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National Health Care Risk Management Week, June 16-20:
How are you promoting the profession?
National Health Care Risk Management Week, June 16-20, is an especially good time for risk managers to bring wider attention to the profession. It’s an annual opportunity to educate coworkers about risk management and remind your entire organization that everyone plays a role in patient safety.
How is your organization or chapter celebrating?
In one Washington, D.C., hospital, volunteers get a chance to “be a risk manager for a day,” according to Anita L. Massengale, risk manager and patient safety officer at The Hospital For Sick Children. Coworkers from different departments will shadow Anita Monday through Thursday to learn more about what she does. On Friday, the group will share observations and suggestions with the staff during a lunch presentation.
Daniel Nash, president of the Chicagoland chapter of ASHRM, asked the governor of Illinois and the mayor of Chicago for official recognition of the health care risk management profession. Karen Wright, president of the Arizona chapter, also requested official recognition from the governor’s office in Arizona.
The New York chapter is recognizing a job well done. “We celebrate by awarding service recognition plaques to our past presidents [there are more than 20],” reports Pamela Monastero, president of the New York chapter and assistant vice president at New York Methodist Hospital. “We give out risk management-related gifts to honor the occasion.”
Several chapters are holding a special meeting on June 18 to participate in ASHRM’s expanded audio conference and Webcast, “Validating a Culture of Patient Safety in Your Organization.” Members who attend are eligible for at least two contact hours of continuing education credits.
Other local National Health Care Risk Management Week celebrations include a lunchtime brown-bag session to discuss patient safety issues that affect everyone.
Denise Myers, risk manager at Monongalia Health System in Morgantown, WV, suggests risk managers contact local radio talk shows to discuss patient safety – and offer to be a guest speaker.
Why not add an element of fun to the learning? One risk manager reports that she roams the halls giving pop quizzes to coworkers, then rewards each participant with special logo Post-It Notepads from ASHRM’s catalog of commemorative items.
Another risk manager attracts fellow workers by renting a popcorn machine and placing it prominently in the cafeteria. Popcorn seekers fill out a questionnaire before getting their snacks.
Whether it’s popcorn or pop quizzes, be sure to commemorate National Health Care Risk Management Week wherever you are, and spread the word about patient safety throughout your organization. As this year’s theme says, “Safe and Trusted Health Care: We’re All In It Together.”
The ASHRM Web site has been redesigned to better serve the needs of members and the general public who are interested in learning about the health care risk management profession.
ASHRM believes its Web site should support the ASHRM vision of “safe and trusted health care” by:
· fostering professional development of ASHRM members via timely presentation of news and views, as well as the fingertip availability of tools and resources
· facilitating educational opportunities via 24/7 access to information about ASHRM programs and products and secure online registration for those programs
· improving the collaborative spirit of community among members and chapters via interactive features such as chats and discussion forums
· encouraging advocacy efforts via sample letters to legislators
· presenting an “e-brochure” to the world, telling our story via content that reflects our mission: “To advance safe and trusted patient-centered health care delivery, ASHRM promotes proactive and innovative management of organization-wide risk.”
To accomplish all this, major changes have been made to the ASHRM Web site.
Navigational changes
· Starting at the top, the logo and labels are more visually prominent to strengthen the site’s identity.
· The four main sections of content are given their own icons – Education, Information, Members and Chapters. Each icon provides a direct link to that section.
· Each of the sections is clearly mapped out on the home page. Each link in the sections will take you to the selected page. For example, ASHRM’s popular monographs can now be more easily accessed with a click under the “More Resources” section in the center column.
Registration made easier
All of the pages except those in the Members section are immediately accessible to everyone. Members services are accessible to members who are logged in. Registration with the AHA’s HospitalConnect and entry of your ASHRM membership ID number are required. Registration is now easier than ever – a two-step process for ASHRM members that requires very basic information, including their membership ID number. Members who have registered since last July need not register again, but members who have been unable to register are encouraged to give it another try.
