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Hospitalist Leadership Connection

This e-mail newsletter focuses on hospitalist management issues. Look for it each week to bring you regulatory news, research, hot topics, and long-term trends in the field of inpatient care.

2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006

Hospitalist Leadership Connection

Issue 32, August 10, 2011

• Notice: Last issue of Hospitalist Leadership Connection

  HCPro is sorry to report that this is the last issue of Hospitalist Leadership Connection.

Issue 31, August 3, 2011

• Balancing the costs of hospitalists

  A new study found that although patients cared for by hospitalists often have shorter lengths of...

• Ask the expert: What might an employment model for surgical hospitalist program look like?

  In the employment model, the hospital or a hospital-owned group practice employs the surgeons...

Issue 29, July 27, 2011

• How happy are hospitalists with their jobs?

  The number of hospitalists in the US is growing, but are they really satisfied with their jobs? The...

• Tip of the week: Determine what happens after hospitalist candidates are identified

  The following is a step-by-step guide for lining up interviews with hospitalist candidates.

Issue 28, July 13, 2011

• Prevent lawsuits by avoiding medical record red flags

  As the number of hospitalists increase so does the number of patients under their care. As such...

• Tip of the week: Use references to determine whether a hospitalist candidate fits in

  When talking to a reference contact, the employer should describe the practice or specific elements...

• Tip of the week: Select a billing service for your hospitalist group

  Billing for a medical practice requires the collection and submission of many specific items in a...

Issue 27, July 6, 2011

• Hospitalists involved in Ohio initiative to reduce readmissions and infections

  The state of Ohio is launching a healthcare quality collaborative to tackle two common issues...

• Hospitals target primary care physicians for hospitalist roles

  Hospitals are targeting primary care physicians for positions as employed physicians of hospitals...

Issue 26, June 29, 2011

• Medical residents should work no more than 16 hours without sleep

  Although the ACGME’s new Common Program Requirements will cut shift lengths for first year...

• Duct tape effective at preventing infection

  Staff at hospitals that choose active surveillance and patient isolation to prevent bug...

• Home health after hospitalization can decrease readmissions

  Patients with diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or congestive heart failure who...

Issue 25, June 22, 2011

• Patients use "panic button" as last resort

  When given the option of pushing a “panic button,” patients are more likely to underuse...

• Better informed patients less likely to be readmitted

  Patients who are better informed about their illnesses are less likely to be readmitted, according...

• Hospitalist salaries may be leveling off

  The national median annual salary for internal medicine physicians treating adult patients rose...

Issue 24, June 15, 2011

• ACGME-compliant staffing model reduces costs for UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital

  When the ACGME released its new Common Program Requirements, many balked at the estimated cost of...

• Number of nocturnists on the rise

  More hospitals are employing nocturnists to counter “the weekend effect,” a worrisome...

• Admission is the best time to start a diabetes discharge plan

  The best time for physicians to start drafting a discharge plan for diabetic patients is when...

Issue 23, June 8, 2011

• Hospitalists must speak patients' language

  A report from the National Blood Clot Alliance indicates that most patients don’t know what...

• Hospitalist blamed for patient death

  Abraham Awwad, MD, a nephrologist at Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg, FL, has filed a formal...

• Younger patients receive better care than the elderly

  In the June issue of June Journal of the American Colleges of Surgeons, researchers found that...

• Nurses and in-home visits key to reducing readmissions

  Assigning a nurse as the clinical manager or leader of care and including in-person home visits to...

Issue 22, May 31, 2011

• Long lists of drug side effects may overwhelm physicians

  The long lists of potential side effects that accompany every drug can cause physicians to feel...

• Happy 15th birthday, hospital medicine!

  Robert M. Wachter, MD, professor and associate chair of the Department of Medicine at the...

• Need to pee? There's an app for that

  Hospitalists may want to consider a new hobby: writing apps for smartphones. Take William Johnston...

Issue 21, May 25, 2011

• eICUs may reduce mortality rates

  Telemedicine may be just what the doctor ordered. The use of eICUs at UMass Memorial Medical Center...

• Will physician burnout hamper healthcare reform?

  Thirty to forty percent of physicians experience burnout during their careers, often related to...

• Weekend admissions have higher mortality rates

  Patients who are admitted to the hospital during a weekend are more likely to die than patients who...

Issue 20, May 18, 2011

• The ACO proposed rules: A party starter or a party killer?

  We all anxiously, and many hopefully, waited and watched as the CMS proposed rules for the...

• HM11 speaker discusses hospitalists' involvement in ED overcrowding

  Eric Howell, MD, SFHM, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University and director of...

• Society of Hospital Medicine and Press Ganey work together to create patient satisfaction tool

  The Society of Hospital Medicine and Press Ganey have together created a tool for measuring...

Issue 19, May 11, 2011

• Hospital labor costs inch up in Q1

  Total compensation costs for hospital employees rose 0.5% in the first quarter of 2011, slightly...

• Comprehensivist develops as new subspecialty

  According to a UPI article, a new emerging specialty is needed to tend to chronically ill...

