AHA Joining Colorado DATABANK Program
The Arkansas Hospital Association (AHA) is joining about 35 other state hospital associations that now participate in a nationwide program designed to collect and analyze hospital utilization and financial data.

The COLORADO DATABANK Program, which is owned and operated by the Colorado Health and Hospital Association, is a monthly tracking survey that allows participating hospitals to enter data and generate reports, which include several operational benchmarking indicators, over the Internet. The DATABANK Program will be offered as a value-added service at no charge to all AHA-member hospitals. Participation is voluntary, but the AHA is encouraging all members to participate.

Hospitals choosing to participate will be able to obtain monthly reports comparing their own operational indicators with those groups of similar hospitals in Arkansas and other states. Trend reports are also available as part of the package showing activity for past months and years. At the same time, hospitals will be helping to build a nationwide database.

While there is no cost for a hospital to participate in the program, it will involve a commitment of 45 – 50 minutes per month for someone in the hospital to complete the online survey form. The AHA’s own quarterly report, a similar survey, will be discontinued.

A key factor in the AHA’s decision to join the DATABANK Program is the need for a timely, comprehensive national database to assist in advocacy efforts such as the recent battle that resulted in passage of the Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP Benefits Improvement Act of 2000 (BIPA). While that was successful, too many arguments had to be based on old data. Timely statewide information would also be beneficial for the AHA when related issues come before the Arkansas Legislature.

The American Hospital Association believes the DATABANK Program offers the most logical solution to building a national hospital database that is continuously current and has strongly encouraged state hospital associations not already participating with the program to join. In addition to providing up-to-date information, the DATABANK Program is attractive because it is a relatively simple survey, the input elements are uniform from state to state and the edit process ensures the information is accurate.

The DATABANK Program will be introduced in Arkansas this spring. Plans call for meetings to be held in two or three locations throughout the state, during which an executive from the Colorado Health and Hospital Association will explain the details of the program. More information about the meetings and the DATABANK Program will be distributed soon.

Arkansas PAC Contributions Recognized
During 2000, the Arkansas Hospital Association Political Action Committee (AHAPAC) received $21,635.50 in contributions, primarily from hospital executives and employees throughout the state. These donations make possible the support which the Arkansas Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association are able to provide to political candidates seeking state or federal elective offices.

Contributions of any amount from all contributors to the AHAPAC are seriously needed and deeply appreciated. However, special acknowledgement is given individuals who contribute at certain threshold levels. Those individuals qualify for recognition as members of the Arkansas Hospital Association’s Chairman’s Club and the American Hospital Association’s Capitol Club or its Chairman’s Circle.

Chairman’s Club membership is awarded for individuals who contributed $220 or more to AHAPAC during the year. A $250 donation, which helps fund the political action committees of both organizations, merits recognition as a member of the Chairman’s Club and the Capitol Club. Membership in those two groups, plus the Chairman’s Circle membership is earned with a $500 donation.  For information on how to contribute to the AHAPAC, call Phil Matthews at 501-224-7878.

CareLearning.com:  A New Way to Learn
Keeping employees appropriately trained and their skills up-to-date is a constant challenge for most hospitals and health service providers.  The cost of developing appropriate curriculum and teaching staff, in addition to the difficulty of scheduling staff for classes, has many hospitals looking for alternate solutions to the traditional hospital-based education.

To meet this challenge, the Arkansas Hospital Association has joined over 35 other state hospital associations and the American Hospital Association to form CareLearning.com, an Internet-based education and learning administration system.

CareLearning.com is a nonprofit entity with a mission to develop and deliver a range of Web-based interactive educational programming for health providers and their employees.  For hospitals and health systems, CareLearning.com will provide:

• a cost-effective method to manage the training for large numbers of staff
• a comprehensive, easy-to-use learning tracking and management system
• quality programming on various topics developed by state hospital associations
• documents and verifies learning competencies easily and cost-effectively
• reduced hospital costs for developing and presenting programs
• virtually eliminates scheduling conflicts associated with conducting organization wide training activities
• convenient method of providing mandatory training with a wide array of course options

For learners, CareLearning.com provides:

• access to programs on demand any time from any personal computer with Internet capability
• self-paced learning
• immediate return to a place-marked point in courses if progress is interrupted
• cost-effective access to continuing education units
• the ability to meet or improve competencies conveniently
• an opportunity to participate in professional development activities conveniently and cost-effectively
• portable training records that follow the learner

To learn more about the opportunities available through CareLearning.com, visit the learning module demonstrations online at www.carelearning.com, or contact Beth Ingram at 501-224-7878.

Joint Commission’s Standards Approved
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) recently approved standards for patient safety and medical/healthcare error reduction in hospitals to be effective July 1. The standards require establishment of ongoing patient-safety programs in accredited organizations within the following functions:

• Leadership: Leaders will be expected to establish an environment that encourages error identification and action to reduce the likelihood of recurring events. This is to be accomplished by organizations minimizing individual blame and retaliation and focusing on establishing an organization-wide patient safety program aimed at preventing adverse event occurrences.
• Improving organizational performance: Hospitals will be expected to implement a proactive program to assess high-risk activities related to patient safety and undertake appropriate improvements. The JCAHO expects hospitals to use the information provided in its sentinel-event advisories for this activity.
• Management of information: Hospitals will be expected to aggregate patient safety-related data and information to identify risk to patients, apply knowledge-based information to reduce risk, and communicate information to caregivers and others involved in patient safety.
• Other functions: Hospitals will be expected to place appropriate emphasis on patient safety in various areas, such as patient rights, education of patients and their families, continuity of care, and management of human resources. The JCAHO will expect patients and/or families to be informed about results of care, including unanticipated outcomes.

A draft of the patient safety standards is available online at www.jcaho.org.

Arkansas Hospital Trends
Hospital utilization generally increased across the U.S. between 1998 and 1999, according to the American Hospital Association’s latest issue of Hospital Statistics, but it grew at an overall faster rate in Arkansas than the country or its West South Central region – which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Arkansas hospitals showed an increase in admissions (4.8%), inpatient days (4.1%), and surgical procedures (5.4%). None of these indicators grew faster than 3.4% for the year regionally or nationally.

The indicator with the most significant change in Arkansas was the number of inpatient surgical procedures, which jumped 6.2%, from 211,000 in 1998 to 219,500 in 1999. Outpatient surgeries also increased, but at a slower rate, 4.9%. The most surprising indicator for the state was a dramatic turn in the number of hospital outpatient visits, which fell 5.1% for the year. This marks the first substantial reduction in outpatient visits recorded by Arkansas hospitals in more than a decade. Nationally, hospital outpatient visits rose 4.5%. They inched upward –  0.8% in the region.

The expansion of hospital utilization in Arkansas, particularly on the inpatient side, came at a price, as total hospital spending grew 6.1% in 1999, outpacing the growth rate within the region (4.1%) and the nation (5.1%). The higher growth rate of hospital expenses in the state, combined with a 16.2% rise in billed charges that had to be written off, kept net patient revenues compressed at a 2.6% increase. Hospital write-offs in Arkansas, which totaled $3.2 billion in 1999, climbed more than 20% faster than in the U.S. or the region.