Baron, Griffiths, Sur Elected to New EMB
Dr. David Baron, a Malibu family physician, has been elected Chief of Staff for 2006 at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center, succeeding Dr. Peter Galier, who had served as chief since 2003.

Dr. Baron was vice-chief of staff the past two years, as well as chair of the Family Medicine department. He is a board-certified family physician who completed his residency in family medicine at our medical center in 1991. He attended medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his undergraduate degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts.

“This is an exciting time of construction and modernization as Santa Monica-UCLA’s rebuilding project moves forward,” Dr. Baron said. “I look forward to working closely with the current medical staff and newly arriving physicians from Orthopaedic Hospital to forge a new, unified group of caring health professionals dedicated to creating a center of excellence for the Westside community.”

Joining Dr. Baron as officers on the Executive Medical Board are Drs. Chester Griffiths and Denise Sur, who were elected vice-chief of staff and secretary-treasurer, respectively. Dr. Griffiths is an otolaryngologist based in West Los Angeles. Dr. Sur is director of the UCLA Family Medicine Residency Program.

Other members of the board, which oversees medical affairs at SM-UCLA, are Drs. Rudolph Bedford, Gerald Finerman, Denise Freese, William Growdon, Peter Lefevre, Philip Levin, James Luck, Bernard Weintraub, Dennis Woo and Edward Zaragoza.

For the safety and security of all staff members who use the Arizona Parking Structure, our hospital has begun the process of installing video cameras at various locations inside the structure.

Once the camera equipment is installed, a token machine will be placed at the entrance so that patients and visitors can park in the structure during specified evening and weekend hours.

Additionally, if you have difficulty finding a parking space inside the structure, you can leave your car with the attendant on Level 1 and he will park it for you. Your keys remain with the attendant until 4 p.m., then get taken to the Security Desk. Questions about parking can be directed to Vernon Goodwin by email or at ext. 94113.

More inpatient units have now gone “live” with Essentris, an electronic documentation system used by Nursing and ancillary departments to replace handwritten patient charting.

The system, which was unveiled in Labor and Delivery and Postpartum last year, has now been implemented in NICU, Pediatrics and 6 MNP. Eight Tower and 3 North Tower will begin using Essentris in March, while 6 Tower and 3 South Tower plan to implement the system in April.

Specially trained “super users” are available on each unit to help you navigate this new system. You also can call the Computer Help Desk at 9-HELP for assistance.

Worth Noting About Delinquency Warnings
Medical Records sometimes warns physicians of a “delinquent discharge summary” when in fact the summary was completed by hand. Frequently, this happens for newborns and short-stay patients.

You can choose to simply ignore such warnings, but you might be better off to make an online record of the discharge summary, such as “Handwritten discharge summary on chart.” By doing so, our medical record system would detect the discharge summary and no warning would be generated. Online notes can be dictated or created directly in CDS. This kind of document should be entered as a discharge summary.

Unfortunately, there are too many delinquency warnings each week for us to search for handwritten discharge summaries. There are far fewer suspension warnings and we always search the paper chart for a handwritten discharge summary before suspension.

Medical Records Suspension
Twice weekly, we send delinquency notices for discharge summaries and operative reports. If physicians fail to respond to delinquency notices, they will receive a Notice of Suspension. However, no physician gets suspended without a manual check of the chart in question.

Documentation of Physician Orders
Major changes in the patients’ level of care – moves into or out of the ICU, tele, general med-surg wards, or procedural areas – require physician verification of the current orders.

It’s perfectly acceptable for a surgeon or medical proceduralist to write orders pertinent to his or her care, and then direct the nurse to the attending physician to write the other orders. Our hospital is developing a process to provide physicians with a summary of currently active orders for their review.

Abbreviations
Congratulations! During December and January, our hospital was able to document compliance rates of 98 and 97 percent, respectively, with acceptable abbreviations. We appreciate your continued resolve to help us meet this JCAHO-required Patient Safety Goal.

Angiography Suite Renovation Underway
Renovation of the Angiography suite on 2 Tower is now underway and will continue for about two months. Once the project is completed, the Cath Lab will undergo a similar procedure.