• Featured blog post: Alligators in the hospital

  My last two posts have dealt with the analogy between hospitalist program managers and...

Issue 18, May 3, 2011

• Q&A: What should the hospitalist program consider in measuring patient satisfaction?

  Measuring patient satisfaction is easier said than done. Keep in mind that external factors beyond...

• Ask the expert: How can the group leader establish the hospitalist culture?

  A hospitalist program leader has a responsibility to establish the culture of the organization and...

• Academic hospitalists burned out

  Academic hospitalists are increasingly burned out with less time dedicated to academic work.

Issue 17, April 26, 2011

• Featured blog post: For better of for worse--Waivers for patient online reviews

  A new trend is putting a stop to those online reviews.

• Ask the expert: How can our program use hospitalist report cards for quarterly reports?

  A hospitalist service might incorporate the hospitalist report card into quarterly reports...

• Quality incentive payments growing

  Physician quality incentive payments soared to $234 million, according to the Centers for Medicare...

• SHM releases position on hospitalist credentialing and medical staff privileges

  Hospital [m]edicine groups and hospital medical staffs should jointly determine the point at which...

• Cogent and HMG merge as largest hospitalist firm

  Cogent Healthcare and Hospitalists Management Group announced their merger to become the largest...

Issue 16, April 19, 2011

• Featured blog post: Handling physician HIPAA violations

  Hospitals have put in place several auditing processes and safeguard procedures to ensure that any...

• One-third of hospitals not prepared for major disasters

  About one-third of hospitals are not prepared for mass-casualty disasters, according to a report...

• New York has most end-of-life hospital stays

  New York has the highest number (46%) of chronically ill patients in the hospital at the time of...

• Physicians don't take their own treatment advice

  Physicians don’t do as they say; that is, they don’t follow their own treatment advice.

• Hospital spending on the decline

  Even though overall healthcare costs are rising, hospital spending is declining, according to a...

• HHS partners with hospitals for ambitious patient safety goals

  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week launched a national collaboration...

Issue 15, April 12, 2011

• Ask the expert: How can our program make a final decision on an interviewed candidate?

  After interviewing a candidate, be prepared to make a decision on that candidate.

• PCPs aim to prevent suicide

  Forty-five percent of the 32,000 Americans who commit suicide each year visit their primary care...

• Hospital errors rampant

  Adverse events occur in one-third of hospitals, according to a new study.

• IHI releases inpatient waste identification tool

  The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) recently released a free white paper with a Hospital...

Issue 14, April 5, 2011

• Featured blog post: Taming the alligators

  My last post introduced the idea that hospitalist medical directors are in the position of an...

• Items to discuss during provider--patient/family conference

  During admission, the hospitalist must gather pertinent information and coordinate the...

• House bill proposes to lift ban on physician-owned hospitals

  A new House bill could repeal Section 6001 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Art...

• Date set for healthcare reform appeal

  On June 8, the Obama administration will present oral arguments before a Florida appeals court on...

Issue 13, March 29, 2011

• Featured blog post: Infection = felony?

  An article in The Journal News highlights an interesting thought concerning healthcare associated...

• Ask the expert: What requirements should a surgical hospitalist abide by?

  A clearly defined code of conduct is important in ensuring that the surgical hospitalist meets...

• Faculty development leads to job satisfaction

  Although first-year academic hospitalist faculty may be skilled clinically, they might not be when...

• Facilities with hospitalists may yield more patient satisfaction

  Press Ganey reported that facilities with hospitalists may lead to better patient satisfaction...

Issue 12, March 22, 2011

• Featured blog post: Will accountable care organizations create restraint of trade?

  Proponents argue that ACOs will provide and manage care across the continuum of care settings...

• Ask the expert: Who should be part of the crisis management team?

  A crisis management team may be activated to deal with a multitude of problems, such as an abused...

• Hospital care makes up largest portion of healthcare spending at $1.2 trillion

  Making up the largest share (31%) of U.S. healthcare spending, hospital charges totaled $1.2...

• Longest living Americans ever

  Reaching an all-time high, U.S. life expectancy soared to 78.2 years of age in 2009, according to...

• HHS announces national QI plan

  As part of the Affordable Care Act, the National Quality Strategy sets priorities for better...

• Homeless patients incur higher hospital costs

  Homeless patients often have longer length of stay, resulting in higher hospital costs, according...

Issue 11, March 15, 2011

• Should smoking lead to unemployment?

  Smoking is associated with significant healthcare costs and is a leading cause of preventable...

• Palliative care cut hospital costs

  Patients who received palliative care on average incurred $6,900 less in hospital costs per...

• Becker's names 50 top hospitals

  Becker’s Hospital Review announced its list of “America’s 50 Best Hospitals."

• Attributes of a high-functioning practice

  John Nelson, MD, MHM, names eight identifiable qualities of a high-functioning practice.

• Hospitalist-surgeon comanagement has no effect on outcomes

  Researchers found that implementing a hospitalist-neurosurgery comanagement service does not...

