All Entries in the "healthcare news" Category
Physician with long history of misconduct finally caught by authorities
If you’re a reader of the Credentialing Resource Center Connection email newsletter, then you know about the case of a doctor with a checkered past who was finally caught by authorities. His case raises a question similar to the ones raised by the famous Kadlec and Swango cases: Does fear of disclosing too much information and risking a lawsuit cause medical staffs to disclose too little information, thus risking the safety of future patients?
Despite being fired from three hospitals, Michael Roy Sharpe, MD, was never disciplined by a state medical board. He worked in a series of hospitals in Tennessee and Alabama, until recently when accusations of having sex with a 15 year-old patient led him to voluntarily give up his medical license, according to an October 12 Tennessean.com article.
Now, he’s been officially charged with raping that patient, and five more young people have given statements about alleged misconduct, too, according to an October 23 Times-Gazette article.
National Nurse Practitioner Week highlights primary care shortage
If you haven’t already heard about it from the nurse practitioners (NP) at your organization, this week is National Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week. NPs are harnessing their spotlight to shine the light on the shortage of primary care providers in America—and how their work force can help combat that shortage.
The theme for the week is “Nurse Practitioners – 125,000 Solutions to the Primary Care Shortage.” The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) offers a resource guide on its Web site explaining why this year’s theme was chosen.
“The shortage of primary care providers is a hot topic in the healthcare reform debate. NP Week is a good opportunity to showcase the many ways that NPs are the primary care providers of choice for many patients and to let others in your community know about the value of NP-delivered primary care,” the AANP states.
Be sure to wish the NPs on your medical staff a happy National Nurse Practitioner’s Week!
Professional group expels physician who treated octuplet’s mother
Are celebrity practitioners held to different professional standards compared to non-celebrity practitioners, such as the ones on your medical staff? One professional group recently answered that question with a resounding no.
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine expelled Michael Kamrava, MD, the physician who became famous for treating Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets, according to an October 20 Associated Press article. The society didn’t release many details about the practitioner’s expulsion, but did say that it wasn’t due to his work with any one patient.
Joint Commission posts 2010 prepublication standards
It’s that time of year. The Joint Commission posted its 2010 prepublication standards on its Web site earlier this week. Click here to access them.
Check back with the Credentialing Resource Center blog to find out how the updates will affect your medical staff services department.
FSMB welcomes new president and CEO
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) announced yesterday that Humayun J. Chaudhry, D.O., M.S., FACP, FACOI, will lead the organization as its new president and CEO beginning in October.
He currently serves as Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Suffolk County, N.Y., Department of Health Services, a Clinical Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, and an Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of New York Institute of Technology (NYIT).
Many physicians in favor of public option
I just read about a recent study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to gauge physician’s reactions to healthcare reform. According to the study, which appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, 63% of physicians support some type of government-backed healthcare reform. Check out this article from United Press International.
I’d love to hear what physicians out there think–and why!
Blog report: AMA’s president launches new blog
“On the Road with Dr. Rohack” is the new blog AMA’s president J. James Rohack, MD started earlier this week.
Get the inside scoop on this blog by reading the Health Leaders Media article, “AMA President Dives into Blogosphere.”
You can find Rohack’s latest posts at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/health-system-reform/blog.shtml.
Alert patients to HIPAA violations, says new regulation
All hospital workers—including MSPs and medical staff professionals—need to adhere to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) guidelines. The government recently updated these guidelines to require healthcare providers to notify patients if their health information was breached.
Medical staffs should update their polices as needed to reflect these changes.
According to a press release: “The regulations, developed by the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), require health care providers and other HIPAA covered entities to promptly notify affected individuals of a breach, as well as the HHS Secretary and the media in cases where a breach affects more than 500 individuals. Breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals will be reported to the HHS Secretary on an annual basis. The regulations also require business associates of covered entities to notify the covered entity of breaches at or by the business associate.”
Rural and CAH sessions at CRC Symposium
To improve next year’s Credentialing Resource Center Symposium we need to hear from you!
Can you please take a moment out of your day to answer these four quick questions we have about your interest in rural and critical access hospitals (CAH)?
Click this link to answer the questions: www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB229JF5HHZC7
Nurses face felony charges after reporting doctor to the Texas Medical Board
Anne Mitchell, RN and Vicki Galle, RN, two nurses from West Texas, tried reporting a physician’s problem behavior through designated hospital channels. When their complaints fell on deaf ears, they took the next step and anonymously reported the physician to the Texas Medical Board.
If you’re a follower of Rita Schwab’s Supporting Safer Healthcare blog you already know what happened next – the medical board notified the physician of its investigation. In turn, the physician contacted the local sheriff to file a harassment report. The sheriff’s investigation led to third degree felony charges for the nurses.
The Texas Medical Board and the Texas Nurses Association both support the nurses’ actions, but that hasn’t stopped the sheriff’s office’s investigation.
Newspaper columnists have also come out in support of the nurses, saying the state’s whistleblower laws should offer more protection.
What do you think of the case? Do you think a similar situation could occur within your medical staff?