Hospitals in the Chicago area are seeing more people with different languages, cultural sensitivities and religions that can confound doctors, nurses and caregivers and hinder patients' best possible care. Interpreters have been deployed by many hospitals, but more expansive measures now are being considered inside the hospital and to communities with large ethnic populations. Hospitals have worked to bridge the cultural gap. Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago has advocates for its large contingents of Russian, Polish and Vietnamese patients. Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield has guidelines for dealing with patients and families from more than 20 ethnic groups. At Lutheran General, the integration committee in 2008 determined that the hospital could do a better job satisfying one of its core values: equality. It called for a review by the National Center for Cultural Competence, which identified four large and rapidly growing minority groups -- Koreans, Poles, Latinos and Russians -- who could be served better by the hospital.
Seniors with access to affordable prescription drugs require less spending on emergency and short-term nursing care, according to a study of Medicare Part D released Tuesday. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the report shows that the federal program -- which subsidizes prescription drugs for seniors – "significantly" reduces non-drug medical costs for those who had limited coverage before the program began in 2006. The report is the latest in a string that indicate Part D gives seniors better access to the drugs they need, increases their adherence to medication instructions and reduces their out-of-pocket costs. But this is the first major report to show that better drug care translates to a drop in spending on acute and post-acute care, including hospitalizations and short-term nursing home stays.
The American Medical Association and 91 state and specialty medical societies have submitted formal comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services expressing concern over the proposed changes to the electronic prescribing penalty program. "The AMA has continually advocated for changes to the e-prescribing program to ensure it's fair for all physicians and that as many physicians as possible are able to successfully participate," said AMA immediate past president Cecil B. Wilson, MD. "While we appreciate the modifications CMS presented in the proposed rule, they don't go far enough. More changes are needed, including establishing an additional reporting period in 2012 and not applying penalties until 2013."
The fight over a federal healthcare mandate formally made it onto Ohio's fall ballot yesterday, but there's still plenty more to shake out before the November election. Challenges are likely to be filed and court rulings handed down -- not to mention a statewide campaign to be conducted side by side with two other ballot issues, one of which has drawn significant national attention. Secretary of State Jon Husted certified 426,998 signatures for the constitutional amendment, which only required 385,245 valid signatures of registered Ohio voters, or 10% of the total vote cast for governor in 2010. The Ohio Healthcare Freedom Amendment seeks to invalidate the mandate in the new federal healthcare law that requires the uninsured to buy health insurance. The petition drive was supported by the state Republican Party.
In the first six months of this year, MetroHealth System paid a consultant $240,000 in salary and expenses to do the job of the former hosptial controller, who was paid $105,000 annually. The county's safety-net hospital is under contract to pay Stephany Neel, who works for Maryland-based Kohler Healthcare Consulting, $275 an hour, plus "reasonable out of pocket expenses," which have amounted to more than $29,000 in the past six months. In addition to regular airfare from Florida to Cleveland, rental cars and hotel costs, MetroHealth has reimbursed Neel for flight seat upgrades, hotel valet parking and dinners at a few of the city's best restaurants. Neel first began working with the taxpayer-subsidized MetroHealth in July 2010, shortly before the health system's former full-time controller resigned with two weeks notice. Accounting, payroll and accounts payable functions are all the responsibility of the controller at MetroHealth.
Three Kentucky lawmakers want University of Louisville President James Ramsey to appear before a legislative committee to explain how University Hospital's impending merger with a Catholic healthcare provider will affect reproductive and end-of-life patient care. But whether Ramsey will attend remains a question, with a U of L spokesman saying that other university officials may go instead. "The subject matter will dictate who will attend from the various entities involved in the merger," Hebert said in an email, adding: "U of L has always cooperated with the legislature in the past, and we will continue to do so." Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, sent an email request to Ramsey Friday, asking him to attend an Aug. 17 meeting in Frankfort of the Interim Joint Committee on Health and Welfare, which he co-chairs, to discuss "the implications of the merger … for the provision of reproductive services."