Issue 10, March 9, 2011

• Anti-microbial soaps a wash?

  Republicans may be washing pharmacy and retail store shelves of anti-microbial soaps because of the...

• Mass General to pay $1 million in HIPAA violations

  Mass General is doing penance for losing the protected health information of 192 patients of Mass...

• Incremental process improvements not enough to change healthcare

  In the March 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, authors Simon C. Mathews...

Issue 9, March 1, 2011

• Featured blog post: Draining the swamp

  The swamp contains all the things that prevent hospital care from being...

• Free policy: Departmental guidelines for evaluating hospitalists' performance

  Consider using this sample language in policies regarding hospitalist performance evaluation.

• Tip of the week: How to conduct a performance appraisal

  Ideally, performance feedback should be a positive experience that brings out the best in both the...

• Would you write a sick note for a nonsick patient?

  Physicians in Wisconsin have been accused of writing sick notes to patients without first...

Issue 8, February 22, 2011

• Tip of the week: Recognize hospitalists' accomplishments

  Hospitalists anticipate, appreciate, and respond to recognition of their positive performance.

• Ask the expert: Should I use a physician recruiting firm?

  A recruiting firm is only as good as the individual recruiter assigned to the specific search.

• 'Clean' and dirty white coats equally dirty

  After an eight-hour work day, a freshly laundered white coat has the same amount of bacteria as a...

Issue 7, February 14, 2011

• Models for hospital medicine

  As hospitalists continue to see steady increases in their compensation, hospital CFOs need to...

• Physician management structure needed to improve outcomes

  To improve the quality of care, physicians must be more engaged and work with nurses and managers...

• Steps for healthcare leaders to reduce variation in care

  The American Hospital Association this month released “Health Care Leader Action Guide...

• Back pain causes $9.5 billion costs in inpatient stays

  Back problems accounted for approximately 663,000 inpatient stays in the U.S. in 2008, according a...

• Inpatient pediatric care costs reduced

  A multidisciplinary hospital team can help reduce inpatient and emergency care costs, according to...

Issue 6, February 8, 2011

• Generating a hospitalist report card

  Using data hospital sources is the first step in generating a report card for a hospitalist service.

• Ask the expert: How will we decide how many hospitalists we need?

  The hospitalist program should research how many unassigned patients are admitted through the...

• Getting hospitalist compensation right

  Like a baseball team banking on a designated hitter, many healthcare organizations are looking to...

Issue 5, February 1, 2011

• Featured blog post: The 'S' word

  As value-based purchasing approaches, hospitalists are going to feel the heat from hospital...

• CMS to host open forum for hospital inpatient value-based purchasing program

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host an “open door forum” to...

• CMS issues guidance on hospital inpatient admissions

  CMS has released educational guidance to assist hospitals regarding inpatient admission decisions.

• Competition doesn't affect inpatient care costs

  Despite the old economic principal that competition of services helps reduce the cost of those...

Issue 4, January 25, 2011

• Tip of the week: Use staff physicians as mentors

  Carefully select a mentor for each new hospitalist; that person will help determine the overall...

• Hospitalist mentoring deficient

  Hospitalist group leaders’ biggest concerns were about adequate hospitalist mentorship and...

• AHA calls on hospital leaders to improve wellness culture

  Hospitals responded, reporting that they witnessed a range of health employment programs (e.g...

Issue 3, January 18, 2011

• Ask the expert: What is the return on investment for surgical hospitalist programs?

  As with other hospitalist programs, a precise return on investment (ROI) is difficult to capture...

• Tip of the week: Conduct behavior-based interviews

  To gain the most out of this interview, consider conducting a behavior-based interview to...

• TJC seeks public comments on proposed quality measures

  The Joint Commission last week opened for public comment its proposed performance expectations for...

• Practice management-physician group mergers on the rise

  Practice management companies continue to acquire hospitals and other hospitalist facilities.

Issue 2, January 11, 2011

• Have a story idea?

  Share your story idea with HCPro, Inc., by e-mailing Associate Editor Karen M. Cheung at...

• 11 hot healthcare buzzwords for 2011

  With rapid changes in healthcare comes a new vocabulary with terms and phrases every provider...

• Ask the expert: What is a best practice billing protocol?

  To minimize dependence on this subsidy, the hospitalist program must have an exceptional billing...

• Free form: Satisfaction survey for PCPs

  To help us better serve you in the future, please check the box that best describes how you feel...

Issue 1, January 4, 2011

• Featured blog post: When it's over, it's over

  January is the month of looking forward and looking back. It is also a good time to review the...

• Ask the expert: How often should the medical staff provide physicians feedback?

  Because hospital quality programs traditionally focus on negative feedback, physicians don’t...

• Tip of the week: Appropriately allocate for malpractice insurance before starting a hospitalist program

  Be sure to provide professional liability and malpractice insurance to protect hospitalists in...

• Rural hospitalists compensated 19k more than urban hospitalists

  A new survey confirms the well-known compensation difference that rural hospitalists earn more...