December 2007

THE PATHFINDER

In This Issue

OIG PROVIDES ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE ABOUT "PRE-OPERATIVE" ACTIVITIES

Since 1995 Beth Carpenter and Associates has provided its real-world experience to the management of healthcare companies, especially those organizations with a focus on home health, hospice and private duty, in the areas of operations, clinical services, sales and marketing. We work with management to identify the strategic direction of the organization and implement the necessary changes that allow health care providers to move forward in today's environment.

We help you choose the right path to success and then we walk it with you.

Hello!

Welcome to the December issue of THE PATHFINDER.

Like you, I am in a race this week with the calendar -- noting each morning how many days I have left before the Christmas and New Year holidays arrive. So much to do and so little time...

Before I "check-out" and devote myself to family events, I want to take a moment and share with you some really terrific articles that have crossed my desk this month.

The first is an article on Change that really made me sit up and take notice. (My thanks to Steve Talbott from Caveo Learning and Performance for bringing it to my attention.) Change can bring chaos to an organization. Change programs are often failures. This article asks us to consider a new model for managing organizational change which eliminates top-down dialogue and institutes a "collaborative network" with employees.

I thought the final paragraphs of the article were striking. "Corporations are not participatory democracies, of course. Tapping into the innovations and experience of the workforce does not mean "consensus decision making", nor does it mean a strategic plan has to reflect some combination of every employee's input.

It does mean no CEO should express surprise at a failed change program that did not include a healthy portion of listening to the workforce ideas."

I would welcome your feedback and reaction to this article after you have an opportunity to read it.

The second article, "OIG Provides Additional Guidance about "Pre-Operative" Activities", is written by Elizabeth Hogue Esq. Released just this week, the article's information is important and timely. My thanks to Elizabeth for her permission to include the article in this month's newsletter.

The third article is a follow-up to Lynn Serra's article from last month's newsletter on infection control. Lynn plans on another article for the January 2008 newsletter focused on the CDC Guidelines for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings 2007.

I wish you and yours all the peace and joy of this holiday season and a healthy New Year.

Thank you for a great 2007 and I look forward to working with you in 2008.

If we can provide you with any assistance , please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best wishes, Beth Carpenter

LEVERAGING CHANGE TO BUILD PRODUCTIVITY

By Craig Mindrum, Chief Learning Officer magazine-11/07

Any senior executive know the prospects of succeeding at a major change initiative are questionable at best. The research about the difficulty of successful change varies only to the extent of its bleakness.

Surveying the literature, you can find failure rates estimated anywhere from 50% to 85%. In other words, the chances of successfully managing a major transformational change initiative are worse than playing against the house odds in Las Vegas.

To read Leveraging Change to Build Productivity ...

OIG PROVIDES ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE ABOUT "PRE-OPERATIVE" ACTIVITIES

By Elizabeth Hogue, Esq

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the primary enforcer of fraud and abuse prohibitions, has issued another Advisory Opinion about so-called "pre-operative" activities of home health agencies. The home health agency that requested the Advisory Opinion provides care to postoperative total knee and joint replacement patients. The services provided by the agency to these types of patients are often paid for by the Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal or state healthcare programs.

To read further...

HOW THE NURSING STAPH LET ME DOWN

By Lynn Serra, RN, BA, MBA

Last month I only touched on the new CDC Guidelines as they relate to home health and hospice. The article ended with me relating my experiences with nurses not wearing gloves. To read last month's article...

I have not heard back from the facility who owns the MRI, but I did receive the following response from the facility where my other procedure was performed:

Dear Lynn:

Thank you very much for your letter. I always appreciate feed back from the patients because it helps us do our jobs better. I have addressed the issues of the gloves with (the RN) and intend to bring up this issue at our next department meeting so we can review our policy on universal precautions.

Regarding your concern about infections, I am proud to say that (our facility's) infection rate is nearly zero. I think that (our facility) is a very clean and safe facility and although it is not visible from the patient perspective, there are several hand washing sinks as well as antibacterial gel in close proximity to every patient room.

Again, thank you for your feedback. It gives us an opportunity to improve our service to our patients. If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me again.

More on the CDC Guidelines next month...

I would like to invite you to visit our website, www.bethcarpenterandassociates.com, to learn more about how we can help your organization move forward and find your path to success.

Beth Carpenter and Associates has earned a reputation as a company with deep industry experience and one that works closely with its clients to identify solutions that meet their business goals and strategic objectives. We do not simply advise. We partner with our customers to implement the solution and ensure its success.

Sincerely,
Beth Carpenter

Beth Carpenter
Beth Carpenter and Associates

847-382-1035

bcarpenter@bethcarpenterandassociates.com