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20 Everyday HIPAA Tips from the TMA
The goal of HIPAA is to make sure the protected health information you are responsible for or come into contact with remains confidential, secure, and available when you need it.  Here are basic steps every practice can take to help make this happen.
  
In This Issue
2015 Physician Engagement Survey
The 2015 Physician Engagement Survey, administered by The Advisory Board is open from May 4 - June 5.  This is your opportunity to let us know what's on your mind.
  
Access to the survey is through a link that was emailed to active medical staff providers on May 4 by The Advisory Board. 
  

We appreciate you taking the time to provide us with your feedback.

The Bloody Truth

Click here for 10 facts about blood transfusions that every physician, nurse and hospital executive should know.

Procedure Documentation Reminders

Click here for operative or high risk procedure report requirements.
  
Click here for immediate post-operative note requirements.
  

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Windemere at Westover Hills

The newest addition to Westover Hills will be the home to a  transitional care center licensed as a skilled nursing facility.  Compassionate continuum of care for those needing advanced therapy and medical expertise.  Click here for information about the groundbreaking ceremony that occurred in April.

Has Your Contact Information Changed?

Click here to submit updates for our records.
May 2015

As editor of this newsletter, it is my goal to provide you with pertinent and timely information. We always appreciate your feeback in order to continually improve communications to our medical staff. 
  
Sincerely,
Regional Director of Medical Education
CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System
Jim Martin, MD
Message from the CMO 

 

CHRISTUS Santa Rosa began an important physician survey on May 4, which is administered by The Advisory Board. While I know that we sometimes feel like we are surveyed to death, this survey is of great importance to us in our efforts to improve quality and help you take better care of your patients.

 

Last year's survey suggested three issues that needed to be addressed: 1) CPOM; 2) quality concerns, and 3) preparedness for the Affordable Care Act. 

 

The survey results were studied in detail, and multiple physician focus groups and special physician interest and service line groups were engaged to clarify and develop improvement strategies.

 

Read on to review specific accomplishments which have been made in those areas.

 

  

Quality Corner

by Kim Miller, RN, MBA, Chief Quality Officer

What's in a Patient Safety Grade?

 

quality level meter indicate maximum isolated on white background

Healthcare transparency and the concept of quantifying healthcare quality is a topic that I am certain you hear discussed frequently. This concept is one that the Center for Health Transformation (CHT) has begun to define in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). They have done this through an initiative called the "Triple Aim." This "Triple Aim" approach focuses on improving the patient experience of care, improving health populations and improving healthcare efficiency.  Some of the ways that we are beginning to see this concept of healthcare transparency evolve is through the publishing of safety grades or what some refer to as report cards for the healthcare industry.
 

There are numerous organizations that attempt to give the public information about patient safety or quality. Some of these organizations are:
*CMS - providing information through www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
*Leapfrop - providing information about hospitals' Patient Safety Grade and performance in PSI's/HACs from a public reporting perspective
*US News and World reports
*Healthgrades
*Solucient's Top 100 Hospitals
 

All of these various organizations have complex algorithms that they use to provide the public information regarding patient safety or quality of healthcare. Most of the data, however, from these various organizations is derived from coded billing data. This information is not always current and at times is not always accurate.
 

Since physicians are assessed on information which may be outdated or erroneous, many ask what can be done to make sure that this data is as accurate as possible.
 

Read on for suggestions that may help to improve the accuracy of this data.

 

Children's Hospital of San Antonio Opens First Free-Standing Pediatric Emergency Center in Westover Hills

 

Experts in pediatric emergency care have arrived in Westover Hills to staff a new Emergency Center dedicated to caring for children. The city's first full-service free-standing Emergency Center for children opened on April 28, 2015, at 7:00 a.m.

 

"We are very blessed to be able to bring a children's emergency center to one of the fastest growing areas of Bexar County. There are 133,000 children living in Westover Hills right now and that figure is expected to grow by six percent over the next five years," said Elias Neujahr, President, Children's Hospital of San Antonio. "This Center gives parents peace of mind knowing that specially trained pediatric emergency personnel are available close to home and around the clock. This Center is another example of our promise to San Antonio that our children will always be first."
 
"The pediatric Emergency Center at Westover Hills is able to treat a wide range of conditions from respiratory problems to trauma. We have a highly experienced and trained staff just for children. When necessary, a child may be transferred to our Hospital downtown to ensure the highest level of care is provided," said Dr. Kris Rittichier, Chief of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of San Antonio. "This new space has 10 private rooms, a designated trauma room, and imaging and laboratory services on site."

 

1CALL Patient Intake Center (PIC)
  
The CHRISTUS Santa Rosa 1CALL Patient Intake Center (PIC) was launched in October, and this April we implemented new improvements to make this 1CALL process even faster and more efficient.

 

You can dial 1.844.661CALL 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The PIC Clinician will initiate a three-way call, connecting the referring physician, Hospitalist, and clinician. During this call and upon the patient's accepted admission, the referring physician or referring physician's office will now be able to obtain the patient's assigned room number.
 
When an admission is approved, the PIC Clinician can speak directly to the House Supervisor. All of the information discussed during the three-way call will continue to be sent through Meditech to Admitting, so that the process to admit our patients is as smooth as possible.

  

For questions about this process, please contact Angie Lambert, Chief Nursing Officer at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital - Medical Center, at 210.705.6190 or angie.lambert@christushealth.org.
  
Educational Activities
  

Upcoming CME Conferences

For more information go to: www.christussantarosa.org/cme