Pulse

January 26, 1999 PULSE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER Memo From President Machen TO: FROM: SUBJECT: Joseph V. Simone Health Sciences Faculty, Staff and Students Bernard J. Machen New Administrative Appointment At the February 1999 meeting of the University of Utah Board of Trustees, I intend to request approval of the following new administrative appoint-ment: Dr. Joseph V. Simone, Interim Vice President for Cancer Programs. This appoint-ment is for a limited period of time and expires October 30, 1999. The position reports directly to the President until the appointment of a new Senior Vice President for Health Sciences is made. Thereafter, the position reports there. Dr. Simone will begin implementation of a " Can-cer Initiative for the 21st Century." This document will soon be available at the following web site addresses: www. hci. utah. edu or www. admin. utah. edu/ president/. Dr. Simone will exercise full vice presidential authority in matters involving cancer teaching, re-search, and patient care during this transition period. Other academic and administrative units will work cooperatively in these matters. Healthy Eating Class This Thursday Staff from Nutrition Care Services will hold their first healthy eating class of 1999 this Thurs-day from 4- 5: 30 p. m. and again from 7- 8: 30 p. m., at the Sugarhouse Health Center, 1138 East Wilmington Avenue ( 2200 South). Classes will be held throughout the year on the last Thursday of each month. The classes cost $ 5. Thursday's class is titled " New Year's Resolu-tions- Eat Healthy, Lose Weight." For more information, contact Joan Clark, xl- 5474. Raffle to Benefit Medical Students Medical students are sponsoring a raffle this week to support student activities. Tickets are on sale from noon- 1 p. m. in the cafeteria. Prizes will include a stethoscope, otoscope, medical textbooks and other medical items. Tickets are $ 1 each or $ 5 for six. Two of Shane Carnahan's children ( right) stand near the memorial recently dedicated to honor their father and two other AirMed crew members. Carnahan, pilot Stan Berg and paramedic Tim Hynes along with patient David Anderson, were killed last year when an AirMed helicopter crashed during a canyon rescue attempt. The plaque, reads " We will fly together someday up against the sky. " In her remarks at the dedication of the memorial, Christine St. Andre, UH executive director, said, " All of us at University Hospital were proud of these men and grateful that they were a part of us." AirMed medical director Eric Swanson, M. D. also spoke at the event. Representatives from Air Methods, and local police and fire departments joined UH employees in honoring the men. The memorial is located on the grassy hillside near UH's helipad. Memorial Dedicated to AirMed Crew UH's Health Information Office Rated Among Best University Hospital's Health Information Department is one of the best in the country, according to findings from the University HealthSystem Consortium ( UHC) and comments from the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations ( JCAHO). During the UH's recent JCAHO survey, one surveyor said the department ranked in the top three percent of all hospitals surveyed in the area of H j e m p i o y e e s juiie McCarren, Lynne Barrett and Linda medical record completion. In Ryerson discuss the status of a patient record. a recent survey by the UHC of 19 university hospital health information departments, the UH department finished as one of the best performers in the areas of physician satisfaction, chart completion cycle, loose- sheet filing, and AR coding. A1 Tokunaga, HI director, cites a number of factors for the department's success. " In the last few years we have worked with physicians to streamline chart completion, standardize chart orders, and centralize our chart system," said Tokunaga. " We also have received tremendous support from Medical Board, attending physicians, the hospital's medical director and hospital administration in enforcing physician suspensions if records are more than 30 days late," said Tokunaga. He says the department's staff also play an important role. " Our employees are dedicated, creative and always looking for ways to improve our processes. They are a tremendous asset to the hospital." Tokunaga recently visited Orlando, Fla., at the invitation of the UHC, to discuss the department's methods at the Medical Records Benchmarking Knowledge Transfer Meeting. The invitation asked him to discuss UH's " success in balancing efficient operations and prompt record completion times with physician satisfaction" with approximately 70 surveyors and health information directors from around the country. Bicarbonate Added to HCFA Panel Bicarbonate has been addecP^^ to the Health Care Financing Administration's ( HCFA) Comprehensive Metabolic Panel ( CPT 80054), according to Kathy Carlson, ARUP. The change was effective Jan. 1. Carlson says HCFA has implemented a number of changes over the last several years in how it pays for automated multichannel chemistry testing. Last year, four clinically relevant CPT-defined panels ( electrolytes, hepatic function, basic and comprehensive metabolic studies) were adopted. This year's change is noted in the 1999 AMA CPT code manual. " Physicians may order any automated test they judge to be medically necessary," said Carlson. " However, those tests ^ ^ should be targeted to only specific symptoms or disease conditions of the patient. Tests can be ordered individually, as one of the approved panels, or a combination of both. " For more information about the new guidelines, contact Carlson, x 1- 2493. Pulmonary Opens New Rehab Lab Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program faculty and staff Judy McCleary, LaDee Dangerfield, Wayne Samuelson. M. D., Carrie Sullivan. R. N., and Bill Pazos recently celebrated the grand opening of their new lab. According to Pazos, exercise specialist, the program emphasizes exercise therapy for patients with asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD), adult respiratory distress syndrome ( ARDS) and pulmonary fibrosis. Patients work with exercise physiologists, dieticians, respiratory therapists and occupational therapists to control the symptoms of their lung disease. The new lab gives pulmonary patients their own area for aerobic and strength training. 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