Healthcare Law Briefs

Meeting the Challenge of Health Law

	What's Inside
	JCAHO Releases Professional Liability Report

	Medicare Pay-For-Performance Demonstration Project
	OIG Approves Cardiology Gain Sharing Arrangements

Healthcare Law Briefs

February 18, 2005

*READ PAST ISSUES OF THE HEALTHCARE LAW BRIEFS

1. JCAHO Releases Professional Liability Report

“Health Care at the Crossroads,” a white paper produced by JCAHO’s Public Policy Initiative, was posted on JCAHO’s website on February 10, 2005. Click here for the white paper (PDF).

The report focuses on 3 elements of the medical liability system, i.e., (1) Preventive Processes, (2) Physician-Patient Communications, and (3) the Injury Compensation System.

Although there are numerous specific recommendations pertaining to each of the above components, the conclusion describes a vision with four basic goals:

Acculturate patient safety;
Prompt disclosure of medical errors to patients and quality improvement processes;
Early compensation offers to injured parties; and
Alternative dispute mechanisms.

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2. Medicare Pay-For-Performance Demonstration Project

CMS announced a physician pay-for-performance project, which will last 3 years and involve 10 physician groups encompassing 5,000 physicians and 200,000+ patients.

The “Physicians Group Practice” demonstration will measure performance relating to 32 health quality measures. The physician groups, which were selected via an application process, are Geisinger Clinic, Marshfield Clinic, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic, Deaconess Billings Clinic, Everett Clinic, Middlesex Health System, Forsyth Medical Group, Park Nicolett Health System, St. Johns Health System, and the University of Michigan Faculty Practice Plan.

Click here for more information.

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3. OIG Approves Cardiology Gain Sharing Arrangements

For Advisory Opinion document, 05-02 (concerning a proposed arrangement in which a hospital will share with five cardiology groups a percentage of the hospital's cost savings arising from the cardiologists' implementation of a number of cost reduction measures in certain cardiac catheterization laboratory procedures) click here. (PDF)

For Advisory Opinion document, 05-03 (concerning a proposed arrangement in which a hospital will share with a group of cardiac surgeons a percentage of the hospital's cost savings arising from the surgeons' implementation of a number of cost reduction measures in certain surgical procedures ) click here. (PDF)

For Advisory Opinion document, 05-04 (concerning a proposed arrangement in which a hospital will share with each of eight cardiology groups a percentage of the hospital's cost savings arising from the cardiology group's implementation of a number of cost reduction measures in certain cardiac catheterization laboratory procedures) click here. (PDF)

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>For more information about the topics presented in this newsletter please contact one of the Healthcare Attorneys: