In this issue . . .
January 2008 • Vol. 4 No. 1
Manager's Soapbox
Hardwiring sustainable change
Marcia B. Riley
Organizational effectiveness consultant
Change is almost a constant in today's competitive, increasingly technology-driven healthcare environment. But efforts to implement institutional changes aren't guaranteed success.
Judge's ruling clouds legality
of New Jersey ASC operations
A legal cloud hangs over physicians' operating ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in New Jersey as the result of a Nov. 20 New Jersey Superior Court ruling that owners of an ASC violated a state statute (the Codey Act) barring "self-referrals" of patients to healthcare services and facilities in which they hold significant ownership interests.
AORN to offers free tool kit
on periop teamwork training
A free Human Factors Tool Kit full of resources to help operating room managers develop and execute team training programs that enhance patient and clinical staff safety will be available online later this month from AORN. Read more+
ACS board chairman warns
of general surgeon shortage
An impending shortage of general surgeons portends a crisis of access for 54 million Americans served by small suburban or rural hospitals, as well as an operating crisis for the smaller hospitals, according to Josef E. Fischer, MD, FACS, chair of the American College of Surgeon's (ACS') board of regents.
Specialty hospital letter to candidates
in Iowa ticks off hospital associations
The Iowa Hospital Association and American Hospital Association got ticked off last month about a letter sent by Physician Hospitals of America to presidential candidates cruising for votes from the Iowa political party caucuses. The state and national associations representing "full-service community hospitals" charged that the letters from the trade association representing "limited-service hospitals" were "all fiction, no facts."
Health plan providers offer roadmap
for state-supported universal coverage
In a major policy shift, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade association for health plan providers covering more than 200 million Americans, last month announced an agreement to guarantee individuals, including those with pre-existing medical conditions, access to healthcare coverage.
AHRQ offers 17 tool kits
to reduce medical errors
Seventeen tool kits designed to help physicians, nurses, hospital managers and patients reduce medical errors are available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Read more+
News briefing for perioperative leaders
This month's news briefing for perioperative managers details a World Health Organization initiative on proposed patient safety interventions, a study that found nurse staffing levels can directly influence patient safety, the decision by Massachusetts hospitals not to charge patients or insurers for nine avoidable serious medical errors and much more.
Hardwiring sustainable change
Marcia B. Riley
Organizational effectiveness consultant
Change is almost a constant in today's competitive, increasingly technology-driven healthcare environment. But efforts to implement institutional changes aren't guaranteed success.
Judge's ruling clouds legality
of New Jersey ASC operations
A legal cloud hangs over physicians' operating ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in New Jersey as the result of a Nov. 20 New Jersey Superior Court ruling that owners of an ASC violated a state statute (the Codey Act) barring "self-referrals" of patients to healthcare services and facilities in which they hold significant ownership interests.
AORN to offers free tool kit
on periop teamwork training
A free Human Factors Tool Kit full of resources to help operating room managers develop and execute team training programs that enhance patient and clinical staff safety will be available online later this month from AORN. Read more+
ACS board chairman warns
of general surgeon shortage
An impending shortage of general surgeons portends a crisis of access for 54 million Americans served by small suburban or rural hospitals, as well as an operating crisis for the smaller hospitals, according to Josef E. Fischer, MD, FACS, chair of the American College of Surgeon's (ACS') board of regents.
Specialty hospital letter to candidates
in Iowa ticks off hospital associations
The Iowa Hospital Association and American Hospital Association got ticked off last month about a letter sent by Physician Hospitals of America to presidential candidates cruising for votes from the Iowa political party caucuses. The state and national associations representing "full-service community hospitals" charged that the letters from the trade association representing "limited-service hospitals" were "all fiction, no facts."
Health plan providers offer roadmap
for state-supported universal coverage
In a major policy shift, America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), a trade association for health plan providers covering more than 200 million Americans, last month announced an agreement to guarantee individuals, including those with pre-existing medical conditions, access to healthcare coverage.
AHRQ offers 17 tool kits
to reduce medical errors
Seventeen tool kits designed to help physicians, nurses, hospital managers and patients reduce medical errors are available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Read more+
News briefing for perioperative leaders
This month's news briefing for perioperative managers details a World Health Organization initiative on proposed patient safety interventions, a study that found nurse staffing levels can directly influence patient safety, the decision by Massachusetts hospitals not to charge patients or insurers for nine avoidable serious medical errors and much more.