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| Current Louisiana Medical News |
Docs Say Senate Bill No Cure
The revisions to the Senate health system legislation that led to the American Medical Association’s support did little to sway the opposition of the Louisiana State Medical Society.
Ditto for the $300 million “fix” for the federal medical assistance percentage, or FMAP, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., negotiated in exchange for her vote.
TED GRIGGS |
Community Cancer Program Adopts Best Practices
A national pilot program designed to improve cancer treatment in the community has resulted in thousands of screenings in the Baton Rouge area and assistance for hundreds of patients whose screening results were abnormal.
TED GRIGGS |
Preparing for an Overwhelmed Medical System
Louisiana Doctors Defining 'Crisis Standards'
BATON ROUGE- Louisiana health professionals are developing guidelines that specify which patients would get access to lifesaving treatments — and which wouldn’t — during a severe pandemic, bioterrorist attack or natural disaster that overwhelms the medical system.
From ProPublica
SHERRI FINK |
| Best Business Practices Focus |
Children’s Hospital Opens Louisiana’s First Pediatric Cardiac ICU
NEW ORLEANS – At the head of Ryleigh Hughes’ hospital bed an 18-inch, plush Mike the Tiger, sporting a No. 1 LSU football jersey, stands guard. The two-week-old recently underwent open-heart surgery to repair a congenital defect. She has fought with a tiger’s ferocity, and is recovering according to plan in Louisiana’s first pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU), which opened in October 2009.
CHRIS PRICE |
Cardiac MRI Coming to University Medical Center
Coming soon to the State’s public hospital system is cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a noninvasive technique used to diagnose and evaluate conditions such as congenital heart defects, heart valve problems, coronary artery blockage and heart attacks, congestive heart failure, pericardial sac disease and cardiac tumors. This technology allows imaging of the heart without exposure to any radiation. “Basically, cardiac MR uses magnetic fields to excite certain atoms in the body,” explained Dr. Mark Stellingworth, invasive cardiologist and director of diagnostic catheterization at LSU’s University Medical Center in Lafayette. “When these atoms relax, they send out signals, and the signals can be measured by the device. An image can be composed from these signals. Cardiac MRI generates very high spatial and temporal resolution pictures of the heart and its surrounding structures.”
LISA HANCHEY |
RAC ‘n’ Roll
Recovery Audit Contracting Rolled Out Nationwide
After several years of anticipation, the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program was set for nationwide rollout last month. Despite the notice, many Medicare providers still are not adequately prepared to respond to a request for records.
CINDY SANDERS |
Legal Review: CMS Implements New Home Health Agency Change of Ownership/Transfer Restrictions
The Medicare Home Health Prospective Payment System regulations for 2010 contain new restrictions for a change or transfer of ownership regarding Home Health Agency (“HHA”).
On December 18, 2009, CMS modified regulation 42 C.F.R. §424.550(c) regarding ownership changes occurring within 36 months after either: (1) the effective date of the provider’s enrollment in Medicare, or (2) the effective date of the last ownership change for the provider. This new regulation is more fully described in CMS Manual System, Pub 100-08 Medicare Program Integrity, Transmittal 318, December 18, 2009. The new restrictions took effect January 1, 2010.
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Legislative Affairs: Update on the Louisiana Patients’ Compensation Fund
Act 817 of the 1975 legislature created the Patient’s Compensation Fund (PCF). This Act, modeled after legislation enacted in the state of Indiana, was pushed through the legislature by Dr. John Cooksey of Monroe. Dr. Cooksey, who practices ophthalmology in Monroe, is often referred to as the father of the Louisiana Medical Malpractice Act of 1975. Healthcare providers who participate in the Fund limit their liability from malpractice to the first $500,000 of a malpractice claim. Physicians are responsible for the first $100,000 of the cap and the insurer pays the cost of the claim beyond the first $100,000. There is no limitation, however, on future medical payments.
CINDY BISHOP |
Dr. William A. Brennan
From Surgeon to Script Writer
Just when you think you have Dr. William A. Brennan figured out, he throws out another surprising fact about himself. After practicing for 10 years in a bustling practice in Polk County, Fla., the board-certified neurosurgeon decided to switch gears and try cosmetic surgery. So, he moved across the coast to the plastic surgery capital of the world – Los Angeles, Calif. – and did a fellowship. He was there just long enough to catch the movie bug, writing a feature film screenplay. Then, he decided to return to the South, where he reestablished a neurology practice.
LISA HANCHEY |
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