’s
November 11, 2016
The Pulse
Your regular check up on SCKMC activities Share your thoughts, story ideas, and comments by e-mail to claytonp@sckrmc.org.
Documentation Improves Finances SCKMC staff and physicians have recently started a new program they believe will help to increase reimbursements at their facility and ultimately improve patient care. The clinical documentation improvement program trains hospital staff to document all of a patient’s healthcare concerns impacting his or her treatment, clinically referred to as co-morbidities. Holly Harper, SCKMC’s CFO provided an example. “If I come in with pneumonia and I am a pretty healthy person, other than that, you are going to treat me with my pneumonia diagnosis and I will be on my way. John comes in with pneumonia, but he is also diabetic and has hypertension. Now you are going to have to treat him with different meds, you are going to have to monitor him more. So that’s what we are doing (with clinical documentation), we are putting words in a chart saying okay he has more things I have to deal with,” Harper said. Historically only the root concern for a particular patient visit has been documented, limiting the reimbursement available to the hospital. However in the program’s first 45 days SCKMC has generated an additional $77,000 in net reimbursements. “If you extrapolate that out you are talking $600,000 700,000 over the course of a year. That helps. We have been doing this work all along, and we are finally getting credit in the form of dollars for what we are actually doing,” explained John Jones, the medical center’s Director of Patient Services. Hospital administrators believe clinical documentation improvement will not only improve the hospital’s finances, but ultimately improve the care received by their patients. “It will start to show up in very meaningful ways besides dollars in the bank. It all ties into being able to clearly represent the level of the acuity of the patients. The record more accurately reflects what we are doing for these people,” Jones said. Jones believes a more accurate medical record allows for all healthcare providers to provide more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans. “Everybody deserves to have a complete medical record. When (the providers) have everything that they need to know about you it really provides a safer, and better care plan,” Jones said. Based upon the initial success of the clinical documentation improvement program, Watson and the SCKMC team plan to eventually expand the program for use within the organization’s outpatient clinics.
Halloween Contest Winners Announced The votes are in and the winners of the 2016 SCKMC employee costume contest are Samantha Aguinaga for best individual costume, although some may argue they should have been in the group category. Samantha won a prize package that included gift cards and movie theatre tickets. The best group costume went to purchasing/laundry departments who joined forces for their own version of Halloween Hee-Haw. For winning their category they received a candy filled prize package. Winners were determined by the Facebook posts with the most “likes”. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped to make our patients holiday a little more enjoyable.
November Employee of the Month Congratulations Janice Smith, Housekeeping, for being named the SCKMC Exceptional Service Award winner for November. Janice was nominated by a coworker for her pleasant attitude, willingness to help, and always doing the best job she can. Janice was presented with a certificate of appreciation by CEO Virgil Watson and will also have a special parking spot reserved for her throughout the month. Great job Janice!
The Pharm Forum with Homer Mah, D.Ph. Heartburn occurs when the contents in the stomach re-enter the esophagus which is also called acid indigestion. It creates a burning sensation in the upper part of the abdomen. Heartburn can be treated with OTC medications. There are three classes of which to choose from. Antacids such as Mylanta, Rolaids, or Tums work by neutralizing stomach acid. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and H2 blockers work by reducing the amount of acid produced in the stomach. Examples of PPIs include Prevacid, Nexium, and Prilosec. H2 blockers which are OTC include Tagamet, Pepcid, and Zantac.
“When it comes to my health, I want someone specially trained to care for women.”
Dr. Perry Lin, OB/GYN • Obstetrics • Gynecology • Infertility • Women’s Health • High Risk Pregnancy • Laparoscopic Surgery Dr. Lin is now accepting new patients through SCKMC’s specialty clinic. Call 441-5711 to schedule your appointment today.
www.sckmc.org
(620) 442-2500
6401 Patterson Parkway, Arkansas City
For your family’s healthcare, you want excellence. You want experienced doctors, dedicated nurses, up-to-date facilities and advanced technology. You’ll find them all here. Because we know your family’s healthcare, has to be the best.
Specialty Clinic Tyson Blatchford, MD Willie Posey II, MD General Surgery Internal Medicine / Cardiology Perry Lin, MD OB / GYN
And 10 Other Specialists Visit us online for a full listing
Kamran Shahzada, MD Internal Medicine
Eric Thomson, MD Family Practice
Rhonda Green, MD Family Practice
Angela Ziegler, APRN Family Practice