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CMS has issued new regs to be followed by surveyors starting September 19, 2005. They include the requirement that all admissions to the hospital of Medicare patients by mid wives need to under the care of a MD or DO. This does not apply to Medicaid patients.
The next regulation concerns patient grievances. There must be a grievance process for patients to complain and they must be told to whom they can complain. The grievance is to a state agency or the hospital. Verbal complaints are not necessarily grievances but any written complaints including email and fax is a grievance by definition. The grievance policy must have time limits of about 7 days and be approved by the hospital board and they or their representative, a committee of more than one person, must work to resolve the grievance. The grieving party must be given a written notice of the decision, the steps in the investigation, the result and date of completion along with the hospital point person.
There must be adequate lab procedures to care for the patients. This must be either at the hospital or under contract. There must be emergency lab services available 24/7.
All therapeutic diets must be prescribed by THE licensed practitioner who is caring for the patient. Top
CMS has formulated new proposed regs for physicians and beneficiaries when there is a question if Medicare will pay for the procedure. The impetus for the proposed rule comes from the MMA and is listed in the Federal Register at page 51321. CMS will give the 50 most expensive procedures performed by physicians that may be denied and give pre-authorizations for them by the Local Intermediary. They figure to take 15 minutes for each request. Of course, it will take more than that time for the requestor to gather the information and send it to the local. The procedures will include plastics and dental that may be covered. The requestor will receive an answer in 45 days. Top
Leave it to Texas. Not only do they have the worst medical board in the country but now the legislature has passed a law that goes into effect today that states it is capital murder to do an abortion without parental approval or in the third trimester. Of course nobody would do any procedure without consent either express or implied. The issue is who must give the consent if the woman is under 18. The fetal protection law states that if one does an abortion on a woman under 18 years of age without proper consent or in the third trimester that isn't covered under the enumerated exemptions it is a prohibited practice. Top
DISCLAIMER: Although this article is updated periodically, it reflects the author's point of view at the time of publication. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. Readers should consult with their own legal counsel before acting on any of the information presented.