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healthcarejournalbr.com | July / August 2008 Issue |
Healthcare Journal of Baton Rouge
59
adverse consequences to genetic testing–par-
ticularly loss of privacy and discrimination by
health insurers or employers among those
found to be predisposed to disease, according
to the study. Despite this concern, researchers
found there have been no well-documented
cases of health insurers asking for or using
presymptomatic genetic test results to define
eligibility for coverage.
STATE
DHH Conducts Review
of Emergency Disaster Plan
As part of its ongoing effort to ensure optimal
preparedness for a natural or man-made disas-
ter, the
Department of Health and Hospitals
held a symposium and plan review with employ-
ees and partners from throughout the state.
Included in the review were federal partners
from the
United States Department of Health
and Human Services
. Two experts in emer-
gency management participated in the review.
Dr. John Agwunobi
, immediate past assistant
secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, and
Craig Fugate
, director of
emergency management for the State of
Florida, worked as a team to review Louisiana's
plan and provide feedback to the state. While
with the federal government, Agwunobi was
responsible for the nation's pandemic flu
response plan and he supervised the
U.S.
Surgeon General
and the public health service
corps. Currently, he is the president of the
Health Services Division for
Wal-Mart USA
. As
head of Florida's emergency management,
Fugate is responsible for preparing and imple-
menting a statewide Comprehensive
Emergency Management Plan, and his division
routinely conducts extensive exercises to test
state and county emergency response capabili-
ties. Fugate led Florida's response through
eight major hurricanes.
DHH Secretary Alan Levine
said that even
though hurricane planning and emergency
response is an ongoing effort at DHH, the meet-
ing served as a kick-off to the agency's prepara-
tions for the 2008 hurricane season. Agwunobi
also noted that Louisiana could use the lessons
learned during Katrina and Rita to help the rest
of the country prepare for disasters. He said
Louisiana is in a unique position to be able to
share its knowledge, expertise, and experience
to help other states with their planning. Levine
reiterated the importance of each Louisiana
family having a disaster plan, including a plan
for pandemic flu.
Health Care Leaders Meet to Advance
Quality in Delivery and Measurement
Louisiana Health Care Review
hosted 300
people at its 1st Louisiana Health Care Quality
Summit at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capital
Center Hotel. The event brought together
providers from nursing homes, hospitals, home
health agencies, physicians' practices, and pol-
icy makers to discuss quality initiatives now
underway and how to improve the current state
of healthcare delivery.
Gary Curtis,
CEO of
LHCR, told attendees that despite recent
national reports placing Louisiana near the bot-
tom of rankings, Louisiana providers are actual-
ly making great strides in many specific areas.
In fact, Louisiana ranked number one in the
nation for percent of seniors 65 and older
receiving pneumonia vaccinations, according to
the 2007 State Snapshots report from the
Agency for Health Care Research and
Quality
.
Attendees also heard from
Louisiana
Department of Health and Hospitals
Secretary Alan Levine
, whose department is
working in the legislature to increase trans-
parency in the health care system to improve
overall quality. Secretary Levine highlighted the
$18 million expenditure in
Governor Bobby
Jindal's
budget to enable rural hospitals and
physicians to adopt electronic medical records.
The forum included four breakout sessions cov-
ering physician offices, home health agencies,
nursing homes, and hospitals, as well as a
panel discussion with candid discussions about
their healthcare quality agendas over the next
several years. Panelists included
Jerry
Phillips
, Louisiana director of Medicaid;
Senator William Cassidy, MD; Dr. Jolene
Johnson
, a diabetes expert with the
LSU
Health Sciences Center
;
Gery Barry,
presi-
dent and CEO of
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Louisiana
;
John Matessino
, president and
CEO of the
Louisiana Hospital Association
;
and LHCR's
Scott Flowers
.
Ochsner Receives National
Medical Education,
Innovation Award
Ochsner
has been named a 2008 Alliance
Innovation Award winner for exemplifying cre-
ative and innovative approaches to medical
education and research which, in turn, have
resulted in better patient outcomes. Ochsner
was recognized for its Alliance of Independent
Academic Medical Centers (AIAMC) National
Initiative: Improving Patient Care through GME.
Ochsner was selected to participate because it
demonstrated leadership in utilizing graduate
medical education to improve quality, patient
safety, and the cost-effectiveness of care. The
Alliance Innovation Award is presented annual-
ly by AIAMC. Winners must demonstrate a
change in development of innovative medical
education programs for residents, physicians
and other staff, or the development
and/or application of scientific
discoveries.
Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner
Recognized for Excellence
in Surgical Services
Ochsner Medical Center-Kenner
is one of 13
hospitals in Louisiana to receive the 2007
Louisiana Health Care Review
Hospital
Quality Bronze Level Award for improvements
in patient care. Specifically, Ochsner Medical
Center-Kenner is recognized for achieving qual-
ity improvement in its Surgical Care Services.
The Louisiana Health Care Review Board
focused on Ochsner-Kenner's ability to provide
immediate assessment for new patients, proper
patient care techniques, and appropriate dis-
charge counseling. Ochsner-Kenner received
the Bronze Level award for its success in main-
taining a greater than 90 percent level of per-
formance in surgical services.
LHCQ Forum Adopts National
Standards for Patient-Centered
Medical Homes
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum
(Quality Forum) recently adopted a definition
and standards set forth by the major profession-
al medical societies and the
National
Committee for Quality Assurance
(NCQA) on
the Patient-Centered Medical Home, becoming
the first statewide, multi-stakeholder group in
the nation to do so. The Patient-Centered
Medical Home is a model of primary care where
a team led by a primary care physician partners
with the patient and the community to deliver
high quality, cost effective care. The concept of
the medical home puts the patient at the “cen-
ter” of healthcare. This model is also known to
improve patient satisfaction and reduce health
disparities.
The adopted NCQA standards include expecta-
tions for access and communication, patient
tracking and registry functions, care manage-
ment, patient self-management support, elec-
tronic prescribing, test tracking, referral track-
ing, performance reporting and improvement,
and advanced electronic communications. The
NCQA guidelines will serve as a voluntary
framework for patients, payers, providers and
purchasers to develop and certify the medical
home. Several payers across the country and in
Louisiana are considering using them as the
foundation for enhanced payments to practices
that meet these standards. The Quality Forum
will work with primary care groups to evolve into
a Patient-Centered Medical Home
and will publish a web-based tool
kit.
1946:
National Mental
Health Act signed by
Harry Truman.
1948:
Returning to the earliest primitive methods (ice pick and hammer),
actress Frances Farmer is lobotomized in an attempt to cure her Communist
leanings and her aggressive behavior. The World Federation for Mental Health
is formed to promote world peace by reducing aggression in
individuals (it hasn't worked yet).