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National Health Care Risk Management Week:
Setting our compasses to success
With safety and related coverage issues drawing increased media interest, the advent of National Health Care Risk Management Week – June 21-25 – is an especially good time for risk managers to draw greater attention to their leadership in patient care improvement.
ASHRM established National Health Care Risk Management Week as the profession’s annual opportunity to educate others about risk management and its role in managing risk organization-wide.
A color brochure mailed in April to ASHRM members depicts this year’s theme: “The Quest for Safe & Trusted Health Care.”
The brochure features a catalog of unique “The Quest” logo items that make great giveaways for staff and clients (and help support ASHRM education programs). Items are accessibly priced from 99 cents for attractive pens to $7.99 for eye-catching posters, and may be personalized for organizations. All orders must be placed by June 1 to ensure timely delivery. Information about the commemorative items is available at www.ashrm.org.
The highlight of this year’s observance is an expanded audio conference/Webcast (see sidebar below) on June 23. Risk managers are encouraged to reserve conference room space and invite their clinical and executive colleagues to listen and learn from the faculty of experts. Many ASHRM-affiliated chapters also will take advantage of the program as a source of continuing education credits.
The week can be a showcase for risk managers to address their local communities, too. Everyone is a health care consumer and therefore can share risk managers’ responsibility for the prevention of medical errors through the improvement of patient safety systems. Among the suggested activities (listed below) are distributing an informative press release to local media and a proclamation of the week that can be shared with local officials (available at www.ashrm.org).
“Our team of dedicated risk managers from around the country and ASHRM staff are very excited about this year’s celebration, ‘The Quest for Safe & Trusted Health Care,’ says ASHRM member Andrew A. Oppenberg, chair of the Specific Work Opportunity Tactical (SWOT) Team for National Health Care Risk Management Week. “From past experience working both with ASHRM and my affiliated state chapters, I have found that I always receive more than I put in and am honored to talk about and publicize our fine profession. I always have fun doing it, too!”
Program topic: Organizational self assessment
“National Health Care Risk Management Week is an important time for risk managers to stop and take time from their busy schedules to set or reset their program compasses to assure effectiveness,” says ASHRM President Jeffrey Driver.
To that end, ASHRM provides a number of tools for risk management program assessment including the expanded June 23 audio conference/Webcast titled “Strengthening Your Risk Management Program Through Self Assessment.”
The program will look at assessment tools that can be used to measure exposures in organizations and help identify ways to mitigate potential problems. Experts will explain how to tailor a risk management program to cover specific exposure areas. Questions from participants will be addressed, also. The program is set for 2-4 p.m. ET, 1-3 p.m. CT, noon-2 p.m. MT and 11 a.m.-1 p.m. PT on Wednesday, June 23. Member cost is $225 per site.
The faculty includes Kenneth W. Felton, RN, MS, Senior Vice President, Health Care Practice Leader, Webster Insurance; Donna Mouse-Young, FASHRM, CPHRM,
Vice President, Risk Management Department, Mutual Insurance Co. of Arizona; and Kurt A. Patton, Executive Director, Accreditation Services, Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
With technical questions about the Webcast, contact tlarson@krm.com. For program details and to register, visit www.ashrm.org. Recordings of this audio conference/Webcast will not be available for purchase.
How to celebrate risk management’s big week
Last year, a number of ASHRM members and chapters reported great success with local activities during National Health Care Risk Management Week.
Among the year’s activities that worked well:
* One risk manager roamed the halls, gave pop quizzes to coworkers and rewarded each participant with commemorative items.
* Another risk manager attracted fellow workers by renting a popcorn machine and placing it in the cafeteria. Popcorn-seekers filled out a questionnaire before getting their snacks.
* A chapter recognized past chapter leaders with plaques and commemorative items.
Possible activities to consider for this year’s observance, June 21-25:
* Send a memo to state health care organization presidents and your CEO and medical staff leadership outlining your plans for the week.
* Send letters to state and local government leaders requesting official recognition of National Health Care Risk Management Week.
* Share ASHRM’s National Health Care Risk Management Week press release with your in-house newsletter and local media to promote the week and your plans.
* Solicit staff volunteers to be “risk manager for a day” and then get together with them at the end of the week to discuss their experiences.
* Put up 2004 National Health Care Risk Management Week posters on a display board or table in the cafeteria or lobby.
* Distribute a special e-mail “Risk Management Week” newsletter that can include a risk management quiz (with commemorative items as prizes).
* Host a brown-bag lunch in conjunction with the June 23 audio conference/Webcast.
ASHRM members are encouraged to share their ideas for the week with Nancy Neff, Project Specialist for Chapter and Member Services, at nneff@aha.org. Ideas will be posted at www.ashrm.org.
Board supports new ISMP safety self assessment tool
The ASHRM Board of Directors met recently to consider a request from the American Hospital Association and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) for ASHRM’s support of the revised ISMP Medication Safety Self Assessment Tool®.