New community tools
· In the Members section, the Discussion Forum has been reinstated. Members who log in may start the conversation in any of the listed topics by going to the Online Community link, selecting “Discussion Forum” and then clicking on a topic.
· Everyone is invited to participate in the instant Poll at the bottom of the home page. This fun feature provides an opportunity to weigh in on a question and immediately view the poll’s current stats. (These questions change regularly, so be sure to check often.)
All of the popular features of the old ASHRM Web site are up and running, but a few new features are not yet completely operational. For example, the Tools page in Members Services will include sample policies & procedures, checklists, etc.
Your comments are welcome
We invite you to explore the new site and let us know what you think. Please send your comments to ashrm@aha.org. With your input, we look forward to making the ASHRM site the premier Web site for health care risk management information.
Donna Shalala to give annual conference closing keynote
“Grand Ole Opportunity,” ASHRM's 23rd Annual Conference & Exhibition set for Nov. 2-5 in Nashville, is promising a powerful lineup of keynote speakers.
Risk managers know how important it is to “tell our story” so that all may learn and improve, and few do that better than opening speaker Atul Gawande, MD, author of the best-selling book “Complications.” To close the conference, ASHRM has landed former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, who will inspire with her tales of triumph in the complex worlds of government and academia.
Other keynote sessions will buzz with positive energy (motivational speaker Amanda Gore) and enlighten (the Legislative, Regulatory and Case Law Update led by John West and Mark Kadzielski).
Advance conference program brochures featuring the red, white and blue Nashville logo have been mailed. Updated details and online registration also are available at www.ashrm.org (click on the conference logo at the top of the page).
In an effort to bridge the gap between the current state of health care and achievement of safer care, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has launched a new accreditation process. JCAHO’s goal for the process, known as “Shared Visions – New Pathways,” is to compel health care organizations to continuously improve their services and processes to provide better, safer care for their communities.
Highlights of the new initiative
The Shared Visions – New Pathways initiative will be implemented in January 2004 for all accreditation programs (ambulatory, behavioral health, home, hospital, laboratory, and long-term care). The initiative includes:
* Streamlined standards to focus on critical patient care issues;
* A mid-cycle self-assessment process during which each health care organization will evaluate its compliance with applicable standards and develop a corrective plan for areas of non-compliance;
* A priority focus process that integrates organization-specific data (previous survey findings, ORYX core measure data, sentinel event information, etc.) to identify critical processes relevant to patient safety and health care quality that will guide surveyor focus;
* A new survey agenda with six basic components: an opening conference, a leadership interview, validation of self-assessment results, a focus on patients for assessing compliance with selected standards, education on key issues and a closing conference;
* An enhanced role for extensively training surveyors;
* Revised decision and performance reports;
* The use of ORYX core measure data to identify critical processes and help organizations improve throughout the accreditation cycle;
* Increased engagement of physicians;
* A new approach to surveying complex organizations.
Reasons cited by JCAHO for adopting the new accreditation process include:
* Provision of a “truer” picture of performance;
* Reinforcement of continuous compliance;
* Increased credibility;
* Alignment with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to move to unannounced hospital certification surveys by the end of the year.
Goals of the Standards review
JCAHO staff and industry professionals on the Standards Review Task Force (including an ASHRM member) reviewed the Standards in all programs beginning in October 2000 and concluding this year. Key goals of the Standards review project included:
* Elimination of embedded standards that no longer require repetitive compliance assessment;
* Reduction in redundancy;
* Improved clarity and increased relevance of remaining Standards;
* Reduced paperwork and documentation;
* Greater clarity and ease of surveying standards.
The Standards will be published in or around September 2003.
Introduction of self-assessment
One feature of the Shared Visions – New Pathways initiative that merits special risk management attention is the self-assessment, also known as the Periodic Performance Review (PPR).
