On Wednesday, May 9, 2012, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced new regulations that would allow hospitals to expand their definition of “medical staff” to allow nonphysician practitioners to have privileges like other medical staff members.

Under the new regulations, hospitals would have the flexibility to grant other practitioners such as advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists the power to perform duties they are trained for and allowed to do within their scope of practice and state law.

According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the rule is written to encourage physicians and hospitals to enlist qualified nonphysician practitioners to fully assist in taking on the work of overseeing and protecting the health and safety of patients. This applies not only to the “work” of the medical staff—such as quality innovation and improvement, best practices application, and establishment of professional standards—but also to the everyday duties of caring for patients.

The rule reaffirms the agency’s belief that an interdisciplinary team approach to patient care is the best model for patients and states that physicians, owing to their training and expertise, must be the leaders in overall care delivery for hospital patients.

Click here to read the HHS Press Release on the Final Rule.
Click here to view the Final Rule in full.

Senator Franken Highlights Pharmacist-Delivered Care

In a letter to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) highlighted quality interventions delivered by pharmacists that dramatically reduced medication errors when patients were discharged from hospitals.

The senator also called for the agency to improve regulations regarding Stage 2 Meaningful Use of health information technology by requiring pharmacists to deliver medication reconciliation services to patients.

The senator’s letter cites two Minnesota-based studies showing that pharmacist-led medication reconciliation resulted in improved clinical outcomes and reduced medication errors.

• A study from the Hennepin County Medical Center found that although the implementation of a system of medication reconciliation at point of discharge using electronic health records (EHRs) reduced the error rate from 92% to 70%, the rate was reduced to zero when pharmacists were assigned to review medication orders.
• A study from the Mayo Clinic found pharmacists working as part of a multidisciplinary medication reconciliation pilot to be an “outstanding resource” for reducing the number and severity of medication errors. The Mayo Clinic has since expanded the role of pharmacists coordinating with the discharge team and has updated its electronic medical records to improve medication reconciliation upon discharge.

Click here to read Senator Franken’s letter.