In making this decision on behalf of the membership, the ASHRM Board feels strongly that ASHRM members should be aware of the tool and of the potential value it holds for their organizations. In addition, the Boardbelieves that it must continue to encourage ASHRM members to participate fully in opportunities to learn about and improve patient safety.
While the ASHRM Board supports the opportunities for learning and improvement that can come from using the ISMP Medication Safety Self Assessment Tool®, member participation is completely voluntary and should be based on a full consideration of relevant state statues and evidentiary rules to protect the data shared with the ISMP from discovery in the legal process. In addition, consultation with the appropriate legal counsel is encouraged.
On behalf of the ASHRM Board, I would like to recognize how far we’ve come as a health care risk management organization by supporting this tool. The Board takes very seriously the implications of its support of the ISMP tool.
With any questions about the action, contact Elizabeth Summy, Executive Director of ASHRM, at (312) 422-3989.
Jeffrey Driver, JD, MBA, CPHRM, DFASHRM
President
NEW CPHRMS
The Certified Professional in Healthcare Risk Management designation provides a credential based on a solid assessment that verifies a broad-based knowledge of risk management. Certification elevates professionals in an increasingly competitive marketplace. For details, call the AHA Certification Center at (312) 422-3715.
Congratulations to recent CPHRM achievers:
Joan Q. Almaraz, Los Angeles
Elaine Carol Bierman, Escondido, CA
Diane Sue Briley, Bakersfield, CA
Keith E. Calvert, Edmond, OK
Susan A. Childs, Dayton, OH
Curtis F. Curley, Knoxville, TN
Karen K. Davis, Harrisburg, PA
Sharon Dirienzo, Thornton, PA
Jennifer A. Flock, Atlanta
Jenifer Lynn Goldsmith, Mansfield, OH
Marsha Hoover, Mansfield, OH
Terrence Grier Hurst, Sr., Carrollton, TX
Christine Marie Kelly, Sioux City, IA
Judith Meszaros Kirkpatrick, Weehawken, NJ
Lucia M. Lajcsak, Coudersport, PA
Margaret Lang, Bryn Mawr, PA
Connie Jo Madsen, Temple, TX
Chandra Ann Morse, Midland, MI
Erin L. Muellenberg, Yorba Linda, CA
Kathleen Murray, Goffstown, NH
Rosemary A. O’Gara, South Orange, NJ
Colleen O. Patzer, Milwaukee, WI
Robert Stanyon, Hackensack, NJ
Carol Nanette Tomsky, Asheville, NC
Peggy A. Wagner, Minneapolis
Sandra M. Waraksa, Cary, NC
The CPHRM is a professional designation that is awarded based on participants meeting eligibility requirements and passing an examination. For details about the CPHRM designation, download the CPHRM Candidate Handbook from the AHA Certification Center via www.ashrm.org or call(312) 422-3715.
Updated CPHRM Exam Study Guide available
The newly released CPHRM Examination Study Guide (3rd Edition) covers exam content in a flexible format to meet the needs of anyone who has not yet purchased a study guide or does not plan to take a CPHRM Examination Preparation Session.
Much of the content was adapted from the new Risk Management Handbook for Health Care Organizations (4th Edition). Also, practice tests in the study guide correspond with the CPHRM content outline. Study guide users generally review the material in the study guide, take the practice exams, and determine which areas they should review further by using the handbook.
The study guide is available for purchase via the AHA Online Store at an ASHRM member price of $50. Visit www.ashrm.org or call (800) AHA-2626 and ask about item 178836.
Prep session to precede on-site exam in Orlando
ASHRM’s final 2004 CPHRM Examination Preparation Session is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 17, at the Marriott World Center in Orlando at the start of the Annual Conference & Exhibition. An on-site pencil and paper version of the CPHRM examination is set for Oct. 20 at the end of the conference. This is the first time ASHRM has offered an on-site exam since 2002.
The study session includes continental breakfast, lunch and a copy of the CPHRM Examination Study Guide (3rd Edition).
Details will be announced in ASHRM Annual Conference & Exhibition materials in May.
Chapter rebate program offers big rewards
One way ASHRM actively supports its chapters is through its chapter rebate program. ASHRM offers a rebate of $10 for each chapter member who becomes a new member of the national organization.
Local chapter members who join ASHRM will enjoy great benefits – networking, professional development, educational opportunities and discounts on products such as the Risk Management Handbook for Health Care Organizations (4th Edition), to name a few – and will bring their chapter extra revenue.
Rebates will be considered on a six-month or yearly timetable. Any local chapter member who has joined ASHRM between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, is eligible for the rebate.
To qualify, chapters should provide a current chapter membership list, including e-mail and mail addresses, to Nancy Neff at nneff@aha.org.
Updated news, resources online
The Chapters Services section of the ASHRM Web site features special announcements, an updated calendar, a chapter Web sites listing, chapter finder, information on sponsoring a local CPHRM examination preparation session and helpful resources such as links to the chapter handbook and chapter affiliation guide.