Look for an update in the next edition of the Med Staff eBulletin.

The Interpreters
Two interpreters are now on staff to help physicians, nurses and other health professionals better communicate with Spanish-speaking patients and their family members. The interpreters, Connie Torres and Sebastian Forni, are available weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To request their services, page them via ID number 93144.

Many “employee interpreters” who have been certified by our Human Resources department also are available to complement the efforts of the official interpreters.

The Ambassadors
Beginning in March, SM-UCLA will launch a new program called the “Ambassadors,” which will complement the services provided by other volunteers in Admissions, the Surgical Waiting Area and at the Information Desk.

Five volunteers who have completed an extensive training program to become ambassadors will staff a desk located between the Pavilion entrance and Admissions to help direct patients and visitors and provide information about hospital services and community resources.

Plans call for the Ambassador Desk to be staffed weekdays, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Questions can be directed to Kris Morneau in Volunteer Services, ext. 94614.

Dr. David Baron, family medicine physician and chief of staff, appeared on KNX Radio’s “Money 101” program Feb. 15 to answer listeners’ questions about preventing colds and flu.

Dr. Susan Sprau, pulmonologist and sleep-disorders expert, commented in a Feb. 7 KCBS-TV news report on record sales of prescription sleep aids.

Dr. Dennis Woo, chair of Pediatrics, was quoted in a Daily News story Feb. 20 about the dilemma faced by working parents with sick children.
http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_3526460

Dr. Ali Motamedi, orthopaedic surgeon, was quoted in a Los Angeles Times story Feb. 13 about knee braces.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-brace13feb13,1,2012170.story?coll=la-headlines-health

Dr. Baron also was quoted in a Los Angeles Times story Feb. 13 about necessary vaccines for adults.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-vaccine13feb13,1,3970277.story?coll=la-headlines-health

Dr. Frisca Yan-Go, medical director of the Sleep Disorders Center, commented in a Los Angeles Times article Jan. 30 about a link between headaches and sleep problems in children.
“Children’s headaches, sleep woes connected”

Dr. Mark Grossman, internal medicine specialist and pediatrician, commented in a Jan. 17 UPN-Channel 13 story on flu prevention and treatment.

Dr. Khalil Tabsh, medical director of the Perinatal Center, was quoted in a Jan. 16 Los Angeles Times article about the rising rate of elective C-sections.
“When ‘Natural’ Seems Too Risky”

Dr. Peter Galier, internal medicine specialist and former chief of staff, appeared on KNX Radio’s “Money 101” program Jan. 12 to answer listeners’ questions about the safety and effectiveness of weight-loss supplements.

You should . . .

In hospital administration, we often hear that we “should” provide some service – PICC line insertions 24/7, unlimited formularies, etc.

Of course, we administrators often claim that the Medical Staff “should” provide some service, too – instant response to nurse calls, ER Panel duty, or even full alertness at 3 a.m.

In healthcare, it’s pretty powerful when you say that something “should” happen. It implies that patient care is dependent on that “should.” Nevertheless, when I hear a “should” argument I also hear the echo of my kids trying to coerce a sibling into taking over some hated chore. I hear that echo even when I’m the one who's saying “should.”

My take? Usually the word “should” means “I want you to be responsible, not me.” And any time I hear the word “should” – even from my own mouth – I know I’ve got an argument on my hands.

So if you tell me I “should” provide something, please be prepared to make your case to a jaundiced observer. And if I say “should,” please feel free to challenge me.

But you know what? Doctors are the hospital's customers, and the customer is always right. Please take a moment to tell me what the hospital should do to improve the physician experience at SM-UCLA. I welcome your comments: medstaff@ucla.edu

Mike Herbst, M.D.
Medical Director and Bulletin Editor

Pain Management Program Rescheduled for March 11
Only a few places remain for “Pain Management and End-of-Life Issues,” the CME program rescheduled for Saturday, March 11, from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in Cafeteria Conference Room B at SM-UCLA.

The program meets the requirement of AB-487, which requires California physicians to complete 12 hours of continuing medical education in pain management and palliative care by December 2006.

For more information about the program, including its presenters, click on the file below:

To view the lineup of CME programs, click on the link below: