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 December 2003New Medicare Drug Law Includes Moratorium on Physician Investment in Specialty Hospitals A very minor provision in the Prescription Drug and Medicare Modernization Act places an 18-month moratorium on physician investments in single-specialty hospitals. The provision, which was inserted in the package after strenuous lobbying from community hospitals, is designed to slow the growth of these "boutique hospitals" and provide the federal government with some time to study both the positive and negative impacts of this growing trend in health care delivery. While the federal government is studying this trend, the College's Division of Advocacy and Health Policy will also be examining the pros and cons of single-specialty hospitals—examining such things as enhanced efficiency and convenience for patients as well as outcomes and possible adverse influence on trauma care centers and emergency care. As part of this effort, we would appreciate input from Fellows regarding their perspective on the issue. Please send your comments to Christopher Gallagher at cgallagher@facs.org.
In 2004, the College will be focusing its state lobbying efforts on this particular aspect of liability reform and plans to work closely with the AMA's BOT to develop a unified approach for disciplining physicians who pass themselves off as "expert" witnesses. As part of this effort, we have created a comparison chart on ACS and AMA policy on expert witness qualifications and guidelines. In other HOD news, the College backed a number of surgical specialty societies in their successful effort to amend a resolution offered by the Texas Delegation—one that would have effectively locked the AMA into a specific lobbying strategy on medical liability reform. During reference committee testimony, ACS delegates spoke against the resolution and in favor of the amendment, citing the HOD's mission as one of setting policy, not strategy, on issues of importance to the House of Medicine. The amendment also urged the AMA to work more closely with Federation members in developing a beginning, middle, and end game plan for passing comprehensive liability reform legislation at the federal level. In the end, the House of Delegates approved a revised resolution, which incorporates language from both parties. For more information, contact cgallagher@facs.org. ACS and ASA Applaud AMA for Adopting New OBS Patient Safety Principles On December 17, the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued a joint press release commending the American Medical Association for formally adopting new patient safety principles for office-based surgery (OBS). The principles are identical to those adopted by the College's Board of Regents at their October 2003 meeting. As reported in the November issue of ACS Cross Country, the impetus for development of the OBS principles resulted from a College-sponsored resolution brought before the AMA's House of Delegates during its December 2002 meeting. For more information, contact cgallagher@facs.org. South Carolina Unveils "Scorecard" to Garner Support for Shoring Up State's Trauma System
Past Issues of ACS Cross Country:
by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3211 |
