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Hospital Acquired Conditions
Clarifying “Never-Events” Terminology
Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA, CMP™
Publisher-in-Chief
Did you know that “never-events” are also being called “hospital acquired conditions”; in some cases?
Of Terms and Definitions
Below is the list of conditions that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) selected in its FY 2008 final rule:
- Serious Preventable Event — Object Left in Surgery
- Serious Preventable Event — Air Embolism
- Serious Preventable Event — Blood Incompatibility
- Catherther-associated Urinary Tract Infections
- Pressure Ulcers (Decubitus Ulcers)
- Vascular Catheter-Associated Infection
- Surgical Site Infection — Mediastinitis After Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Surgery
- Hospital-Acquired Injuries — Fractures, Dislocations, Intracranial Injury, Crushing Injury, Burn and Other Unspecified Effects of External Causes
Assessment
IOW: You might say “nosocomial”; but I may say “hospital-acquired” when it comes to infections?
And so, is this a linguistic technique to take some of the legal-liability and “sting” out of “never-events” terminology?
Does a term-of-art really matter to the affected patient? Suppose you were the patient?
Conclusion
Please comment and opine?
Institutional: www.HealthcareFinancials.com
Terms: www.HealthDictionarySeries.com
Speaker: If you need a moderator or a speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA - Editor and Publisher-in-Chief - is available for speaking engagements. Contact him at: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com or Bio: http://www.stpub.com/pubs/authors/MARCINKO.htm
Filed under: Risk Management | Tagged: Health Law & Policy
PEs and NEs - The List Grows
According to the Associated Press, the government estimates that its’ proposed Never-Events rule changes will save Medicare $50 million annually during each of the next three years.
Perhaps that is why Federal health officials just proposed adding dangerous blood clots in the leg and eight other conditions to the list of complications that Medicare would not pay to treat if they were acquired at the hospital?
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid [CMS] set a new precedent last year by saying it would no longer pay hospitals for treating eight “never events” - conditions that occur as a result of hospital error, such as giving a patient the wrong blood type.
Now, the newly-proposed rules add nine conditions, including: deep-vein thrombosis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, bloodstream infections with the staphylococcus aureus bacteria, and Legionnaire’s disease.
Suggestions for the next set of NE are appreciated; as “the list goes on.”
-Jane
Cigna the Next N-E No Payer
Did you know that the Cigna Corporation will soon stop reimbursing hospitals for major medical errors, including operating on the wrong organ, the wrong side, the wrong body part or the wrong person; etc?
Yes, it’s finally true. The policy also will deny payment for avoidable hospital conditions such as objects left inside a patient during surgery; use of the wrong blood type during transfusions; infections from urinary catheters; and bedsores, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Cigna is just the next payer to join a national movement to attack medical errors by not paying for them, or for the care necessary to fix errors after they have occurred.
Aetna Inc. announced a similar measure in January; while Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Massachusetts have set up no-pay policies through their Medicaid programs.
And so, what are the chances that medical errors overall will indeed decrease, going forward, once these non-payment polices are fully implemented? Your thoughts are appreciated
-Hope
Clostridium Difficile Infections
Did you know that last month, Medicare proposed adding the spore producer C. diff to the growing list of preventable problems after the agency recorded 96,000 cases of the infection in 2007 at an average cost of $59,000 apiece?
Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24407803
Any comments on this ever growing list of Never-Events?
-Staff Reporters