Every January, ISMIE freshens its Managing Risk educational coursework, risk management resources and event schedule to address the latest patient safety issues affecting your practice.

Here’s some of what’s new on our site:

• Fellowship Program: Earn up to 10% in premium discounts by completing this updated Fellowship coursework covering Risk Management Essentials, Improving the Overall Patient Experience and Process Improvement. Each course takes 1-2 hours to complete and will offer both CME credits and ABIM-MOC points where applicable.
• New online coursework: ISMIE’s added 10 new courses to the 2019 schedule with more to come throughout the year.
• Refreshed resource library: ISMIE’s risk management department curates the most important and requested risk management topics for easy reference.

Also, if you are considering a 2019 risk assessment, we’ve posted our updated guidelines and scheduling information so you can prepare.

As always, we remind our policyholders that starting your ISMIE Managing Risk activities early in the year gives you the best scheduling opportunities and a more relaxed path to earn up to 15% in premium discounts for 2019.

Interested in our upcoming live educational events? Here’s our current schedule and more events will be added throughout the year:

Feb. 22, 2019 | 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. | Seminar | Chicago
Preparing for Your Risk Assessment

March 5, 2019 | Noon – 1 p.m. CST | Webinar
Preparing for Your Office-Based Risk Assessment

June 18, 2019 | 9 a.m. – Noon | Seminar | Chicago
Beyond the Basics: Advanced Communications for Physicians and Other Clinicians

Questions? You can reach ISMIE’s risk management team by email or at 800-782-4767.

As the nation’s opioid crisis continues, a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) effective Jan. 1 seeks to reduce potential instances of opioid overutilization.

Be aware of following new pharmacy dispensing guidelines:

• Pharmacies may not dispense more than a seven-day supply for an initial opioid prescription without an override or Medicare Part D plan authorization. If a patient needs more than a seven-day supply, a prescriber will need to contact the Medicare Part D plan and attest that the supply is medically necessary. NOTE: Subsequent prescriptions aren’t subject to these limits.
• Pharmacies will be alerted when a patient’s cumulative dosage of morphine milligram equivalents (MME) across all prescriptions, prescribers and pharmacies exceeds 90 MME. The pharmacist will contact the prescriber whose prescription triggered the alert to review and approve the order. 
• Pharmacies will be alerted when a patient has concurrent prescriptions for opioids and benzodiazepines. The pharmacist is expected to do additional safety reviews and may contact the prescriber(s) to determine the appropriateness of the concurrent medications.

To learn more, here’s a backgrounder to share with your team. Additional information about these and other Medicare Part D opioid management policies is available from CMS.

For additional questions, contact Corey McGee at 800-782-4767 or by email.  

A two-year project to create a set of voluntary cybersecurity practices for health care organizations of all sizes has been released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Titled Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices: Managing Threats and Protecting Patients (HICP), the document is in response to requirements set forth in the Cybersecurity Act of 2015.

The extended publication explores five leading cybersecurity threats to the field, including phishing and ransomware attacks, and 10 ways to mitigate those risks. It also includes tailored advice for small and large practices.

To access all parts of the report, click here.

Keep in mind that ISMIE’s risk management team provides a range of medical record security resources to review. Start here.

And remember that your ISMIE coverage provides cyber liability protection at no extra cost with the option of higher limits protection to fit any practice. 

As of Jan. 1, Illinois has a new breast density notification law that directs imaging providers to include breast density information in the results summary sent to patients.

It’s important to know that breast cancer diagnosis claims have historically been a major cause of medical professional liability litigation. Higher breast density can hinder identification of cancer on mammograms, so making sure patients know their status can help inform patient/physician discussions about whether to seek additional screening.

Currently, 35 states have such laws, and here’s where to learn more. 

A man who alleged that he was promised free meals for life after getting stuck in a Portland, Ore. Burger King bathroom has filed suit to make sure he gets things his way.

In a state court lawsuit filed earlier this month, a Burger King customer alleged he was promised “a lifetime supply” of Burger King meals after becoming locked in the restaurant’s bathroom due to a broken door lock. The suit alleges that after the customer used the number on his sales receipt to call the restaurant for help, employees tried unsuccessfully to push open the door and then passed a plastic fly swatter underneath the door so the plaintiff could use it to jimmy the lock. No luck.

After more than an hour, a locksmith was called and the plaintiff was freed, but not before he allegedly hurt his hand and was forced to listen to employees and customers laughing at him through the door. The suit claims that Burger King gave him a bandage and ointment for his hand “and offered to settle in exchange for a lifetime supply of Burger King meals at no cost” – but later “reneged.”

So what’s this going to cost the King? In the suit, the 50-year-old plaintiff estimates that if he lives to be 72 years old and consumes one Burger King Whopper every week of his life it’ll cost him $9,026.16, “the lifetime value of meals that he was promised.”

Now that’s loyalty to the crown.