Becker's Hospital Review

51 FINANCE CMO / CARE DELIVERY CMS Proposes Eliminating Pain Management From HCAHPS Payment Score By Heather Punke I n an effort to combat the opioid addiction epidemic raging in the U.S., CMS has proposed removing pain management-related questions on the HCAHPS sur- vey from the hospital payment scoring calculation. HHS announced CMS's proposal July 6 along with oth- er actions to combat the opioid addiction epidemic. "Many clinicians report feeling pressure to overpre- scribe opioids because scores on the HCAHPS survey pain management questions are tied to Medicare payments to hospitals," an HHS statement reads, even though the questions and Medicare payment "have a very limited connection." Under the proposal, the three pain management ques- tions on the HCAHPS survey would no longer factor into the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program payments from Medicare, staring in fiscal year 2018. The questions would remain on the survey, however. Every day in the U.S., more than 650,000 opioid pre- scriptions are dispensed, and 3,900 people start using prescription opioid for a nonmedical purpose. Seven- ty-eight people die from an opioid-related overdose daily. With this and other new actions, HHS and CMS hope to stem those prescriptions and overdose deaths. n Which Medical Specialty Has the Most Complex Schedule? By Tamara Rosin E mergency medicine departments balance the most complex sets of staffing rules and monthly requests of any specialty in the medical sector in the U.S., according to the 2016 Physician Scheduling Com- plexity by Specialty report from Lightning Bolt. Researchers analyzed rules and requests used in 5,547 department schedules across 57 medical special- ties. According to the report, physician schedules in emergency departments apply an average of 62 repeating scheduling rules (for example, physicians can't work two 12-hour shifts back-to-back) and 276 monthly schedule requests. Such requests are not pat- tern-based like rules, and can include vacation time or be used in staffing locum tenens or moonlighters with variable schedules. In comparison, schedules for office-based physician spe- cialties, such as primary care, pediatrics and nephrology, were less complicated. Here are the top 11 most complex physician special- ties to schedule, according to the report. 1. Emergency medicine 2. Hospital medicine 3. OB-GYN 4. Pulmonology 5. Anesthesiology 6. Surgery 7. Radiology 8. Primary care 9. Cardiology 10. Pediatrics 11. Nephrology n Carolinas HealthCare System Forms 2,300-Physician CIN By Emily Rappleye C harlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System is collaborat- ing with a newly formed clinically integrated network of nearly 2,300 physicians called the Carolinas Physician Alliance. e CIN, which will operate in 12 contig- uous counties in the metro Charlotte area, will promote care delivery standards, quality tracking and reporting, information sharing and physician collaboration. e alliance will initially focus on improving clinical efficiency, reducing unnecessary medical care and unplanned readmissions, reducing the costs of care and enhancing chronic disease management. "By developing a network of like-mind- ed providers that all share the philosophy around putting the quality of care and needs of patients first, we are building a broad net- work of healthcare professionals that not only provides excellent care to individuals, but can also impact large, diverse populations," Mark Aldous, MD, a physician with the Northeast Digestive Health Center in Concord, N.C., and chair of the alliance's board, said in a statement. "e end result is increased access to quality care, improved outcomes for pa- tients, and overall lower healthcare costs for patients and payers." Charter members include: • Charlotte Radiology • Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates • Metrolina Nephrology • Northeast Digestive Health Center • OrthoCarolina • Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants • Surgical Specialists of Charlotte • Emergency Medicine Physicians • Carolinas HealthCare System physicians n

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