Below are the December Medical Staff Updates. As a reminder, all providers must complete the attestation at the bottom of this page by December 31.
Thank You Message from Jody Lomeo, President and CEO
Thank you once again for your hard work, dedication, and commitment in taking care of our patients and their families during Winter Storm Knife.
Our physicians, employees and volunteers across Kaleida Health stepped up to care for our patients and for each other. Everyone made an extraordinary effort to get to work and stay as long as necessary by collaborating as a team to meet patients’ needs.
Thank you again for all you do for our patients!
Protected Login Credentials
Providers should never share their Kaleida Health user name or password with physician assistants, residents or any other individual to document in patients’ charts. This practice is a breach of Kaleida Health’s Access Request Security Policy (IS.2) and a serious violation that implicates risk/tort and compliance concerns.
Violators will be subject to disciplinary action, which may include, but is not limited to, termination of access to the system and/or termination of services for the individuals involved.
If you believe that another individual may know your username and password, please notify the Technology Assistance Center (TAC) immediately at 859-7777 to have the password reset. Similarly, if asked to utilize another individual’s login credentials, please immediately report this to Corporate Compliance at 859-8559 or through STARS – Event Reporting on KaleidaScope.
Physicians At Teaching Hospitals (PATH)
In general, Medicare will pay for physician services furnished in a teaching setting under the physician fee schedule only if the services are furnished:
- Personally by a teaching physician who is not a resident
- By a resident seeing a patient in the physical presence of a teaching physician who documents his or her presence during the performance of the critical or key portions of the service and discussion of the case with the resident
- Jointly by a teaching physician and a resident, seeing the patient at different times during a visit, provided the teaching physician independently performs the critical or key portions of the service and documents discussion of the case with the resident
The following are acceptable forms of documentation:
- I performed a history and physical examination of the patient and discussed his management with the resident. I reviewed the resident’s note and agree with the documented findings and plan of care.
- I saw and evaluated the patient. I agree with the findings and the plan of care as documented in the resident’s note.
- I was present with the resident during the history and exam. I discussed the case with the resident and agree with the findings and plan as documented in the resident’s note.
- I saw the patient with the resident and agree with the resident’s findings and plan.
- I saw and evaluated the patient. Discussed with resident and agree with resident’s findings and plan as documented in the resident’s note.
The service will only be billable by the attending if there is documentation by the attending of his/her participation as defined by the regulations.
Additional information is available on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website in the Outreach & Education and Regulations & Guidance sections.
Orders for Consultation
As a reminder, when a verbal or written request is made for an inpatient consultation, whether in the Emergency Department, ambulatory surgery, observation or inpatient bed status, it is important to clearly document the request and place an order in the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). This helps provide the medical necessity of the consultation service should any of Kaleida Health’s records be reviewed or audited.
In addition to the written consult order, the provider requesting the consult is encouraged to speak directly with the consultant in order to coordinate high-quality care.
Provider Signatures
Whether a record is electronic or paper, a timely signature is always required. Kaleida Health cannot bill for any charges unless the notes are signed by the provider electronically or on paper. Bills that are waiting to be dropped due to unsigned records may eventually end up in the loss revenue section of your financial spreadsheet.
Additional information is available on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services website in the Outreach & Education and Regulations & Guidance sections.
Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act
Effective January 1, 2015, the Nurse Practitioner Modernization Act removes the requirement for a written practice agreement between an experienced nurse practitioner (defined as 3,600 hours of practice or more) and a collaborating physician. An experienced nurse practitioner is required to attest that he or she has 3,600 hours or more of experience and that he or she maintains a collaborating relationship(s) with a physician. The law does not explicitly address the previous limitation of the scope of a nurse practitioner’s privileges to that possessed by the collaborating physician. Due to this fact, Kaleida Health will still require collaborating agreements between a nurse practitioner and collaborating physician in the following situations:
- New Appointment – A collaborating agreement will be required for all newly appointed nurse practitioners. The General Indemnification Agreement will also be required for applicants who are not employed by Kaleida Health
- Addition or Change of Department - A collaborating agreement will be required when a nurse practitioner currently on staff adds or changes her department. The General Indemnification Agreement will also be required for applicants who are not employed by Kaleida Health
- Reappointment – The nurse practitioner will need to attest to 3,600 hours of practice in their current collaborating physician’s department and the collaborating physician will need to sign the attestation
Radiation Safety Training
As required by the New York State Department of Health, certain physicians must complete radiation safety trainings on Talent Management, Kaleida Health’s online learning and performance system, by December 20, 2014. The majority of physicians required to complete these trainings include radiologists, anesthesiologists, surgeons, cardiologists, urologists and others.
Depending on a physician’s workflow, they may have one or two trainings assigned:
- 2014 Radiation Safety for Film Badge Wearers
- 2014 Radiation Safety for Fluoroscopy Users
The goal of the trainings is to improve knowledge about radiation safety as well as provide techniques to reduce patient and staff exposure. Both trainings review sources, effects, risks and benefits of radiation as well as fluoroscopy safety guidelines. There is also information about occupational exposure and personnel monitoring.
Please log on to your Talent Management account to see if you have been assigned these trainings. If you have any questions about your Talent Management account, please contact the Technology Assistance Center at 716-859-7777.
Physician Engagement Survey Due December 10
As a reminder, please complete the Physician Engagement Survey by Wednesday, December 10, 2014.
Press Ganey sent the online survey to all employed and contracted physicians, as well as those with more than 25 cases from September 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014.
The survey is completely confidential, and Kaleida Health’s leadership will never see individual survey responses or names of respondents.
Your feedback is very important to us, so if you receive an invitation to participate in this year’s survey, please take a few minutes to answer the questions.
Thank you for your continued commitment to Kaleida Health and the patients we serve.
Medical Staff Attestation - December 2014
By submitting this attestation, I confirm that as a member of the medical staff I have read, understand and will comply with the information included in this email from Kaleida Health.
| Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required. |