News roundup October 19-23

Following a push to teach medical students about the health risks associated with climate change, there's now a growing movement to provide residents with further training tailored to their specialties. Proponents of the move say residents should be trained to provide patients with guidance on how climate change can affect their health.

Although the board is ultimately responsible for oversight of the organization, the level of data detail presented decreases as the level of authority increases. Unfortunately, physician performance data does not have the well-established metrics that are available for other data, such as financial data reporting. In this new era of quality data, the industry is still making its way through uncharted waters.

Educational peer review can help identify, track, and resolve inappropriate clinical performance and medical errors in their early stages, increasing patient safety and overall quality of care. A hospital’s medical staff is charged with ensuring that its practicing physicians are competent and professional. This is accomplished through credentialing and recredentialing, and peer review is an essential element of that process. However, hospital medical staffs often struggle with effective peer review.

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Shreveport Division (the “Court”) denied a motion for summary judgment, finding that discharging a patient whose condition thereafter materially deteriorates may be a violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).

In this 90-minute webinar, physician Jonathan Goldner, DO, MMM, FCCP, FCCM, discussed the latest developments in the conundrum of how to cope with aging providers and provided tips for developing an aging practitioner policy at your organization. Attendees learned how aging affects both medical and surgical specialists, what the medical staff’s responsibilities are to aging practitioners and patients, and how to develop a systematic approach to the late-career practitioner. Using real-life case studies and drawing on a breadth of personal experience, Goldner illustrated what strategies are most effective, common mistakes that can be avoided, and how you can best implement an aging practitioner policy at your organization.