Accredited organizations will complete the PPR at the 18-month point in their three-year accreditation cycle, rating the level of compliance with all applicable Standards. Each organization will be provided access to a password-protected site to complete the assessment – there will be no on-site survey. The PPR will contain all applicable elements (ORYX core performance measures, JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals) that pertain to the specific accreditation program. Each organization will assess and evaluate its compliance and the participation requirements within a three-month timeframe.
In conjunction with the submission of the PPR to JCAHO, corrective action plans must be submitted for areas where the organization has judged itself to be non-compliant.
JCAHO will hold a followup conversation with the organization within 30 days of the submission of the PPR and any associated corrective action plans. During that conversation, JCAHO staff will conduct a phone interview to review and approve the PPR and proposed corrective action plans. The accreditation status of the organization will not be affected if the organization has submitted the PPR within 30 days of the due date and the organization has an approved corrective action plan (or plans). Organizations at the midpoint in their accreditation cycle as of January 2004 and beyond (those due for survey in or after July 2005) will receive the self-assessment tool in or after July 2003.
Tracer methodology
Another aspect of the new initiatives involves tracer methodology, which is an analysis of the organization’s care and services using actual care recipients or patients as the framework. This process traces care recipients through critical focus areas within the organization’s systems.
The surveyor will follow this tracer process through other critical focus areas for the organization, giving the organization criteria for the types of patients that need to be reviewed. The surveyor will also randomly select active files and follow the patients through the organization, verifying Standards compliance through the care provided. If the surveyor identifies a compliance issue while tracing one patient, he or she will pull other records (active or closed) of similar patients to determine if the problem represents an isolated issue or a pattern. As multiple cases are examined throughout the actual care processes, the surveyor may identify performance issue trends. The surveyor will work with the organization to address these trends, offer best practices from other health care organizations addressing the issue and provide guidance.
If problem trends are identified, the surveyor may issue the organization a Type I recommendation(s). The organization will have 30 days to submit a corrective action plan. No final decision will be rendered until the plan is received and approved. The organization will then be accredited.
More meaningful reports
New performance reports are being developed by the JCAHO to yield accreditation decision and performance reports that are more meaningful to accredited organizations and to the public and that more accurately represent the performance of the health care organization. Changes to the decision categories will become effective in January 2004. As part of the performance report, scores will not be disclosed to the organization or to the public.
For a sample timeline of the accreditation cycle for a health care organization surveyed in July 2002, visit www.jcaho.org and under “Top Spots” click on “Shared Visions – New Pathways,” scroll down and click on “Shared Visions – New Pathways Triennial Accreditation Cycle Example of HCO Surveyed in July 2002.”
Special conference to help explain accreditation changes
To clarify issues incorporated into JCAHO accreditation changes, ASHRM and the American Society for Healthcare Engineers (ASHE) will offer an education program on Aug. 4 and 5 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Chicago.
Titled “Navigating the New JCAHO Accreditation Requirements: Hot Topics for Risk Managers & Facility Engineers,” the program will present a timely analysis of aspects of the new JCAHO initiatives, including the 2004 National Patient Safety Goals and corresponding strategies for compliance. In addition, industry experts will guide risk managers and engineers in separate discussions about issues specific to their areas of practice concerning the new accreditation requirements.
Faculty will include Dr. Richard Croteau, MD, and Darlene Christiansen, RN, LNHA, MBA, of JCAHO and representatives of ASHE and ASHRM.
The conference will begin with registration at 7 a.m. CT Aug. 4 and end
at noon the next day. Details are being announced in e-News: This Week at ASHRM.
NEW CPHRMS
The Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management designation provides a credential based on a solid assessment that verifies a broad-based knowledge of risk management. Certification elevates professionals to elite status among peers in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Congratulations to recent CPHRM achievers:
Marianne Ambookan, Syosset, NY
Denise J. Barnett, Punta Gorda, FL
Dorothy J. Berry, Arlington Heights, IL
Jason Linville Black, Los Angeles, CA
Jerald L. Ferguson, Houston, TX
Patricia Lynne Jackson, Fort Lauderdale, FL
Glenn Holbrook Jacobs, New Port Richey, FL
Leilani Kicklighter, Tamarac, FL
Penny C. King, Columbus, GA
Georgeann L. Reilly, Carlisle, PA
Marian C. Scharwachter, Bayport, NY
Linda J. Smith, Tucson, AZ
Kathleen M. Sweeny, Cleveland, OH
Louise Esplin Swensen, Sandy, UT
The Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management designation is offered through the American Hospital Association Certification Center.
The benefits of certification
Certification benefits everyone. Research shows it helps recruit and retain highly qualified, satisfied professionals. Employees are far more likely to stay with a hospital that offers them career development programs and professional rewards and recognition. And hospitals can take pride and confidence in knowing that the men and women who staff their facilities have met a national standard of competency that demonstrates they are among the best in their fields. What better message can be sent to patients and communities?
For details, visit www.aha.org and click on “Publications,” then “AHA News” and go to the April 21 issue, or call the AHA Certification Center at (312) 422-3715.
CHAPTER NEWS
KENTUCKY
The Kentucky Society for Healthcare Risk Management will sponsor a CPHRM study session from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. June 25 in Louisville. The study session can be a great way to prepare for the CPHRM exam. For details on the study session, contact Sherry Maddox at (502) 580-3864 or smaddox@humana.com. For details about the CPHRM exam, visit the AHA’s Certification Center Web page via www.aha.org (click on the AHA Certification Center link in the right column) or call (312) 422-3713.
MARYLAND
The Maryland Society for Healthcare Risk Management (MD-SHRM) has announced results of its recent election. President-elect is Debra Bittle (2003-2004), secretary is Linda Keldsen (2003-2004) and members-at-large are Nancy Barczak (2003-2005) and Elizabeth Norman (2003-2005).
NEW YORK
The Association for Healthcare Risk Management of New York (AHRMNY) is holding its annual business meeting and education conference June 20. Among the topics are HIPAA and computer firewalls, risk managers and their response to law enforcement requests, and a medical malpractice panel discussion. For details, contact Pamela Monastero at pam9005@nyp.org.
PENNSYLVANIA
The Philadelphia Area Society for Healthcare Risk Management will hold a meeting June 26 at ECRI in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Willie Curtis, chief privacy officer at Albert Einstein Medical, will speak on “HIPAA: Privacy Pitfalls and Practices.” For details, contact Cindy Wallace at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5161, or cwallace@ecri.org.
Publicize chapter events here and let other ASHRM members in your state know what your chapter is doing. Submit chapter news and updates to Nancy Neff, Project Specialist, at nneff@aha.org .
SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORTS PATIENT SAFETY PROJECT
Michelle Hoppes, RN, MS, AHRMQR, DFASHRM, is the first recipient of ASHRM’s Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship Scholarship. The award was presented to Ms. Hoppes to support her action learning project titled “Understanding and Creating a ‘Just Culture’ for Patient Safety.”
Ms. Hoppes was selected by an ASHRM scholarship task force on the basis several criteria including FASHRM eligibility and willingness to share her action learning project – the heart of the fellowship – with ASHRM members via articles in ASHRM publications or a presentation at the annual conference.
“I am real excited to begin work as a patient safety fellow, as the fellowship allows thought leaders to come together for a common goal,” said Ms. Hoppes, Vice President, Risk Management and Patient Safety Institute, MHA Insurance Co. “This goal is to share, network and learn together for the purpose of contributing to the body of knowledge related to patient safety and to identify opportunities for improvement.”
The Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship provides an intensive, 18-month learning experience to develop leadership skills and advance the science of patient safety in health care. Up to 40 fellows are brought together through on-site meetings and virtual conferences, allowing them to tap into a rich network of educational resources.
