COPIC Topics Issue 157 April 2015

COPIC is known for its industry-leading patient safety and risk management programs. These
programs provide support to insureds in a variety of ways and are overseen by physicians and
registered nurses who offer trusted guidance to reduce liability risk and improve patient safety.
EDUCATION
•
•
Seminars—Each year, we present numerous seminars for insureds at no additional
cost. They cover key topics such as clinical and legal risk management, communication, and physician support.
On-demand courses—COPIC’s wide
selection of on-demand courses is accessible through our website. Course content
includes physician-oriented topics for
CME credit, interactive case studies, and
learning opportunities for medical staff.
Eligible insureds who participate in these activities can receive COPIC points and qualify
for an associated premium discount. For a list
of current seminars and courses, please visit
www.callcopic.com/education.
3Rs PROGRAM
The 3Rs (Recognize, Respond and Resolve)
Program addresses unexpected medical outcomes in a way that attempts to preserve the
physician-patient relationship. Physicians are
provided assistance in communicating with
patients in an empathetic and timely manner
after these types of outcomes. Enrollment
in the 3Rs Program is voluntary, but a
physician must be enrolled for subsequent
incidents to be considered for eligibility.
PRACTICE REVIEWS AND TRAINING
•
Practice Quality Reviews—Each year,
COPIC performs more than 2,200
on-site reviews at insured practices.
Specially trained nurses use “Level One
•
Guidelines” developed by COPIC to
assist in identifying ways to improve
systems and documentation, and prevent
avoidable adverse outcomes.
On-site training—We also work with
health care facilities to provide on-site
educational training for staff, and consult with patient safety/risk managers on
developing policies and procedures that
support accreditation and compliance.
ANNUAL PATIENT SAFETY AND RISK
MANAGEMENT FORUM
Our annual Forum for insured health care
facilities includes presentations by nationally
recognized experts and interactive sessions on
current topics, from regulatory updates to patient safety issues. The Forum attracts more
than 150 attendees and provides an opportunity to share best practices with peers. The
next Forum is scheduled for October 2015.
OTHER RESOURCES AND SUPPORT
•
•
Risk management hotline—Insureds have
access to a 24/7 on-call risk management
physician for assistance with urgent questions; the hotline can be reached at (720)
858-6270 or (866) 274-7511.
Online resource library—Our website offers an array of downloadable resources
such as clinical guidelines, consent forms,
and practice management resources.
These can be accessed at www.callcopic.
com/resources/pages/medical-guidelinesand-tools.aspx.
( CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 )
INSIDE
ISSUE 157 • APRIL 2015
COPIC ’S BIMON T HLY NE WSL E T T ER
COPIC TOPICS
COPIC 101:
PATIENT SAFETY AND
RISK MANAGEMENT RESOURCES
2 2014 WILLIAMSON AWARD RECOGNIZES
DR. GARY VANDERARK
3 THE LEGISLATIVE LANDSCAPE: THE 3 Ts:
TELEHEALTH, TRANSPARENCY, AND
THE TERMINALLY ILL
Copyright 2015 by the COPIC Trust. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.
PATIENT SA F E T Y & RISK M ANAGEMENT RESOURCES ( F ROM PAGE 1)
RESIDENCY AND MEDICAL
EDUCATION
Each year, COPIC hosts residents,
medical students, and other
physicians-in-training in week-long
rotations. These rotations focus on
medical liability issues through the
analysis of de-identified case studies,
simulated patient interactions, and
group sessions with COPIC staff.
For more information on Patient
Safety and Risk Management programs and resources, please contact
us at (800) 421-1834, ext. 6128.
COPIC Medical Foundation:
2014 WILLIAMSON AWARD RECOGNIZES
DR. GARY VANDERARK
Chances are, if you’ve been in the Denver health care
community for very long, you’ve met Dr. Gary VanderArk.
His years of service to the community have been recognized time and time again, and the COPIC Medical Foundation is pleased to announce that he was selected as
our 2014 Colorado Harold E. Williamson Award recipient.
