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AzHHA Annual Membership Conference: Register Today Before the Cost Goes Up
The early bird registration deadline for the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association’s 2010 Membership Conference—Bringing the Future Into Focus—is fast approaching. Sign up by Sept. 14 to avoid a $50 late registration fee for the conference, which takes place Oct. 14 and 15.
Don’t miss this year’s American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) breakfast meeting, which will be held on Friday, Oct. 15 and is open to all conference attendees. Chris Van Gorder, FACEHE, president and CEO, Scripps Health, and 2010-11 ACHE Chairman, will present A CEO’s View of Disaster Planning: the Scripps Medical Response Team. This session will describe the efforts of the Scripps Medical Response Team and its missions to the gulf after Hurricane Katrina, the San Diego fires and Haiti’s earthquake.
Those who register by Sept. 14 will also be entered into a drawing for a free conference registration. For more information and to register, click here. Questions? E-mail edservices@azhha.org or call 602-445-4300.
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Copper Queen’s James Dickson Named AzRHA President
James Dickson, administrator and CEO, Copper Queen Community Hospital, Bisbee, has been elected as the 2010-11 president of the Arizona Rural Health Association (AzRHA). In 2002 and 2009, Dickson was honored with AzRHA’s Healthcare Professional of the Year award and in 2009, he was recognized with the Inspiring Rural Health Program Award. Dickson is on the AzHHA board where he also sits on the small hospital committee.
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Region D RAC Begins Medical Necessity Reviews
The Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) for Region D—HealthDataInsights— has begun medical necessity reviews of 10 types of inpatient hospital conditions, which are listed in the "Description" column on its website. In addition to Arizona, Region D includes 16 other states in addition to Arizona. On Aug. 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS’) New Issue Review Board gave approval to each of the four permanent RACs to begin medical necessity reviews for 18 inpatient hospital conditions. After posting a new audit on their websites, RACs are authorized to begin requesting medical charts for the posted conditions.
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CMS to Begin Validating Hospital Outpatient Quality Data
CMS has announced it will begin validating a random sample of 7,300 cases submitted to its hospital outpatient quality data reporting program. Hospitals must supply medical documentation for sampled cases within 45 days of request to prevent a 2 percent reduction in their calendar year 2011 annual payment update. For more information, visit www.qualitynet.org.
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CDC Establishes Collaborative to Prevent Bloodstream Infections for Dialysis Patients
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established a prevention collaborative to prevent bloodstream infections (BSIs) in hemodialysis and to spur broader interest in preventing infections among the dialysis community. The collaborative is open to freestanding and hospital-based outpatient dialysis facilities across the country. Participating facilities measure BSIs using the dialysis event surveillance module in CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) and are creating and implementing a package of evidence-based practices to prevent these infections. For more information, contact Dr. Priti Patel (PPatel@cdc.gov) or Dr. Alex Kallen (AKallen@cdc.gov) or Barbara Bond at 410-872-9608.
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Banner Health Hosts Arizona Safe Patient Handling Conference
Registration is now open for the second annual Arizona Safe Patient Handling Conference, hosted by Banner Health. The conference takes place from 8 am to 4 pm, Oct. 8, at Banner Desert Medical Center, Mesa. The conference will highlight evidence-based best practices and "hands-on" practical demonstrations of new technologies and devices. For more information or to register, visit www.sphconference.com.
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Nominate Your Country Doctor of the Year
Staff Care, Inc., a national temporary physicians staffing firm, is accepting nominations through Oct. 15 for the 2010 Country Doctor of the Year Award. The award honors America’s rural medical practitioners who practice in communities with populations of 20,000 or fewer. Staff Care will provide the award winner with a temporary physician for two weeks at no charge, so the recipient may take time away from his or her practice.
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Study: Only 2% of Hospitals Report Meeting “Meaningful Use” Criteria
While the number of U.S. hospitals with basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHRs) rose by 3.2 percentage points in 2009, only 2 percent of those EHRs would meet the federal government’s “meaningful use” criteria, according to a study released by Health Affairs. Hospitals must meet the criteria to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments for EHR adoption. Critical access, small and rural hospitals had consistently lower levels of adoption of individual criteria, compared to large or urban hospitals. The findings are based on data from the AHA Annual Survey Health Information Technology Supplement.
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Upcoming AzHHA Education Events
Looking for cost-effective and timely educational opportunities? Visit AzHHA’s Educational Events Calendar.
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Look for Your Next AzHHA Insider: Sept. 17
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