Physician Hospitals of America: Reclaiming quality patient care through physician leadership
1.5 CME credit
Faculty: TBD, Physician Hospitals of America Representative

How we provide and how patients receive healthcare today is changing rapidly. Answers to the questions of who controls growth, how and to whom money is distributed, and most importantly who influences patient care are shifting – and rightly so. The small but influential physician owned and operated hospital industry is playing a dramatic role in that shift and will continue to do so no matter the format, with strong, independent physicians leading the charge.

In this session, participants will:

• Describe the status of the physician hospital industry and projections for its future.
• Distinguish how physician hospitals in partnership with tax-exempt, general hospitals are creating an integrated approach to healthcare, allowing for better physician-hospital relations and long term success for all involved.
• Assess out how physicians in this industry are making a difference in patient care, hospital performance, and community and industry involvement.

Transitioning To An Improved Hospital Discharge
1.5 CME credits
Faculty: Mark V. Williams, MD, Professor & Chief, Division of Hospital Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Care coordination at the time of hospital discharge represents an often stressful and sometimes dangerous process for older adults. Discontinuity and fragmentation yields risks of harm to the patient. The current discharge process significantly impacts patient satisfaction, potentially impacts health outcomes, and lacks a consistent, coordinated and safe approach. With the relatively recent development of the specialty of hospital medicine and growth to more than 20,000 hospitalists in the U.S. caring for hospitalized patients, patients’ transition from hospital to home or other health care facilities requires attention and modification to optimize quality of care and patient safety.

A review of findings from recent AHRQ-funded research projects focused on the discharge process and the efforts of The John A. Hartford Foundation funded Society of Hospital Medicine BOOST project (Better Outcomes for Older adults through Safe Transitions) provide a foundation for new approaches to improving the hospital discharge process.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Identify the common potential adverse events that can occur after hospital discharge
• Recognize process measures relevant to hospital discharge
• List the major components of an ideal discharge transition
• Propose a revised process for discharge at their hospital to enhance patient satisfaction and diminish adverse events following the transition from the hospital to the community

Washington Update
Faculty: Richard Deem (tentative)

The AMA is aggressively involved in advocacy efforts related to the most vital issues in medicine today. From lobbying key members of Congress to advising top officials of the administration to giving leading health care groups perspective on quality issues, the AMA supports the interests of physicians and their patients. This session will discuss the AMA’s progress in pursuing its 2008 agenda, as well as opportunities.

Objectives:

• Describe the political landscape and its effect on AMA advocacy efforts
• Identify AMA’s legislative priorities and national efforts to improve the quality of health care
• Initiate contact with their legislators and advocate the AMA’s position on current issues.

Keys to the successful implementation of the revised Joint Commission Medical Staff Bylaws Standard – MS.1.20
1.5 CME credit
Faculty: Stephen T. House, MD, Chair, AMA-OMSS Governing Council and Elizabeth Snelson, Esq. Legal Counsel for Medical Staffs

Major revisions to the Joint Commission Medical Staff Bylaws Standard MS. 1.20 were adopted by the Joint Commission with compliance required by July of 2009. These requirements will necessitate revisions to the medical staff bylaws of most hospitals. Understanding the requirements and the suggested processes and approach to comply is critical to preserving medical staff self-governance and a physician’s ability to practice in the hospital. Attendees of this session will receive model bylaws language to assist with implementation in your community.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Inform Delegates, Alternate Delegates and other Physician Leaders of the content and significance of the revised Joint Commission Medical Staff Bylaws Standard MS.1.20 as it relates to protecting medical staff self-governance, and the need to update their medical staff bylaws to comply.
• Recognize the potential consequences of various approaches to reviewing and updating their bylaws and understand the pros and cons of alternate methods to bring their medical staff bylaws into compliance.
• Explain model bylaws designed to help medical staffs and hospitals meet the new medical staff bylaws standard.

Creating A New Future for A New Day with a Revamped Organized Medical Staff Structure 1.5 CME Credit
Faculty: Howard Lang, MD; Tom Curtis, JD, Curtis, Green and Furman and Frank Gamma, JD, MBA, FACMPE, Kessenick, Phillips & Gamma LLP

We must develop organizations that preserve physician autonomy in a world where medicine has come to be dominated by large corporations. The centerpiece of any healthcare delivery system is the physician-patient interaction, physicians should form organizations that support those interactions and reject the notion of patients as money-winning or money-losing biological structures.

We have the opportunity to recreate the relationships between medical staffs and hospitals. This new paradigm consists of removing the medical staff from the organizational structure of the hospital and declaring the entire organization independent of the hospital.

Physicians would identify with community or regional physician organizations. The organization would not be tied to any one hospital, but instead offers ownership and participation to physicians at any hospital within the relevant service area. The hospitals in the relevant service area would contract for needed patient services with the community or regional physician organizations.

After this session, participants will:

• Discuss factors that lead to increased tension between medical staffs and hospitals.
• Identify methods medical staffs have utilized to retain self-governance.
• Describe the function and structure of an alternative to the traditional medical staff structure, including the legal implications.

Principles for Strengthening the Physician–Hospital Relationship
1.5 CME credit
Faculty: Stephen T. House, MD, Chair, AMA-OMSS Governing Council and James A. Goodyear, MD, FACS, At-Large Member, AMA-OMSS Governing Council

AMA’s Principles for Strengthening the Physician–Hospital Relationship (AMA Policy H-225.957) were developed as recommendations for addressing the increasingly conflicted physician-hospital relationship. These principles also serve as a complement to the major revisions to The Joint Commission Medical (TJC) Staff Bylaws Standard MS. 1.20 that were recently adopted by the Joint Commission. Although the AMA has been an active participant in the formation of Standard MS.1.20, the revisions made to the standard do not address all of the necessary aspects of medical staff self governance and other guiding principles for strengthening the physician–hospital relationship. Attendees of this session will receive a copy of the AMA’s Principles for Strengthening the Physician–Hospital Relationship to assist with implementation in your hospital.

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Inform Representatives, Delegates, Alternate Delegates and other Physician Leaders of the content and significance of the AMA Principles for Strengthening the Physician–Hospital Relationship as it relates to protecting medical staff self-governance, while successfully fulfilling the medical staff’s responsibility for provision of quality and safe care.
• Implement principles in your own setting and serve as the catalyst to implement these principles in your hospital and as a part of your medical staff bylaws.
• Develop strategies to achieve a better working relationship between your Medical Staff, the hospital board and senior hospital management.