Over 25 years ago, Dr. VanderArk recognized the need for
services for Denver’s uninsured and underserved populations, and thus, he established Doctors Care. Serving as an
onsite primary care clinic for children and young adults,
Doctors Care has provided more than 25,000 individuals
with access to health care services that would have otherwise been unattainable. It also helps connect low-income,
uninsured individuals to affordable treatment options
through a network of providers that bill on a sliding-feescale. Dr. VanderArk has served as the President of the
Board for the organization since its founding and continues to be a tireless champion and advocate for its mission.
Dr. VanderArk’s ambition led him to create another
organization to support the underserved. During his
tenure as the President of the Colorado Medical Society,
he helped launch the Colorado Coalition for the
Medically Underserved (CCMU). CCMU is an education
and advocacy organization dedicated to addressing
systematic problems in our health care system. Dr.
VanderArk has been President of the Board of Directors
at CCMU since it was a project of the Colorado
Medical Society in 1997 and through its independent
incorporation as a stand-alone nonprofit in 2004.
Dr. VanderArk continues to take an active role in both
organizations, and also lends his time to the University
of Colorado School of Medicine, and the University of
Colorado Center for Bioethics and Humanities. In these
positions, he educates future health care providers about
health policy, ethics and other inter-professional development efforts. And when you add Dr. VanderArk’s other
2 | COPIC TOPICS | APRIL 2 015
From left: Dr. Ted Clarke, COPIC Chairman and CEO, and Dr. Gary
VanderArk, 2014 Colorado Harold E. Williamson Award recipient.
various community affiliations, you can see that he is a
physician who is unfamiliar with the word “retirement.”
Because of this and so much more, we congratulate Dr.
VanderArk on his tremendous achievements. The Harold
E. Williamson Award stipulates a $10,000 grant be given
to a health-related nonprofit organization designated by
Dr. VanderArk. He has chosen to split the grant between
Doctors Care and CCMU.
Please help us congratulate Dr. VanderArk, as well as
the other physicians nominated for the 2014 award:
•
Michael Anger, M.D.
•
Nancy Mitchell, M.D.
•
Greg Arfsten, M.D.
•
Martin O’Brien, M.D.
•
Lewis Crawford, M.D.
•
Richard Simmons, M.D.
•
Edward Ho, M.D.
•
Amilu Steward, M.D.
•
Timothy Judd, M.D.
•
Scott Sundheim, M.D.
•
Larry McCleary, M.D.
The Legislative Landscape
THE 3 Ts: TELEHEALTH, TRANSPARENCY,
AND THE TERMINALLY ILL
The first regular session of Colorado’s 70th General Assembly opened
on January 7 with a Democraticcontrolled House and a Republicancontrolled Senate. Colorado has
always been a purple/swing state,
never letting one party get too comfortable in control. This has created,
out of necessity, a growing number of
bipartisan bills. Bipartisanship is now
a requirement if a bill wants a chance
to progress to the Governor’s desk.
Bills that pass out of the chamber of
origin without bipartisan representation will most certainly be dismissed
in the opposing chamber.
As expected, there have been numerous bills introduced that address
or impact health care delivery and
health care providers. COPIC reviewed approximately 40 of the more
than 400 bills introduced during
the first 40 days of the 2015 legislative session. Of these bills, a few are
worth highlighting:
TELEHEALTH
House Bill 1029 is on the Governor’s
desk, awaiting signature. It aims to
clarify the use of and reimbursement
for the delivery of health care services through telehealth. Telehealth,
as defined in the bill, means a mode
of delivery of health care services
through telecommunications systems,
including information, electronic,
and communication technologies, to
facilitate the assessment, diagnosis,
consultation, treatment, education,
care management, or self-management
of patients. Supporters of the bill hope
to remove population restrictions in
current law that have created confusion on when telehealth can be used
and what services can be reimbursed.
TRANSPARENCY
Senate Bill 74 was introduced with
the intention of creating price transparency; an issue that has received
added attention as patients are
encouraged to be more informed
consumers regarding their health
care. The bill would have created the
“Transparency in Health Care Prices
Act,” which would have required
health care professionals and facilities to make the direct pay prices they
assess for common health care services available to the public. COPIC
reviewed the introduced version
and worked with partners to voice
concerns over the “requirement” that
was placed on health care professionals and facilities and the proposed
remedy for noncompliance. The bill
did not make it out of the House, but
received attention for its objective.
