MSSPNexus Blog

Advanced Education Programs for Experienced MSSPs

Every year after the national conference NAMSS receives a number of requests from attendees asking for a few more advanced sessions for experienced MSSPs. I believe, being a "seasoned" professional and all, that I've probably submitted that request myself a time or two over the years.

Sometimes the suggestion is made that we offer two tracks, advanced and beginner. Most attendees would select the advanced track, and in truth, that's what the Conference Committee aims for when developing the content of the annual programs. Very few sessions are specifically designed for people new to the field.

I understand the request.  Each year I pick up a few tips and innovative ideas, but nothing ever quite matches the excitement I felt while attending my first couple of conferences; absorbing all that great information, meeting all those savvy people, and just being a part of this fascinating profession. 

So let's stretch our minds and imaginations - the slate is blank.    Money is no object.  (I've always wanted to be able to say that!)  In fact, there are no limits at all - you have been asked to design the "perfect" NAMSS Conference for experienced MSSPs.  Your peers are looking to you for innovation, education, and a dash of fun. 

Click on the Comments link under this message and give us your best suggestions - we're counting on you!

Fine print:
Although I am a member of the 2007 NAMSS Conference Committee, this informal poll is not authorized or sanctioned by NAMSS.  Opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of NAMSS, or any other organization for that matter.  A small percentage of blog commenters have reported side-effects including tired eyes, sore wrists, and in extreme cases, an overwhelming desire to start a blog of their own.  Consider yourself warned.

Sentinel Events - Top Two Causes

Do you know the top two root causes for sentinel events in healthcare?  A mock surveyor from Joint Commission Resources stated in a meeting I attended today that upon analysis, JCAHO has determined that the top two factors are:

1.  Communication failure

2.  Poor employee orientation or ongoing training.

A sentinel event is defined as an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury, or the risk thereof.  They cause untold harm to patients, caregivers, and institutions.   

Medical Staff Standards - 2007 Prepublication Review and Comments

If you're interested in the 2007 changes to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) standards on medical staff credentialing and privileging  (and isn't everyone??) citations and comments follow. 

(I KNOW Aggravated Doc Surg and Medpundit have been anxiously awaiting this update, being major JCAHO fans and all...)

I reviewed the prepublication medical staff standards (48 page pdf), compared them to the 2006 standards, and have done my best to capture the main points below.  I love being able to say things like "When MS.4.30, EP1 becomes effective in January 2008..."  What can I say? It's a job hazard.

Although the wording of the standards pertaining to credentialing and privileging has been completely revised for 2007, it appears that the intent of the standards has not changed significantly. 

The Joint Commission continues to emphasize the need for data collection and review of evidence-based criteria when making decisions regarding both initial and ongoing practitioner privileging.

Citations are referenced by page number:

Page 3 of 48

Overview - Organized Medical Staff Structure

The organized medical staff is structured such that it has the ability to function in guiding and governing its members. The primary function of the organized medical staff is to approve and amend medical staff bylaws and to provide oversight for the quality of care, treatment, and services provided by practitioners with privileges.

There may be exceptions to the general requirement for a single medical staff... *Note that The Medicare Conditions of Participation require a single medical staff for each hospital (i.e. provider number.)

Page 7 of 48

MS.1.20 EP 19 - Note this element of performance is not effective at this time.

Page 13 of 48

MS.3.10 Elements of Performance

The word actively has been added to EP 2-9, i.e., The medical staff is actively involved in the measurement, assessment, and improvement of the following: Medical assessment and treatment of patients.

Page 14 of 48

MS.3.20 The organized medical staff participates in organization wide performance improvement activities.

There are major changes to the wording of Credentialing and Privileging MS.4.10 and MS.4.20:

Photos from the NAMSS Conference in Atlanta

Here are a few more photos from the NAMSS Conference held last week in Atlanta:
Carole La Pine, NAMSS President-Elect
Dan Thurmon flips for NAMSS!
Audience members unexpectedly become part of the show
Vicki Hitzges, Wednesday Keynote
Keith Harrell, Monday Keynote (photo from his website)
John Herringer from the Joint Commission Standards Interpretation Group reviewed 2007 JCAHO hospital standards
Dr. John Pigott from Tulane Hospital in New Orleans spoke along with Sue Westendorf on coping with disaster in healthcare
Rick Sheff and Vicki Searcy talked about certification and privileging
Advanced Practice Nurses and Physician Assistants - A Panel Discussion led by Chris Giles
Exploring Atalanta with fellow attendees
Attentive audiences

See more photos of the 2006 NAMSS Conference on the Alaska Association Medical Staff Professionals web site.