The fellowship was established by the Health Forum of the American Hospital Association, National Patient Safety Foundation, American Association of Nurse Executives, Health Research & Educational Trust and ASHRM. For information about the next class, call (415) 248-8416 or visit www.healthforum.com(click on “Education”).
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT: JULY 28-29 RISK FINANCING FORUM
Dear ASHRM members:
I am pleased to extend to you, risk managers responsible for promoting safe and trusted health care and managing the assets of your organizations, an ASHRM-member only discount for a very important conference entitled “Captives and Alternative Risk Financing for Medical Liability Coverage: Solutions for Malpractice and Other Enterprise Risks.” ASHRM is pleased to co-sponsor this conference with the Center for Business Intelligence. The conference includes an impressive list of case studies – all delivered by leaders in alternative risk financing.
During this two-day forum, you will learn from case studies presented by leaders from the American Hospital Association, Bon Secours Health System, Baylor Health Care System, Loyola University Health System, Trinity Health and Catholic Healthcare West, MedStar Health and Extendicare, Baystate Health System and others. I will be serving as the moderator of the conference on July 29th. I am pleased to be joining several other ASHRM members in sharing health care risk management expertise and experience with alternative risk financing mechanisms.
I look forward to joining you and other ASHRM colleagues at:
WHAT:
“Inaugural Forum on Captives and Alternative Risk Financing for Medical Liability Coverage: Solutions for Malpractice and Other Enterprise Risks”
WHEN:
July 28-29, 2003
WHERE:
Westin Chicago River North in Chicago, IL
Sincerely,
Jane McCaffrey
President, ASHRM
P.S. ASHRM members will receive a $400 discount off the Captives and Alternative Risk Financing for Medical Liability Coverage: Solutions for Malpractice and Other Enterprise Risks. Please call CBI at (800) 817-8601 or e-mail erikam@cbinet.com to register or for clarification on which rate you will qualify to receive. Please mention this letter and your priority code of FB368-ASHRM. Discount cannot be combined any other special offers or current registrations.
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Corporate Risk Manager
Located in Jacksonville, FL, the Nemours Foundation/The Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children employs 400 subspecialty physicians and surgeons. One of the nation’s largest pediatric subspecialty group practices, Nemours conducts many ongoing research and education programs. Nemours operates The Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE, as well as four major children’s specialty centers in Wilmington, DE, and Jacksonville, Orlando and Pensacola, FL. The Corporate Risk Manager reports to the Vice President of Corporate Services and oversees a staff of six. The goal of this position is to lead the offensive side of risk management through implementing an enterprise-wide risk management program. Key responsibilities include loss control efforts throughout Nemours. Ten years of progressive experience in health care including Clinical and Risk Management functions are needed. Travel will encompass 25-50% of the time. Salary is competitive. Submit resumes via fax at (610) 667-6750; via e-mail at SGEsearch@aol.com. Web site is www.nemours.org.
Manager, Health Sciences Risk Management
The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, NM, is seeking a Manager of Risk Management to join the Health Sciences Center (HSC) Risk Management Office. Under director of the HSC General Counsel, provides management of the administration of all aspects of risk management, insurance and claims for HSC. Plans HSC risk management strategies and serves as point of contact with internal and external constituencies on all risk management issues. Commitment to excellent customer services and superior communication skills essential. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Bachelor’s degree with 5 years directly related experience. For complete job description and instructions on how to apply: Contact UNM HSC Human Resources at (505) 272-6445 or visit our Web site at http://ejobs.unm.edu. EEO/AA .
How To Place Ads
Employment Opportunities ads should be limited to 100 words and must be paid in advance with a check payable to ASHRM. Mail typed copy with payment to ASHRM / American Hospital Association, One North Franklin, Chicago, IL 60606. Employers pay $100 (non-members of ASHRM or AHA pay $125). Job seekers pay $50 ($60 non-members.) Ads exceeding 100 words may be edited.
For additional employment opportunities, and to post a resume online, please visit the CareerBuilder.com link at www.ashrm.org.
