News in brief - April 24, 2006

AMA applauds House passage of higher education bill - Michigan commission proposes voluntary error-reporting system - JCAHO issues alert on fake surveyors - Tennessee lawmakers consider reinstating noncompete clauses

AMA applauds House passage of higher education bill

Legislation intended to help medical students better manage their tuition debt recently passed the U.S. House, drawing approval from the American Medical Association. At press time, the Senate had not voted on a companion bill before it.

"Many physicians begin practicing medicine with staggering student loans averaging $120,280. This burden may deter new physicians from entering careers in public health, medical education, medical research or primary care," said Joe T. McDonald, the medical student trustee on the AMA board.

Items in the College Access and Opportunity Act of 2006 that the AMA specifically supports are:

Broadening consumer choice and improving market competition by repealing the "single-holder" rule to allow loan consolidation with any lender on the market -- not just the borrower's current lender.
Studying how much medical students are in debt and using the information to educate policy-makers about the debt burden medical student graduates face and the affect it has on career choices.
Requiring lenders to report loan payments to all major national credit bureaus to help student borrowers establish a strong credit history.
Mandating that lenders fully disclose consolidated loan terms to help borrowers make informed financial decisions.

Michigan commission proposes voluntary error-reporting system

The Michigan State Commission on Patient Safety, a coalition representing business, insurance and medical leaders, recommended that the state create a patient-safety organization to allow hospitals to voluntarily report errors in a safe legal environment and share information about how to improve safety and learn from near misses. The data would be protected from use in medical liability lawsuits.

The commission proposed a state-funded Michigan Center for Safe Health Care to serve as a clearinghouse for the error data, which would be collected beginning in 2008. The panel did not recommend a specific list of reportable events, though it did consider the National Quality Forum's list of never events, such as wrong-site surgery and patient falls resulting in death.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm reacted positively to the report, and it will be up to her to work with the Legislature to pass a bill to create and fund the error-reporting system.

JCAHO issues alert on fake surveyors

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations recently alerted accredited facilities that imposters tried to gain access to two hospitals in California.

In March, a fake surveyor flashed what looked like a JCAHO identification badge.

In a separate March incident, impostors attempted to take pictures with cell phones and gain access to the pharmacies.

In the second incident, when hospital staff asked the imposters to wait while they verified their credentials, the impostors fled. Officials contacted local police and the California Office of Homeland Security.

The commission is warning accredited facilities to ask surveyors to show their JCAHO badge and a letter addressed to the head of the organization signed by Russell Massaro, MD, executive vice president of JCAHO's accreditation operations. Anyone who encounters a possible fake should contact Joe Cappiello, vice president of accreditation field operations, at 630-792-5757.

Tennessee lawmakers consider reinstating noncompete clauses

The Tennessee General Assembly is pushing to bring back noncompete agreements after a state Supreme Court decision in June 2005 invalidated the contracts because they restricted patients' rights to choose their physicians.

A joint bill that would allow medical practices to restrict physicians from competing with the group for two years after the employment contract expires passed committees in the House and Senate this month. The bill now awaits the full approval of each chamber.

The prohibitions would apply to whichever is greater: an area within a 10-mile radius, or within the county in which the medical group is located.

The Tennessee Medical Assn. has taken a neutral position on the bill, said Russ Miller, TMA senior vice president. "We feel it is a reasonable approach to handling noncompete clauses," he said, adding that they appear to be in line with American Medical Association guidelines, and state law allowing the agreements with hospital- or faculty-based physicians.

AMA policy "discourages" noncompete contracts that are "excessive in geographic scope or duration." Such agreements "restrict competition, disrupt continuity of care and potentially deprive the public of medical services," the policy states.