Becker's Hospital Review

142 CMO / CARE DELIVERY Physicians resign from Atrium Health over new compensation contracts By Megan Knowles S everal physicians chose to resign from Charlotte, N.C.- based Atrium Health after the health system launched new compensation contracts, according WSOC. Atrium Health, previously known as Carolinas HealthCare System, required approximately 2,000 physicians to sign new contracts that align with national compensation bench- marks. WSOC reported that some physicians faced pay cuts under the new agreements. "To ensure our compensation structure for physicians is equitable and aligned with national benchmarks, we have been in the process of restructuring our compensation models since 2014," a statement from the health system read. "Our goal is to provide the most com- prehensive compensation plan for all of our physician[s]." The health system noted only a small percentage of physicians chose not to sign their new employment agreements. Atrium did not specify the number. "This is a not a 'one size fits all approach' and the new plans provide flexibility depending on the specialty," the statement read. "As a result of this work, Atrium Health is increasing its investment in our physicians, and is ultimately resulting in better alignment to quality of care." n Honey: The new potential warrior in the fight against MRSA By Anuja Vaidya A study published in the Journal of Hospital In- fection compared medical-grade honey with mupirocin, a topical antibiotic, in the fight against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonized in patients' noses. Researchers studied patients older than 18 years with MRSA colonized in the nose. Participants received one to two courses of either honey or mupirocin (2 percent) three times per day for five consecutive days. The study shows the percentage of patients who were decolonized after one or two courses of treat- ment was similar between the honey and mupirocin (2 percent) groups. However, the rate of new acquisi- tion of mupirocin resistance was 9.75 percent. "Although not significant, a decolonization rate of 42.8 [percent] for [honey] was impressive," study authors concluded. "Our findings suggest that this strategy, which has the potential to combat antimi- crobial resistance, should be assessed in similar but larger studies." n 10 Colorado EDs cut opioid use by 36% in 6 months: 5 things to know By Brian Zimmerman C olorado emergency departments participating in a pilot program de- signed to cut opioid reliance began with the goal of reducing opioid use by 15 percent. After six months, the program yielded an average opioid reduction of 36 percent, according to a report from the Colorado Hospital Association. Here are five things to know. 1. Aer more than a year of planning, the Col- orado Opioid Safety Collaborative launched its six-month pilot phase in June 2017. e ef- fort resulted in 36 percent fewer administered opioids across 10 EDs when compared to the same six-month period in 2016. Collectively, this amounted to 35,000 fewer opioid administrations. 2. e collaborative achieved the reduction through coordination across providers, phar- macies, clinical staff and administrators, and an increased use of less addictive nonopioid pain therapies, primarily lidocaine. Lidocaine use displayed the largest increase with a 451 percent rise followed by ketamine use, which increased 144 percent. 3. Collectively, the EDs saw a 43 percent re- duction in oxycodone use, a 39 percent re- duction in hydrocodone use and a 35 percent reduction in codeine use, among other sig- nificant reductions in commonly used opioid medications in the ED. 4. Participating facilities included six acute care hospitals (Boulder Community Health, Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, UCHealth Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins and UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs); two critical access hospitals (Gunnison Valley Health and Sedgwick County Health Cen- ter); and two freestanding EDs (UCHealth Greeley Emergency and Surgical Center, and UCHealth Harmony Campus in Fort Collins). 5. e participating EDs have continued their opioid reduction efforts in the wake of the successful pilot program, according to a report from Kaiser Health News. "It's really a revolution in how we approach patients and approach pain, and I think it's a revolution in pain management that's going to help us end the opioid epidemic," Don Stader, MD, an ED physician at Swedish Medical Center who helped develop the col- laborative, told KHN. "And I think if we did put this in practice in Colorado and showed our success that this would spread like wildfire across the country." n

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