Docs Crush Feds’ EHR Goal

From ACEP News:

More than 110,000 physicians and other health care providers have received federal incentive payments based on their use of electronic health record technology, according to new data from the Health and Human Services department.

The payments were made by the Medicare and Medicaid programs between May 2011 and May 2012 for the meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. Under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, physicians, other health care providers, and hospitals can earn bonus payments from the federal government by demonstrating that they used EHRs to meet certain quality measures.

Physicians can earn up to $44,000 over 5 years through the Medicare incentive program. However, those who don’t meet program requirements by 2015 face a 1% cut to the total Medicare payments. Under the Medicaid program, physicians can earn up to $63,750 over 6 years, with no associated penalty.

Participation by physicians and other health care providers has exceeded goals set by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In April, Acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner and National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dr. Farzad Mostashari said they wanted to see 100,000 providers receive incentives under the EHR program by the end of 2012.

Fewer antibiotics prescribed for children

From USA Today:

The number of antibiotic prescriptions for kids declined 14% from 2002 to 2010, but antibiotics remain the most frequently prescribed drugs for pediatric patients, a federal analysis finds.

Antibiotics accounted for about a quarter of all pediatric prescriptions; amoxicillin leads the list.

Overall, 263.6 million prescriptions were written for patients 17 and under in 2010, down 7% from 2002, finds the analysis of prescription claims databases by Food and Drug Administration researchers, published today in the journal Pediatrics. By comparison, 3.3 billion were dispensed for ages 18 and up, 22% more than in 2002.

The medical community has made “an enormous effort to decrease antibiotic use” for kids in the past decade “by educating parents about the futility of treating viral infections with antibiotics” and about antibiotic resistance, the FDA study says.

CMS Postpones Requirement for Medical Staff Members on Hospital Boards

From Becker’s Hospital Review:

CMS has said it will delay implementation of a new requirement that hospital boards include a medical staff member but will reconsider the requirement in future rulemaking, according to an AHA News Now report.

CMS has been “reconsidering the policy in light of the numerous comments” it has received since it published the final rule, which revised hospitals’ conditions of participation in Medicare and Medicaid. One of the new requirements included in the final rule was that hospitals had to include a member of the medical staff on their governing boards.

CMS is now saying surveyors should not attempt to assess compliance with this requirement without receiving further instruction from CMS. The memo from CMS also notes that accrediting organizations with CMS-approved hospital accreditation programs are not expected to revise their standards or survey processes on the governing board requirement until CMS has addressed the issue further.

The American Hospital Association recently urged CMS to withdraw rule, saying CMS did not propose the rules before making them final.

Please Don’t Steal the Ambulance

From ConnectSavannah:

A 27–year–old man attacked a Chatham County deputy, stole an ambulance and led dozens of police vehicles and a helicopter in a pursuit.

Melvin Williams III  resisted arrest and was tased by Georgia state troopers who had boxed the ambulance in with their cars at Montgomery Street and Staley Avenue about 9 p.m. Williams was transported by another ambulance to be examined and then transferred to the Chatham County Detention Center.

Williams had been taken to St. Joseph Hospital after police and emergency medical technicians had been called to his residence. He was awaiting transport to Georgia Regional Hospital and was being guarded by the off–duty deputy about 7:23 p.m. when they stepped outside to allow him to smoke a cigarette.

As they started to re–enter the hospital, Williams struggled with the deputy and attempted to remove a gun from his holster. Then Williams climbed into an unlocked Southside Fire EMS ambulance and drove away.

Officers attempted to stop the ambulance, but backed away when it became apparent Williams had no intention of stopping. Instead, undercover officers in unmarked cars followed the ambulance through the city and into Garden City and Port Wentworth before it returned to Savannah.

Air Evac Lifeteam Moving Headquarters

From STLToday:

A medical air evacuation company is moving its headquarters to O’Fallon, Mo., and bringing nearly 200 jobs with it.

Air Evac Lifeteam said Wednesday it plans to move its corporate offices from its longtime home in West Plains, in southern Missouri, to an office building in O’Fallon’s WingHaven development, and to open a dispatch center there. The company, which provides medical air transportation in 15 states, will bring 120 jobs when it opens in November, and expects to hire 70 more people soon after.

The company has been in West Plains, an Ozarks town about 15 miles north of the Arkansas line in the central part of the state, since its founding 27 years ago. But as it has grown, the company said, it needs better access to air service and a larger labor pool. It looked at about 20 sites – in Missouri and elsewhere – before settling on a new headquarters in O’Fallon.

Air Evac says it is “the largest independently owned and operated membership-supported air ambulance service in the United States.” It provides air ambulance flights to rural communities from more than 100 bases and employs nearly 2,000 people nationwide. It contracts with hospitals and EMS services, but also sells memberships for $50 a year guaranteeing people medical flights with no out-of-pocket cost. More than 1 million people subscribe to the service.