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In light of a $345,000 out-of-court settlement and a national investigation of implant manufacturers, outpatient surgery managers are looking intensely at spiraling implant costs and their own purchasing agreements and wondering, what exactly is considered illegal or unethical behavior when purchasing implants?
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In the final 2007 rule for the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS), officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decided against linking inpatient quality reporting to the outpatient payment update.
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With implant and other costs spiraling upward and reimbursement falling behind, outpatient surgery managers are always searching for ways to keep down these costs. One idea that has proven success is the establishment of a value analysis program for purchases.
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In a recent study, only 22% of patients surveyed correctly understood the reason for fasting before outpatient surgery.1 Patients who didn't understand the reason were nearly five times more likely to underrate the importance of compliance.
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ECRI, a nonprofit health services research agency, has evaluated two anesthesia systems designed for the outpatient surgery setting.
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Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) frequently present to the emergency department. Life-threatening infections and cerebrovascular accidents remain a constant threat throughout the lifetime of individuals with SCD.
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Risk managers will reap lessons from the experience of health care providers in the Gulf Coast for years to come, but one of the most apparent lessons from Hurricane Katrina should send you rushing to reassess your organization's disaster plans. What looks good on paper may not work at all in the midst of a major crisis in your community, some hospitals learned, and failing to plan adequately could set your organization up for tremendous liability in the aftermath of a disaster.
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The New Orleans experience should make risk managers aware that disasters rarely unfold the way you expected them to in all those planning sessions. If your plan for a major fire at your hospital involves moving patients to another facility down the street, what if that facility is out of action too? If your plan calls for evacuating patients to another city, what if all the roads are closed?
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Risk managers may be shocked to realize how much of their disaster plan relies on other entities beyond their control, says William Spratt, JD, a partner with the law firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart in Miami.