JASPER: Monster's Job Assets & Strengths Profiler

Wondering whether you're in the right job?  Monster.com, the Internet Job Search company, offers JASPER, a free, on line, interactive job assets and strengths profile test. Take it (10-15 minutes) and find out whether you are Traditional, Courageous, Innovative, Assertive, Empowering, or Diplomatic.   

Test results will also place you in one of nine "types" Thinker, Dynamo, Visionary, Motivator, Organizer, Mentor, Achiever, Individualist, or Advocate.

In addition, you'll get info on your career stage, strengths and preferences, as well as tips on how to use the results to take action to improve your job fit.

Informative and fun; 15 minutes well-spent.

http://my.monster.com/JobStrengthProfile/Intro.aspx

NAMSS PreConference Sessions - Atlanta

I just returned from the 30th Annual NAMSS Conference & Exhibition held this year in Atlanta Georgia.  It was "super fantastic"; the main complaint I heard was that it was too difficult to choose from among all the excellent concurrent sessions. 

For those of you who rode in the airport shuttle with me this morning and wondered if I'd make it to my gate - I made it with a few minutes to spare.  : )  (Full shuttles and an early flight, I think I'll have to plan that better next time.)

I took a few photos, some of which I'll be posting here.  The first one is the view of Atlanta from my hotel window. 

Lynn Buchanan and Sheryl Deutch from Edge-U-Cate presented a great full day management session on Sunday.  I attended two excellent legal preconference sessions; the first, on the scary topic of negligent credentialing, was superbly handled by Barbara Blackmond of the healthcare law firm of Horty Springer in Pittsburgh, PA.

Ms. Blackmond has supplied her Powerpoint slides and some additional handouts that weren't available in the session book.  Those handouts are available for free download here.

The afternoon legal session, although also on a serious topic, medical staff fair hearings, was presented with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor by Catherine Ballard and Allen Killworth of the law firm of Bricker & Eckler from Columbus, OH.   

I was able to participate in the mock fair hearing as the Hearing Officer, although I must say it was difficult to assure that this group maintained any sort of appropriate legal decorum...

I took a few additional photos during the main conference, and will be posting some of those in the days to come.

If you weren't able to attend, or just want to hear some of the sessions you missed, most of our speakers allowed us to record their sessions, and those can be ordered from JOB Conference Recording Services.

Greetings from the NAMSS Conference in Atlanta

Greetings from the 30th Annual NAMSS Conference and Exhibition being held this week at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta Georgia, Celebrating 30 Years of Professionalism and Partnerships. 

The program has gotten off to a great start!  More later.

Recent Health News Stories of Note

Death after two-hour ER wait ruled homicide

A coroner's jury has declared the death of a heart attack victim who spent almost two hours in the waiting room of Vista Medical Center in Waukegan, Illinois to be a homicide.

Beatrice Vance, 49, died of a heart attack, but the jury at a coroner's inquest ruled Thursday that her death also was "a result of gross deviations from the standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in this situation."

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/15/er.homicide.ap/index.html

Medpundit weighs in.

=========================================================

Surgeons' experience counts as much as age study finds

"Surgeon age, young or old, should not be a primary factor when patients are making a choice for a surgeon," study co-author Dr. Jennifer F. Waljee, of the University of Michigan, told Reuters Health.

Instead, people facing an operation "should consider other factors, such as procedural volume, specialization, practice setting, and reputation when making their choices for providers," she added.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/08/29/surgeons.experience.reut/index.html

=========================================================

(This one is via Kevin, M.D.)

GP killed himself after 'caring too much'

A doctor cared so much for his patients he took his own life when he feared he had let down an elderly woman in his care.

Mark Gradwell, 46, died from multiple injuries after being hit by a train yards from his home in Poynton, Cheshire (England).

