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State Educational Grants
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Congratulations to the following HQF State Educational Grant recipients: South Dakota Association of Quality Managers, Sioux Falls, SD; Florida Association for Healthcare Quality, Gainesville, FL; and, for the joint educational program, the Massachusetts Association for Healthcare Quality, Bridgewater, MA, and the Connecticut Association for Healthcare Quality, New Haven, CT. The HQF State Educational Grant awards financial assistance to NAHQ-affiliated state organizations to assist them in securing a speaker for a meeting. The grant is a one-time stipend of $1,500 to cover the speaker’s honorarium and/or travel expenses. |
Conference Registration Update
NAHQ’s 33rd Annual Educational Conference, “Collaboration—The Spark Behind Quality,” will be held September 14–17, 2008, at J. W. Marriott Desert Ridge Resort and Spa, Phoenix, AZ. The conference brochure will be mailed on April 11, 2008, and online registration will be available in mid-April. Click here for additional information.
New! NAHQ Product of the Month:
NAHQ Guide to Quality Management
| The NAHQ Guide to Quality Management (8th edition) provides a comprehensive overview of healthcare quality management in the healthcare setting. Presented in narrative format, it is a useful study tool for the CPHQ certification examination and an important resource for professionals wishing to expand their knowledge of quality and performance improvement of processes and outcomes. The cost is $75 for NAHQ members and $100 for nonmembers. Click here to order today! |
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March 18 Webcast: “From the Cockpit to the Nursing Unit”
Gary Sculli, MSN RN, pilot, Baptist Memorial Healthcare, Memphis, TN, will present “From the Cockpit to the Nursing Unit” on Tuesday, March 18, 2– 3:30 pm Central Time. This presentation explores the exportation of aviation safety practices into professional nursing. Click here to register.
Quality Boot Camp
Don’t miss attending this course on Friday, May 9, 8 am–5 pm, in New York City. For those new to healthcare quality, the course provides basic tools and clearly identified resources for a successful career. But course leaders Sandi O’Neal, MS Med RN CPHQ, and Kathy Clinefelter, MSN CPHA FNAHQ, note that all participants can benefit from this course by
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learning the basic knowledge and competencies they need to function in today's healthcare environment
- getting acquainted with the Baldrige Criteria for Healthcare Performance Excellence, the teaching framework used for this course
- obtaining resources and Web links for continued learning after the course
- networking and making friends with other healthcare quality professionals
- enjoying learning in an informal atmosphere where attendees feel comfortable sharing failures as well as successes.
Attendees can earn 7 CPHQ CE hours for attending this course. The cost is $275 for NAHQ members and $325 for nonmembers; the cost for those who join NAHQ and register for the course at the same time is $425.
Comments Requested on Proposed Regulation for PSOs
A proposed federal regulation establishes a framework for hospitals, doctors, and other healthcare providers to voluntarily report information to patient safety organizations (PSOs), on a privileged and confidential basis, for analysis of patient safety events. PSOs would allow for the voluntary reporting of patient safety events without fear of new tort liability. Although the statute makes patient safety event reporting privileged and confidential, it does not relieve clinicians or healthcare organizations from meeting requirements under federal, state, or local laws. Members of the public are invited to comment on the proposed regulation until April 14; their feedback will be used to shape the final regulation.
Scribner Speaks on Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) Compliance
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Linda Scribner, BA CPHQ, director of clinical outcomes management, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, and NAHQ’s professional development director, spoke at an HCPro, Inc.-sponsored audio conference, “Retool Your Reappointment Process: Strategies for OPPE Compliance,” on March 5, 2008. Scribner was joined by Mary Hoppa, MD MBA, a physician consultant at The Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, and Carol S. Cairns, CPMSM CPCS, senior consultant at The Greeley Company. The audio conference addressed |
- public accountability for quality
- Joint Commission requirements on general competency, OPPE, Focused Professional Practice Evaluation, and reappointment and renewal of privileges
- ways to do OPPE well (framework, expectations, indicators, and feedback reports)
- ways to use OPPE for the renewal and reappointment of privileges process (identifying problems in your facility, collecting data that meet your hospital’s needs, and using data you already have).
For a CD or audio archive copy of the audio conference, contact the HCPro customer service department at 800/650-6787.
New Guidance Improves Appeals Process for Medicare RAC Denials
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has, as required by law, issued new guidance for hospitals that are appealing payment denials by the agency and its contractors. This key improvement to the appeals process was mandated by Congress 5 years ago in the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act. The new guidance, Transmittal 314, affects all Medicare appeals activity, including appeals of medical necessity review denials by fiscal intermediaries and Medicare administrative contractors, as well as appeals of payment denials by recovery audit contractors (RACs).
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