More medical schools are improving their conflict-of-interest policies to police their ties with drug and medical-device makers, according to the latest ratings from the American Medical Student Association and the Pew Prescription Project, which grade medical schools on such policies. But more than half the schools still have inadequate policies or no policies at all, the organizations found.
After several months of stage-setting, lawmakers are now putting pen to paper and drafting healthcare legislation, says Sg2 columnist Stephen Jenkins. But this process brings the inevitable question of how to for it. It is a trillion dollar question and is unleashing political forces that will test the strength of President Obama's support, Jenkins says.
Senate Democrats are working to pare the costs of legislation to overhaul the healthcare system, and were considering a reduction in proposed subsidies to help uninsured Americans buy coverage. Alarmed by cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office, leaders of the Senate Finance Committee delayed releasing a detailed description of their bill for several days, as they tried to cut the price tag.
"Rationing" has become a rejoinder to anyone who says that the U.S. must reduce its runaway health spending, especially by anyone who favors cutting back on treatments that don't have scientific evidence behind them, says David Leonhardt in this article for the New York Times. Leonhardt says that rationing is not really a substantive argument, but instead "a clever set of buzzwords that tries to hide the fact that societies must make choices."
The University of Findlay (OH) has plans to set up hospitals in selected villages in India to provide medical services for rural population on a par with their urban counterparts. The program was revealed by William E Ruse, a member of the Health Care Management Program at the University of Findlay, while speaking during a conference on India-USA global business and networking strategy.
Sometimes, your health information managers need to code. And your patient access managers need to register patients.
In these tough economic times, your hospital staff members should be ready for different roles on any given day. No one is immune to change.
At Albany (NY) Medical Center, managers in the patient access department are prepared to handle staff shortages.
During a recent string of illnesses and consecutives days with short staffs, department leaders took off their managers' hats and got on the frontline to register patients.
"The leadership team are working managers, much like any other patient access area," says Cathy Pallozzi, CHAM, patient access director at Albany Medical, noting the staff recently experienced colds and GI, which sprang the managers to action. "So the managers are on the front end, as well as the associate director. If I am needed, I will be on the front end as well."
Albany plays the game of position musical chairs well because the facility prepares, Pallozzi says.
"I have always been from the school of thought that you need to maximize your resource always," Pallozzi says. "In times such as these, it is no different then when you are so busy you do not have enough resources."
Pallozzi says "cross training" is the key. Managers are ready to register patients, obtain authorizations, place patients, and collect copayments and balances.
"Cross training has been and will always be a primary focus for my leadership team," Pallozzi says.
Albany's patient access team created a spreadsheet of tasks and chores–no matter how small–to help move it forward. The medical center called them "re-engineering/efficiency" opportunities, and staff must answer four questions for each task:
What is the added value in performing this task?
What does it cost in resources (FTE or hours)?
Is there a cross training opportunity?
Is there a redundant process that you are aware of?
Its goal is to gain efficiency, maximize their resources, and "assure that we are working together to problem-solve staffing concern, volume influx, and meeting our patients' needs," Pallozzi says.
Albany's copayment collection remains strong, Pallozzi says, and its pre-encounter telephone calls assist in ensuring the patient knows what is expected. While it has had a dip in its elective surgeries, the medical center's ED and outpatient volume remain strong, Pallozzi adds.
It helps that Albany's managers are always ready for the next challenge, Pallozzi says.
"They are acting as a staff member–the full scope of the registrar responsibilities," she says.
Editor's note: This is the third in a series of stories on HealthLeaders Media talking to revenue cycle managers about coping in a tough economy.
There is a high vacancy rates among the UK's National Health Service informatics staff—a group that includes software designers, helpdesk technicians, health records managers, data analysts, and directors of IT. A survey last year by the Association for Informatics Professionals in Health and Social Care found vacancy rates across the NHS ranging from 16% for clinical informatics staff to 6% at senior level. The health informatics review in England last summer also identified shortages of key professionals, including people who specialize in data security.
Turkey's top business association says the country should seek a bigger share of the fast developing medical tourism industry. Erdal Karamercan, MD, a member of the acting board of Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association, said Turkey should become a strong alternative for international medical tourism, one of the fastest developing sectors in the world. He said private health institutions with strong infrastructure are continuing to grow in number and the Turkish private health sector was able to handle international competition in terms of hospital infrastructure, staff experience, and technology.
Due to a severe nursing shortage, institutions across Czechoslovakia are offering incentives to attract nurses. One private clinic even offered perks that included a range of plastic-surgery options. In the past year alone, nearly 1,200 nurses have migrated to countries like Germany or Britain in search of better wages, according to the Czech Nurses Association.
The Wall Street Journal Health Blog reports on a story in a German news magazine that claims screening for breast, prostate, and colon cancer does hardly anyone good except for the doctors who can rake in fees from health insurers. Germany is soon to become the first country to introduce universal skin-cancer screening, the magazine reports, with everyone over 35 having the right to a skin-cancer test every two years.