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/
223/223157_gp_killed_himself_after_caring_too_much.html

NAMSS Certification Pins

Just a reminder to pack your CPMSM and/or CPCS certification pins if you're going to Atlanta for the NAMSS Conference.

 

Flying this week? Check current TSA carry on restrictions

For those who are planning to travel by air to Atlanta for the NAMSS Conference next week, I checked the TSA web site this morning for the latest information on airline carry on restrictions.  The full list is here:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm

Here's what is listed with regard to food and drink:

	Carry-on	Checked
All beverages	No	Yes
Baby formula and food, breast milk and other baby items - These are allowed in your carry-on baggage or personal items. You can take these through the security checkpoints and aboard your plane. However, you must be traveling with a baby or toddler. All items including formula or breast milk will be inspected.	Yes	Yes
Canned or jarred goods such as soup, sauces, peanut butter, fruits, vegetables and jellies	No	Yes
Cheese in pressurized containers	No	Yes
Duty free alcohol and other items	No	Yes
Gel based sports supplements	No	Yes
Jell-O's	No	Yes
Pudding	No	Yes
Whipped cream	No	Yes
Yogurt or gel like food substances	No	Yes

Here is what is listed with regard to makeup and personal items:

	Carry-on	Checked
Aerosol spray bottles and cans	No	Yes
All creams and lotions including Neosporin or first-aid creams and ointments, topical or rash creams and ointments, suntan lotions, moisturizers, etc.	No	Yes
Bubble bath balls, bath oils or moisturizers	No	Yes
Bug and mosquito sprays and repellents	No	Yes
Cigar Cutters	Yes	Yes
Corkscrews	Yes	Yes
Cuticle Cutters	Yes	Yes
Deodorants made of gel or aerosol	No	Yes
Eye drops - You are allowed to carry up to 4 oz., of eye drops with you. Volumes greater than 4 oz., are only permitted in your checked baggage.	No	Yes
Eyeglass Repair Tools - including screwdrivers.	Yes	Yes
Eyelash Curlers	Yes	Yes
Gel-filled bras and similar prosthetics - Gel-filled bras may be worn through security screening and aboard aircraft.	Yes	Yes
Hair styling gels and spray of all kinds including aerosol	No	Yes
Hair Straightener or Detangler	No	Yes
Knitting and Crochet Needles	Yes	Yes
Knives - except for plastic or round bladed butter knives.	No	Yes
Lip gels such as Carmex or Blistex	No	Yes
Liquid lip glosses or other liquids for lips	No	Yes
Liquid bubble bath including gel or liquid filled	No	Yes
Liquid foundations	No	Yes
Liquid, gel or spray perfumes and colognes	No	Yes
Liquid sanitizers	No	Yes
Liquid soaps	No	Yes
Liquid mascara	No	Yes
Make up removers or facial cleansers	No	Yes
Mouthwash	No	Yes
Nail Clippers	Yes	Yes
Nail Files	Yes	Yes
Nail polish and removers	No	Yes
Non-prescription liquid or gel medicines like cough syrup and gel cap type pills - Up to 4 oz. of essential non-prescription liquid medications.	Yes	Yes
Personal lubricants - Up to 4 oz.	Yes	Yes
Safety Razors - including disposable razors.	Yes	Yes
Saline solution - You are allowed to carry up to 4 oz., of eye drops with you. Volumes greater than 4 oz., are only permitted in your checked baggage.	No	Yes
Scissors - plastic or metal with blunt tips.	Yes	Yes
Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than four inches in length.	Yes	Yes
Shampoos and conditioners	No	Yes
Toothpaste	No	Yes
Toy Transformer Robots	Yes	Yes
Toy Weapons - if not realistic replicas.	Yes	Yes
Tweezers	Yes	Yes
Umbrellas- allowed in carry-on baggage once they have been inspected to ensure that prohibited items are not concealed.	Yes	Yes
Walking Canes - allowed in carry-on baggage once they have been inspected to ensure that prohibited items are not concealed.	Yes	Yes
NOTE: Some personal care items containing aerosol are regulated as hazardous materials. The FAA regulates hazardous materials. This information is summarized at www.faa.gov.

Full list:
http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm