AMA resource details what hospital medical staffs need to know about the new Medicare CoPs

Tuesday, October 07, 2014 08:38 AM

In May 2014, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule revising the Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for hospitals. The American Medical Association and its Organized Medical Staff Section (OMSS) have been strongly advocating since 2011 to protect and enhance the role of the medical staff throughout various iterations of these regulations.

The final rule, which became effective July 11, 2014, makes significant changes to the hospital governance structure and has significant implications for the relationship between the medical staff and the hospital governing body and for the relationship between the medical staff and its individual members:

• The final rule permits a multi-hospital health system to have a unified, system-wide medical staff, rather than a separate medical staff at each hospital, provided that the medical staff at each hospital votes to accept a unified staff structure.
• The final rule also eliminates a requirement that the hospital governing body include a member of the medical staff. The governing body must now consult at least two times per year with the medical staff.

The AMA has developed resources to guide medical staffs through the process of implementing the new regulations. These resources, which will be included in a forthcoming edition of the AMA’s “Physician’s Guide to Medical Staff Organization Bylaws,” include:

• A discussion guide outlining issues medical staffs should consider when considering whether to accept a unified medical staff structure; and
• Sample medical staff bylaws language to assist medical staffs in implementing the new regulations while preserving self-governance and the medical staff’s ability to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care.

Note: While these resources are available to both AMA members and non-members, including non-physicians, you must log in to your AMA account to access them. If you don’t have an AMA account, you will be prompted to create one.

What you can do now:

1. Review the AMA’s resources on the new CoPs and use them to guide your medical staff in updating its bylaws. Click here to download (login required, member or nonmember).
 
2. Educate your medical staff colleagues about the new CoPs by directing your colleagues to the AMA-OMSS webpage (www.ama-assn.org/go/omss).
3. Contact the AMA-OMSS (keith.voogd@ama-assn.org, 312-464-4539) to report and seek assistance on any problems that arise as a result of the new CoPs.