Quality Initiatives
N.J. Becomes First State to Use AMA's Quality Program
New Jersey will be the first state in the nation to test drive the American Medical Association (AMA) American Medical Accreditation Program (AMAP). The comprehensive program is being touted by the AMA as the one source for nationally-standardized physician quality information.
The voluntary accreditation program will measure and evaluate physicians against national standards in five areas:
- Credentials (academic, training and work histories of physicians);
- Personal qualifications (ethical behavior and documented participation in continuing medical education, peer reviews and self-assessment);
- Environment of care (reviews of clinical, operational and management systems)
- Clinical performance (measures of patient care processes); and
- Patient care results (measures clinical results, patient satisfaction and health status). Contact, AMAP, Robert Mills at 312/464-5970.
Rural Providers Can Tap Into $400M Federal Telehealth Fund
Rural healthcare providers found out how they could get a piece of the $400 million federal pie earmarked for beefing up telecommunications services during a recent broadcast discussion on Nov. 19.
Healthcare professionals in 15 Western cities came joined the satellite discussion, scheduled by Healthcare Informatics Telecom Network (http://www.HITN.com), an educational television production company based in Cold Spring, N.Y. The hour-long broadcast panel discussion zeroed in on the Federal Communications Committee's recently created Universal Service Fund and how it would be administered.
The panel of national and regional telehealth experts discussed emerging details of the availability of the fund which requires that public and non-profit rural healthcare providers have access to telecommunications services at rates comparable to similar services in urban areas.
The panelists included Dena Puskin, deputy director of the U.S. Department of Health's Rural Health Policy division; Elliot Maxwell, the FCC's deputy chief office of plans; and William Kennard, the FCC's new chairman.
During the broadcast, Puskin noted that the considerable fund is more than the total dollars her agency awards annually in grants. And U S West Communications (http://www.uswest.com), a major provider of telecommunications services based in Englewood, Colo., outlined its plans to serve as a resource to healthcare providers interested in participating in the fund.
The company is creating a Web site that will cover telehealth issues, will sponsor events to publicize the fund and develop a specialized group within the company to help providers submit applications for support. Contact the Elliot Maxwell, FCC, 202/418-2036 or Greg Ellenoff, U S West Business and Government Services, 303/965-6919.
PR/Marketing Tools
New Book Tells How To Promote FDA-Approved Drugs
The booklet, Radio & the FDA, How to Effectively Use Radio for Your New Drug Approval, delivers the PR lowdown on maximizing exposure for a new drug approval, drug launch or disease awareness campaign. It also contains a sample script, a sample of healthcare talk shows, a listing of radio networks and updated regulations from the FDA as of July 1997.
North American Network, based in New York, specializes in radio PR services, is making the booklet available to healthcare professionals at no cost. Contact Scott Schneider at 212/880-6428.
HFMA Launches New Compliance Videos
As federal regulators continue to crack down on perceived healthcare fraud and abuse, corporate compliance issues are becoming top priorities for marketers and finance professionals. To answer key questions about the fast-changing compliance process, the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) has launched a series of new compliance products and services, including HFMA Compliance Videos.
The video series features:
- the latest compliance news;
- the provider's professional responsibilities and liabilities; and
- how-to advice on implementing an effective corporate compliance plan.
The five-video series cost $295 for HFMA members and $395 for non-members. Contact Terry Arya, 800/252-HFMA, ext. 362 or email at [email protected]
Awards
AAHP Recognized Blue Cross of Calif. for Children's Program
Blue Cross of California (BCC) recently received national kudos from the American Association of Health Plans for its childhood immunization program involving outreach efforts to its members and providers.
The award was presented at AAHP's "Celebrating Innovation" award ceremony in Washington, D.C, earlier this month and recognized 10 health plans nationwide in three categories: Innovative Quality Improvement Childhood Immunizations; Quality Improvement Adult Immunizations; and Private/Public Partnerships Childhood Immunizations.
Celebrating Innovation is part of the AAHP's national immunization initiative to encourage health plans to improve immunization rates for children and adults.
Recognized for its innovative quality improvement approaches for childhood immunizations, BCC's effort dispatched outreach workers to members' homes if appointments were not kept or scheduled. Through the program, workers were able to establish that 85% of beneficiaries under the age of 2 visit their primary care physicians within 120 days of becoming BCC members. Workers were also able to determine that two-thirds of children in the program were immunized through BCC and other community resources.
BCC serves more than 280,000 members and is one of the state's largest providers of Medi-Cal managed care. (BCC, Rhonda Seaton, 818/703-2566)