Visit the section by clicking on the Chapters icon at the top of the ASHRM home page, www.ashrm.org.
CALENDAR
Arizona
The Arizona Society for Healthcare Risk Management will hold its quarterly meeting Friday, May 7, at the Holiday Inn in Casa Grande. For details, contact Melanie Chamberlain at pmcland@cox.net.
Georgia
The Georgia Society of Healthcare Risk Management will hold its annual meeting and education conference on May 12-14 at the Crowne Plaza in Hilton Head, SC. The event will include a celebration of GSHRM’s 20th anniversary. For details, contact Cynthia Magners at (404) 785-7547 or cindy.magners@choa.org.
North Carolina
The North Carolina chapter of ASHRM will host a CPHRM Examination Preparation Session on May 14-15 at the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort in Wrightsville Beach, NC. Joyce Benton, RN, MSA, DFASHRM, CPHRM, ARM, LHRM, and Monica C. Berry, BSN, JD, LLM, DFASHRM, CPHRM, will teach the course. The cost is $100 for chapter members and $150 for non-members and includes the CPHRM Examination Study Guide (3rd Edition). The class will be held after North Carolina’s spring meeting May 12-14. For details on either event, contact Doug Borg at (919) 684-3285 or borg0001@mc.duke.edu.
Publicize chapter events here and let other ASHRM members in your state know what your chapter is doing. Submit chapter news and updates to Nancy Neff, Project Specialist, at nneff@aha.org .
ASHRM UPDATE
Claims management plan at discount to members
Alternative insurance programs are options for some hospitals, but those options can bring overwhelming responsibilities and tasks to others. Vertical Claims Management’s (VCM) Vertical Advantage Program, recently endorsed by the American Hospital Association, is designed to help health care providers manage their liability insurance claims and potential litigation. VCM’s plan customization allows facilities to have working relationships with any medical liability insurance broker and state regulatory agencies. VCM provides hospitals a personalized claims administration plan, designates what information is needed for loss runs and risk management and prepares filings required by state insurance departments.
The partnership is initially offered to facilities in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and West Virginia.
As an added benefit, ASHRM members are entitled to a 5 percent discount. For details, contact Tony Spohn, vice president of member relations for AHA Financial Solutions, at (800) 242-4677 or tspohn@aha.org.
Safety round tables to explore strategies
Registration, including on-site registration, is still available for ASHRM’s interactive workshop following the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF) Annual Congress. “Getting on With It in the Real World ... Applications to Improve Patient Safety” will be presented May 6 and 7 at Marriott Copley Place Hotel, Boston.
Dan Ford, a health care consumer whose family experienced a critical event, will share the opening keynote podium with ASHRM Past-President Monica Berry. Together they will relate what happens when things go wrong – and discuss how things can be managed better. Patient safety immersion round tables following the keynote will tackle culture of safety, teamwork, disclosure, reporting and clinical accountability topics. For details, visit www.ashrm.org (Education, Special Programs).
Updated modules agendas available
Risk managers, insurance and claims professionals, quality managers, safety managers, patient safety officers, administrators, financial/compliance officers, clinicians, attorneys, consultants and other professionals from a wide variety of health care settings can benefit from the Barton Certificate in Healthcare Risk Management Modules. All three modules levels are being offered this summer in Chicago, providing one of the best educational programs of the year. Essentials and Advanced Forum are set for June 28-30 (final offerings for this year); Applications is set for June 30-July 2.
Revised agendas (including new start and end times for Applications) and other details are now available at www.ashrm.org (Education, Barton Modules).
Self-assessment guide takes aim at terrorism
A unique self-assessment tool called “Preparation Is Everything” can help risk managers in preventing and mitigating terrorist events at their facilities. TigerSix, an education firm that brings together former military members, law enforcement officers and medical personnel with experience in anti-terrorism, intelligence and the clinical effects of biological weapons, created the tool. With this confidential vulnerability self-assessment guide, users can create a benchmark that immediately identifies areas within a health care system that may be vulnerable. Management can use the results to make a priority decision on what needs to be fixed without being unduly influenced by outside vendors or consultants.
The special annual cost per course for ASHRM members is $199. For details and to register, visit www.tigersix.com and select course 103. ASHRM members: Use ASHRMPROMO for username and password when reviewing “Preparation Is Everything.”
New patient safety handbook published
ASHRM is offering its members a special discount price for The Patient Safety Handbook edited by Barbara Youngberg, JD, BSN, MSW, Vice President, University HealthSystem Consortium, Inc., and Martin J. Hatlie, JD, President, Partnership for Patient Safety. This 779-page handbook offers guidance on implementing systems and processes to improve outcomes and advance patient safety. It builds from the fundamentals of the science of safety, to a thorough discussion of operational issues and the actual application of the principles of research. Real-life case studies from prominent health care organizations and their leadership are provided.
Member price is $84.95 plus shipping, handling and tax. To order, visit www.ashrm.org (Members Services, Tools & Products) or call (800) AHA-2626 and request item 178850.