TERMINALLY ILL
There was significant media attention during 2014 around the rights
of terminally ill individuals being
able to control the course and timing
of their treatment. Several bills were
introduced across the country on this
issue that sought to provide rights
available in states such as Oregon.
House Bill 1135 aimed to create the
“Colorado Death with Dignity Act.”
The bill would have authorized a
Colorado citizen with a terminal illness to request, and the individual’s
attending physician to prescribe to
the individual, life-ending medication
intended to hasten the individual’s
death (by self-administered ingestion).
The bill did not make it out of its first
committee; however, this may be an
issue that resurfaces in the future.
At COPIC, we continue to monitor
policy as we know it can impact health
care delivery and shift priorities. We remain dedicated to improving medicine
in the communities we serve and seeking out ways to ensure a stable medical
liability environment so that it better
serves all parties.
As always, feel free to contact Beverly
Razon, COPIC’s Director of Public
Affairs, at (720) 858-6000 or
brazon@copic.com if you have questions or comments about these issues.
We are happy to announce
that COPIC has improved its
Legislative Action Center. The
new site provides a broader list
of bills that COPIC is following
as well as our position. As in
the past, you can find your
representatives and subscribe to
receive email notifications from
COPIC on legislative, campaign
and other regulatory updates.
Go to www.callcopic.com/
legislative to view the site.
APRIL 2 015 | COPIC TOPICS | 3
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COPIC TOPICS
C OPIC ’S BIMON T HLY NE W SL E T T E R
INSIDE
ISSUE 157 • APRIL 2 015
1 COPIC 101: PATIENT SAFETY & RISK MANAGEMENT
RESOURCES
2 2014 WILLIAMSON AWARD RECOGNIZES
DR. GARY VANDERARK
3 THE LEGISLATIVE LANDSCAPE: THE 3 Ts:
TELEHEALTH, TRANSPARENCY, AND
THE TERMINALLY ILL
Did you miss a previous edition of COPIC Topics?
Don’t worry. A full archive of past newsletters
can be accessed on callcopic.com.
RECOGNIZE A COLORADO
VOLUNTEER PHYSICIAN
Call for Nominations Harold E. Williamson Award
Do you know a Colorado physician who deserves to be
recognized for going beyond the demands of everyday
life to help members of his or her community? If so,
please consider nominating him or her for our Harold
E. Williamson Award. Nominations are being accepted
May 1 through August 31, 2015.
The award provides a $10,000 grant to be given to a
Colorado health care-related nonprofit organization of
the recipient’s choice.
To nominate a physician, visit COPIC Medical
Foundation at www.copicfoundation.org and select
“Harold E. Williamson Award,” or call Lindsey Sidener
at (800) 421-1834, ext. 6071.
Board of Directors
Voting members: Ted J. Clarke, MD (Chairman and CEO) •
Steven A. Rubin (President and COO) • Raymond N. Blum, MD • Linda
A. Clark • Matthew J. Fleishman, MD, FACR • Brian C. Harrington, MD,
MPH, FAAFP • Stephen R. Hoffenberg, MD, FACEP • Davis K. Hurley,
MD • Richard K. Parker, MD • Kathryn A. Paul • Jennifer A. Roller, MD
• Walter K. Rush, CPA • Peter J. Whitted, MD, JD • John F. Wolz, MD •
Gerald Zarlengo, MD
To Reach Us
www.callcopic.com
COPIC Insurance Company
Switchboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6000
Toll-Free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800/421-1834
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Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.callcopic.com
Claims Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6157
Practice Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6000
Patient Safety and Risk Management Department. . . . 720/858-6396
Incident Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6395
Patient Safety and Risk Management Fax . . . . . . . . 720/858-6003
Sales Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6186
Underwriting & Policyholder Service Dept.. . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6165
Policyholder Maintenance Line. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6176
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COPIC Financial Service Group, Ltd.
Switchboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6280
Toll-free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800/421-1834
Fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6281
Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.copicfsg.com
COPIC Medical Foundation
Switchboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6000
Toll-free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 800/421-1834
Fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720/858-6005
Website. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.copicfoundation.org
Connect with COPIC. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .