Becker's Hospital Review

92 CMO / CARE DELIVERY CMS to take more aggressive role in enforcing safety at Baylor St. Luke's By Megan Knowles A CMS inspection found Houston-based Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center violat- ed patient care requirements, and the federal agency told the hospital state and feder- al officials would start taking a more aggressive role in enforcing safety standards, according to the Houston Chronicle. e federal agency cut off Medicare funding for heart transplants at the hospital last year aer a Houston Chronicle and ProPublica investigation revealed an exceptionally large number of pa- tient deaths and unusual surgical complications in recent years. Federal and state inspectors visited Baylor St. Luke's again in January aer an emergen- cy room patient died aer getting the wrong blood type during a transfusion, according to information provided by the hospital cited by the Chronicle. ree top hospital executives were ousted. at inspection revealed serious problems in nursing care, quality assurance programs and patient rights. A report detailing each of the care deficien- cies was provided to the hospital Feb. 7, and the hospital submitted a plan of correction to CMS Feb. 25. e latest citation does not carry the imme- diate threat of the hospital losing Medicare funding, but the letter said the newly uncov- ered deficiencies were "of such a serious nature as to substantially limit your hospital's capacity to render adequate care." In a Feb. 7 statement to the Chronicle, hospital officials said they anticipated the federal citation and already had initiated improvement efforts. "This is an important opportunity to focus our organization and conduct a top-to-bot- tom evaluation with CMS so that we can make the changes necessary to better meet CMS standards for patient care," said Megan Fischer, who was named vice president of quality at St. Luke's in January. n 12% of physicians say it's OK to lie to patients about medical errors, poll finds By Alyssa Rege T welve percent of physicians and 4 percent of nurses said it is accept- able to lie to patients about a medical error, according to a January Medscape poll. Medscape received 648 responses to the poll analyzing medical profes- sionals' feelings on lying to patients. Respondents included 286 physicians and 362 nurses and advanced practice registered nurses. Three poll findings: 1. Three times as many physicians (24 percent) said it was sometimes OK to lie to a patient about their prognosis compared with nurses and APRNs (8 percent). 2. When asked if it was ever OK to lie on behalf of a patient to get treatment approval or reimbursement, almost one in three physicians (29 percent) said it was OK, compared to 23 percent of nurses and APRNs. 3. Among physician respondents, 26 percent said they had lied on behalf of a patient to obtain treatment approval or reimbursement; 17 percent said they had lied to patients about a medical error; and 14 percent said they lied to a patient about his or her prognosis. However, almost half (45 percent) of physician respondents said they had not lied about any of those outcomes. n Nurses sue CHI over on-call pay: 4 things to know By Ayla Ellison S even current and former nurses at CHI Health St. Elizabeth in Lincoln, Neb., filed a federal lawsuit against the hospital's parent compa- ny, Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives, according to The World-Herald. Four things to know: 1. The nurses allege CHI underpays them for on-call work and overtime work they perform while on call in violation of state and federal wage laws. 2. According to the lawsuit, CHI is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act, and the Nebraska Wage Act by paying the nurses between $2 and $4 an hour for on-call work, includ- ing responding to work-related calls, emails and texts. That amount falls be- low the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour and Nebraska's minimum wage of $9 per hour, according to the Lincoln Journal Star. 3. "CHI Health is looking into all matters raised in that complaint and will handle all appropriately," a CHI spokesperson said in an emailed statement to the Lincoln Star Journal. "Because this involves litigation, CHI Health can- not comment on any facts of the matter. CHI Health takes serious the allega- tions raised in this complaint and is committed to full compliance with the law and fair treatment for all of its employees," the spokesperson said. 4. The nurses' lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status, asks the court to award back wages, retirement contributions and interest due on both. n

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