The Washington Health Benefit Exchange announced April 19 that as of this month, more than 204,000 Washington Healthplanfinder customers have enrolled in a 2017 Qualified Health Plan during the most recent open enrollment period, marking a 23 percent jump from the previous year.... Read More >>
For organizations interested in becoming a certified National Health Service Corps (NHSC) site, NHSC will host a webcast at 11 a.m. today to review the benefits of becoming an NHSC site, eligibility requirement and the application process. NHSC staff will also be available for questions.... Read More >>
Recent member news from the April 27, 2017 Weekly Report.... Read More >>
How does your facility handle disposal of controlled substances used in patient care? If it involves pouring them down the sink, you may be vulnerable to institutional drug diversion, which is the stealing of medications, including excess waste, for personal or unauthorized use. Washington Hospital Services Industry Partner Stericyle has made available an article written by Kim New, J.D., BSN, to help our members become more familiar with the problem, the risks it presents to facilities, and resources Stericycle has to help our members develop solutions to this problem.... Read More >>
After the first six months of data, Honoring Choices© Pacific Northwest is proud to report the growing impact this joint initiative is having on advance care planning, even such early stages.... Read More >>
Our goal is to give you useful information in a useful way. Over the next two months, we’re going to be testing some changes to Weekly Report to see if we can do better. You may be in one of the groups to see some differences from week to week. We’ll be watching all the usual metrics, but we also hope to be hearing directly from you. Do you like or hate the changes? Are you hoping for something else entirely?... Read More >>
Five years ago, a staff member at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia launched a program to help ensure patients who would otherwise be alone as they neared the end of life would have company as their final moment neared. The program, known as “No One Dies Alone” (NODA) matches patients with volunteers who are simply present and offer comfort. While it had existed elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, the program was new to the south sound.... Read More >>
The state House and Senate capital budgets contain major investments for community projects to increase access to mental health services across the care continuum. WSHA is very pleased to see these funding levels that will help spur new services for some of the most complex patients. Both budgets also provide funding for the addition or expansion of dental chairs to certain provider clinics. Dental problems, like mental health, are a top reason why people visit the emergency department.... Read More >>
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) recently released rulemaking proposals related to forensic blood draws by medical assistants and requirements and fees for registration for “blood establishments” in Washington State. The newly proposed medical assistant rules state that certain medical assistants may perform “forensic blood draws,” subject to supervision, delegation and practice standards.... Read More >>
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week released the first module in a new online training series to help clinicians apply its opioid prescribing guidelines for adults with chronic pain.... Read More >>
