An investigative committee established by the joint boards of the Shriners of North America fraternal organization and the Shriners Hospitals for Children brings to light problems with the national organization, which runs a network of 22 hospitals that provide free orthopedic and burn care to needy children. The report found that the chairman of the Shriners Hospitals Board of Trustees Ralph Semb sought to dismiss a fund-raising executive who had refused to hire a direct-mail company Semb and another board member tried to steer him to. Semb was re-elected chairman of the board of the hospitals in June at the annual Shrine convention in St. Louis.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has unanimously approved a health IT bill and sent it to the full House for action. The committee leaders who sponsored the Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment and Easing Communication Through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008 made significant concessions to privacy advocates and to those who use health information. The PRO(TECH)T Act aims to promote e-health records for all Americans by 2014, as the Bush Administration called for in 2004. It also establishes in law the technology standards activities that the Bush administration developed and would provide $560 million in grants and loans for healthcare providers to acquire EHR systems.
U.K. Doctors will face annual assessments so that licences can be removed from poor performers under proposals from England Chief Medical Officer Sir Liam Donaldson. GPs, hospital consultants, and private practitioners will also have to renew their licences every five years under the plans. Senior doctors will be asked to assess others who are practicing in their area to ensure they are not putting patients at risk, and patients will also be asked for their feedback during the assessment process. Donaldon’s report, Medical Revalidation: Principle and Next Steps, will also suggest steps to ensure that doctors keep up to date with medical advances.
A U.S. advisory panel has found Doribax, an antibiotic produced by Johnson & Johnson, to be effective in treating patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia. The drug is already being used in hospitals to treat abdominal and urinary tract infections.
Hospitals reporting complications from preventable medical errors will no longer be reimbursed by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. This follows a similar rule recently adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Both rulings will go into effect October 1.
While there is currently no national framework in place to regulate hospital reimbursements when an adverse event occurs, the Texas Hospital Association has adopted new principles that promote accountability for patient safety, and address policies for medical mistakes.