A 2017 survey found that 12% of healthcare practices don’t have a sexual harassment policy and 4% of respondents didn’t know whether their facility had one. While having a harassment policy is necessary if you want to stop this behavior, CEOs often believe (mistakenly) that a good policy and HR department will prevent and mitigate any allegations, says Kate Fenner, PhD, RN, managing director of Compass Clinical Consulting.

The American Medical Association, Pennsylvania Medical Society, and Manatt Health released the first set of results in a series of studies examining state responses to opioid abuse; these particular results focused on the efforts made in Pennsylvania. The results reveal that access to evidence-based treatment for substance abuse is increasing within the state. This is likely due, in part, to a recent agreement between the governor’s administration and several insurers in that state. This agreement erased all requirements for prior authorization for the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for those suffering from substance use disorders.

When an outside third party is used to proctor, it is always important to describe the parameters of the working relationship in a formal agreement or contract. This agreement must address the expectation that the proctor’s observations and findings will be kept confidential and patient information will not be disclosed.

It’s estimated that around 1,500 surgeries each year end with a retained surgical item (RSI). These patients often experience frequent infections, pain, bowel blockage, and other complications—and to add insult to injury, patients then need to be operated on again to remove the RSI.

Find out what’s happening in the world of federal healthcare regulations by reviewing some recent headlines from across the country.

In the 16th century, Francis Bacon coined the phrase, “Knowledge is power.” For MSPs, this could not be truer. As the gatekeepers of patient safety, every piece of knowledge that MSPs hold is crucial. MSPs vet practitioners, slowly gathering bits and pieces of information, to ensure that only high-quality, certified practitioners interact with and treat patients.

Last time, we reviewed tips and tools for initiating a provider onboarding and credentialing consolidation project. A key consideration for leading a project of this magnitude and complexity is transparency among stakeholders and involved teams. Interdependence is always part of a large multidisciplinary team and requires confidence among involved entities that they can mutually depend on each other. Each team member has something unique to contribute, and healthy collaboration has unlimited possibilities!

It's not too late to take advantage of our early bird pricing for the 2019 CRC Symposium in Las Vegas! This year's symposium delivers 2.5 days of engaging education and training to MSPs, medical staff leaders, and quality directors in credentialing environments spanning the care continuum. Top industry experts impart fresh insight and actionable strategies for developing and sustaining effective credentialing, privileging, competence assessment, and medical staff governance processes amid constant changes to healthcare service delivery and reimbursement. Click here to save $100 with special early bird pricing through January 11, 2019!