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Did you, or someone you know, attend this year's NAMSS Conference in New York? NAMSS has posted photos online from the 31st annual conference and exhibition here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/17485039@N08/?saved=1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16926151@N03/
Check them out!
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Department of Veterans Affairs has limited the surgical privileges of three doctors at the troubled Marion VA Medical Center in southern Illinois, and it is reviewing the credentials of 17,000 other health-care providers for veterans across the country.
Testifying before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, VA officials called their response to the Marion deaths "swift" and their credentialing process for doctors "the envy of the health-care industry." But the top official present, Dr. Gerald Cross, also expressed "some concerns" about the agency's ability to keep tabs on doctors once they've been granted privileges to treat VA patients.
The hearings followed questions about the VA's physician credentialing procedures first raised in a Tribune story in September about deaths at the Marion VA hospital. The story revealed that Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, a surgeon with a troubling professional history, was operating on veterans at the hospital for more than a year after surrendering his license in Massachusetts during a disciplinary proceeding.
Read the Full Text: Marion woes spur VA to widen probe
Collecting, analyzing and tracking the credentials of thousands of health care providers stationed all over the country is no small task. The VA uses an internally developed software program called VetPro to track the professional credentials of its healthcare providers. Although I have not personally seen the program, I've heard good things about it.
I have no information other than the public reports about what may have happened at Marion VA Medical Center, and Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez, but it's good to see that the VA is taking the matter seriously.
Credentials verification is an onerous, sometimes tedious job. It requires exceptional attention to detail as well as the ability to understand the needs of the organization and interact well with its leaders. Every healthcare organization must take a solid look at its credentialing and privileging process periodically, including development of education for top leaders to make sure they understand the importance of their role. The process is literally the foundation for patient safety in the organization.
In 1992, the United States Congress, by House Joint Resolution 399, and George Bush, President of the United States, issued a proclamation designating the first week of November as “National Medical Staff Services Awareness Week.”
Julie Deardorff, A Chicago Tribune Health columnist and fellow blogger reports that Zagat Survey, the so-called "burgundy bible" for entertainment seekers, is venturing into controversial territory: doctor's offices.
Ms. Deardorff quotes a very reliable source on the subject: :)
"They may provide patients with some valuable information not easily obtained elsewhere, but all the information provided on these sites is subject to serious reliability issues," said Rita Schwab, a professional in medical credentialing, who has written about one of the more well-known sites, Ratemd.com, on her MSSP Nexus Blog.
Dr. Sayed Amouzagar, who is lead physician at the Advanced Foot and Ankle Center, is accused of allowing his prime investor, Thomas Grillo, also known as Wayne Finelli, to diagnose and treat patients.
A medical assistant said she watched the man patients knew as "Dr. James" (Finelli) assume the alter egos of office manager James Peterson and Dr. Thomas Grillo.
Florida state agents arrived at the Orlando practice yesterday with arrest and search warrants. Finelli was charged with practicing medicine without a license and Amouzagar could be stripped of his license in connection with the case.
The Joint Commission has revised its Hospital Leadership standards, and the new elements must be fully implemented by January 1, 2009.
Listed below is the language for LD.4.260, which which will have particular impact on Hospital Patient Safety and Risk Management programs (emphasis mine).
Standard LD.4.260
The hospital implements an integrated patient safety program throughout the hospital.
Rationale for LD.4.260
This standard describes a safety program that integrates safety priorities into all processes, functions, and services within the hospital, including patient care, support and contract services. It addresses the responsibility of leaders to establish a hospital wide safety program; to proactively explore potential system failures; to analyze and take action on problems that have occurred; and to encourage the reporting of adverse events and near misses – both internally and externally
This standard does not require the creation of a new structure or office in the hospital. It only emphasizes the need to integrate patient safety activities, both existing and newly created, with the hospital’s leadership, which is ultimately responsible for this integration.
Elements of performance for LD.4.260
There is a hospital wide, integrated patient safety program.
One or more qualified individuals or an interdisciplinary group manages the hospital wide safety program.
The scope of the program includes the full range of safety issues, from potential or noharm errors (sometimes referred to as near misses, close calls, or good catches) to hazardous conditions and sentinel events, which have serious adverse outcomes.
All departments, programs, and services within the hospital participate in the safety program.
The hospital creates procedures for responding to system or process failures, such as continuing to provide care, treatment, and services to those affected, containing the risk to others, and preserving factual information for subsequent analysis.
The hospital: Defines responses to various types of potential adverse events.
The hospital: Conducts proactive risk assessments.
The hospital: Makes support systems available for staff members who have been involved in a sentinel event.
The hospital: Analyzes and uses information about a system or process failure to improve safety.
The hospital: Provides systems for the internal and external reporting of a system or process failure.
The hospital: Provides governance at least once a year, with written reports on all system or process failures, on the number and type of sentinel events, on whether the patients and the families were informed of the adverse events, and on all actions taken to improve safety, both proactively and in response to actual occurrences.
The hospital: Disseminates lessons learned from root cause analyses to staff who provide services or are affected by the situation.
The hospital: Encourages external reporting of significant adverse events, including voluntary reporting programs in addition to mandatory programs.
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