, will also discuss his hospital’s experience with the
340B program.
MHA has applied for four contact hours through the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.
The program will take place at the Crowne Plaza Minneapolis West in Plymouth on
Aug. 13. Click here for a full brochure.
Login from MHA’s home page, click
“Calendar of Events” and select the program name to register online. return to top
Mental
health conference offers ideas on building community partnerships
Hospitals play a key role in treating people
experiencing mental illnesses. However, people living with mental illnesses
need support at all levels of care, including before and after hospitalization.
MHA’s upcoming mental health conference “Community Partnerships for Community
Solutions,” will offer models of community partnerships hospitals can develop
with different community stakeholders to help support individuals with mental
illnesses. These stakeholders include law enforcement, the criminal justice
system, community mental health providers, and health plans, among others.
Community partnerships offer better care to individuals with mental illnesses,
help decrease readmissions to hospitals for mental illness and other
conditions, decrease emergency department visits, and lower costs for the
entire system.
This program will be held at the Crowne Plaza, Minneapolis West in Plymouth on
Aug. 1. Click here for a full brochure. Login from MHA’s home page, click “Calendar of
Events” and select the program name to register online. return to top