The North Carolina Medical Board (NCMB) is considering the adoption of a new policy regarding the practice of telemedicine.
The Board considered the draft proposal at their January meeting and the item was tabled to allow for further review by the NCMB’s Policy Committee. The proposed policy on telemedicine will be revisited at the next committee meeting in March. You can view the draft being considered here.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) encourage public comment on two regulations published on December 30, 2009.
The proposed rule issued by CMS outlines provisions governing the EHR incentive programs, including defining the “meaningful use” of EHR technology. The rule also outlines the proposed payment methodologies for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs.
An interim final regulation issued by ONC sets initial standards, implementation specifications, and certification criteria for EHR technology. Under federal statute the interim final regulation will go into effect 30 days after publication, with an opportunity for public comment and agency refinement for 60 days following publication.
The CMS proposed rule and fact sheets may be viewed at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Recovery/11_HealthIT.asp
ONC’s interim final rule may be viewed at http://healthit.hhs.gov/standardsandcertification.
In early 2010 the ONC intends to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking related to the certification of health information technology.
The Joint Commission has revised standard MS.01.01.01 with the help of a special task force. When the revised standard was first made available generally in March, 2009, the NCMS commented that:
“We believe it is crucial that physicians who are members of a medical staff understand their rights and obligations and are engaged in medical staff matters. The proposed standard and related elements of performance advance this goal. The proposed standard engages staff members more fully by requiring a heightened level of involvement for medical staff members in the approval and implementation of bylaws, rules and regulations, and policies.”
According to the Joint Commission, the American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons, American College of Physicians, American Dental Association, and other interested organizations believe this revised version appropriately articulates the elements of a productive relationship between a hospital and its medical staff. It also allows as much flexibility as possible in how and where a hospital and its medical staff choose to articulate these responsibilities. Do you agree? Review and Comment.
The Model Medical Staff Bylaws provide approaches for medical staffs to consider when faced with the challenges of compliance with the many laws, regulations, and standards governing medical staff bylaws.
This document will only be available online through the Members-only section of the website and will also be accessible through the Physician Hospital Resource Area. These Model Bylaws will be updated as laws, rules, standards, policies, etc. change, and we will alert members to substantive changes in the NCMS weekly Bulletin.
For more information on the Model Bylaws, contact Melanie Phelps, mphelps@ncmedsoc.org.
Click here to access the Model Bylaws now.
The North Carolina State Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) met in Raleigh on Friday, October 9, 2009. At this meeting, the Council adopted the 2010 State Medical Facilities Plan, including approval of the Single Specialty Ambulatory Surgery Demonstration Project. Details of this project can be found in Chapter 6 of the 2010 SMFP.
In a well-run hospital, the medical staff understands and uses its sphere of control effectively, but if the medical staff misunderstands its role or neglects its powers, the hospital, patients and staff will suffer. How effective is your medical staff?
These and other questions will be answered at the 2009 Fall Conference Evening Session for Physicians: Empowering the Hospital’s Medical Staff, presented by the NCMS and the Buncombe County Medical Society (BCMS) on Thursday, November 19, 2009, 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Biltmore Doubletree Hotel in Asheville.
Medical Staff Boot Camp is a balanced survey and analysis of the rights, duties and prerogatives of the organized medical staff at North Carolina hospitals. The program will cover organizational and operational issues and the balance of powers between organized staff, the hospital’s governing body, its administration and individual physicians. Vignettes drawn from real examples will be used to illustrate practical questions of communication among all the parties at the hospital and ways to implement improvements for the benefit of the patients, the hospital and the medical community. Topics also include staff rights and duties under state law, Joint Commission’s standards, Medicare conditions of participation, the Health Care Quality Improvement Act, and case law.
For more information and to register, go to:
https://www.bcmsonline.org/main/pp/ and click the “Calendar” tab, then view events for November 19. If your local medical society or organization is interested in hosting the Medical Staff Boot Camp, please contact Melanie Phelps at 800-722-1350 or mphelps@ncmedsoc.org.
On Wednesday, May 06, 2009, the Acute Care Services Committee of the State Health Coordinating Council unanimously approved the Single Specialty Ambulatory Surgery Demonstration Project proposal with some minor clarifications regarding call coverage and reporting. The proposal will be presented to the full SHCC on May 27th. To be included in the 2010 draft State Medical Facilities Plan (SMFP), the proposal will need to be approved by the full SHCC at its May meeting. A copy of the proposal, which calls for three demonstration sites, each with new separately licensed single specialty ambulatory surgical facilities with two operating rooms. The proposal currently limits the demonstration sites to the three largest metropolitan areas in NC—Charlotte area, Triad, and the Triangle. The proposal can be viewed at: http://www.ncdhhs.gov/dhsr/mfp/pdf/2009/acs/0506_ssas.pdf. If approved by the SHCC in May for inclusion in the draft 2010 SMFP, the demonstration project will be a subject of public hearings and comment over the summer. Future editions of the Bulletin will provide timely status reports on the progress of this proposal.
