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Representatives at Emerus Emergency Hospitals, a licensed emergency specialty hospital company based in The Woodlands, TX, have been telling patients at several of its "24-hour EDs" for months now that if they are not seen by a physician within 15 minutes, the hospital will pay for their $1,000 visit. So far, the new policy is working quite well, say Emerus representatives.
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[This quarterly column on coding in the ED is written by Caral Edelberg, CPC, CCS-P, CHC, president of Edelberg Compliance Associates, Baton Rouge, LA. If there are coding issues you would like to see addressed in this column, contact Edelberg at phone: (225) 454-0154. E-fax: (225) 612-6904. E-mail:
[email protected].]
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Your ED patient's bad outcome might have nothing to do with the fact that he or she was held in the hallway while awaiting an inpatient bed. However, it could impact the outcome of subsequent litigation against the ED.
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[Editor's note: This is the third in a three-part series on reducing violence in the ED. In the first article, our experts discussed the importance of a "zero tolerance" policy. In last month's article, we outlined key steps recommended by government agencies for reducing violence and discussed the importance of having clear procedures when it comes to dealing with patients and their families. This month we examine the Sentinel Event Alert recently published by The Joint Commission, which discusses why the ED is particularly susceptible to episodes of violence, outlines leading causal factors, and provides additional guidance for violence prevention.]
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Surgical blades, a surgical camera, and laparoscopes disappear over two years from a hospital. The culprit? A nurse who admitted to stealing more than $300,000 worth of medical equipment and supplies from the hospital and reselling them over the Internet.
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Hamilton Ambulatory Surgery Center in Dalton, GA, has received the Summit Award from Press Ganey Associates for the fourth year in a row.
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I go through 400-500 patient satisfaction surveys per month. Like you, I am relatively busy just getting through life, but these are 400 to 500 patients and their family taking time out of their lives to tell me how we are doing as a business. Regardless of what you might think, health care in 2010 is a business!
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[Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part series in avoiding liability in contracting. In last month's issue we told you about how you can end up contracting with the wrong company and what your liability can be. In this issue, we give you specific steps to take to investigate vendors, and we offer a list of items to watch for in the contract. We also discuss accreditation requirements.]
