Jan. 15, 1998

The Medical Center management team retreat will be held Jan. 29. The retreat will give members of our management group an opportunity to hear from leading experts in the health care field and to focus upon our strategies for the future.

David Queen, an attorney who specializes in health care matters, will discuss compliance issues. This will be followed by a presentation of a draft of the Medical Center compliance policy. Merlin Olson of the Deloitte & Touche consulting firm will give an overview of the current health care environment and changes the industry can expect in coming years. We also will provide an update on the progress of the Medical Center tactical plan.

Details concerning the agenda for the retreat will be issued to all directors and managers soon. Highlights from the retreat will be disseminated in a future issue of this newsletter.

W. Stuart Smith, Interim Vice President for Clinical Operations Interim CEO, MUSC Medical Center

Announcements

• The supply of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations “Accreditation With Commendation” T-shirts has been distributed to Medical Center employees. More shirts are being ordered, and any departments needing additional T-shirts should contact Stephanie Davis by phone at 792-3897 or by e-mail at <daviss@musc.edu> with the number needed.
• Karen Weaver, director of Surgery and Women’s & Infants’ Services, announced that David Hutto has been hired as assistant clinical director for the Operating Rooms. Hutto previously worked for a Columbia/HCA facility in Albany, Ga.

Recognition for a Job Well Done

• Two units—GI Endoscopy, managed by Phyllis Malpas, and the Heart Team, managed by Jennifer Hebra—received recognition from patients. At the Jan. 13 communications meeting, the areas were presented with certificates good for ice cream treats for each employee.

Construction and Design Services - An Overview

• Christine Inabinett, Allyson Yokley and Stephanie Whited of the Department of Construction and Design presented an overview of services provided by their department at the Jan. 13 communications meeting.
• Key responsibilities of the Department of Construction and Design include:

Creation or design of aesthetically pleasing spaces within the Medical Center to include space planning and layouts, furniture selection and finish selections.

Providing departments with consultative services and appropriate guidelines concerning new facilities, additions and renovations.

Assistance to departments, following appropriate approval of projects, in creating spaces that best fit needs.

Ensuring that all regulations are observed, including building codes, procurement codes, fire codes, and Americans With Disabilities Act regulations for barrier-free design.

The recent renovation of the cafeteria was given as an illustration of a construction and design project.

Anyone with questions concerning construction and design services may call 792-9667 or 792-3755.

Space, the Final Frontier

• At the Jan. 13 meeting of managers, directors and administrators, Brenda Bailey, manager of record maintenance and retrieval in Health Information Services (HIS), and Kim Stavrinakis, manager of support services in Radiology Services, gave a presentation on the plan to establish an off-site medical record center for the Medical Center.
• This plan was formed after a needs assessment was done for HIS by Records Management Solutions. This company recommended creating an active off-site record center that includes radiology records. Bailey stressed the word “active”—the center will not simply be a storage site, but a place where records are maintained and accessed.
• Bailey showed slides to illustrate the space crunch HIS must address as the area tries to manage the more than 1 million records currently on file as well as the continuing influx of new records. She said the area receives up to approximately 2,400 lab reports a day.
• The goal of the plan is to consolidate record functions into a centralized area, providing efficient accommodations that allow for growth. Bailey said it has been determined that a building on Goer Drive can be renovated for use as the center. The space is currently used to store inactive records.
• The project also includes plans to:
• Train staff.
• Institute a single filing system. (Currently, Radiology Services and HIS use different filing systems. Bailey said a Request for Proposal will be sent out to solicit bids for an outside company to audit records and establish the single filing system.)
• Destroy very old records according to a policy based on federal and state regulations for record keeping.
• Implement optical imaging system.
• Benefits of the system include: improved patient care; improved access to records and film; better utilization of file room staff members; improved record and film tracking; and a set-up conducive to using optical imaging.
• Stavrinakis showed slides of a facility in New York that has many of the features needed for the Medical Center’s records center. It has a secured area for deliveries, conveniently located work stations with computers, efficient shelving units that allow for growth, and an area dedicated to optical imaging equipment. Stavrinakis said the Medical Center system will include capabilities for medical record imaging and digitizing of records and records will be sent back and forth to the Medical Center via a dedicated data line.