In this season of gratitude, Harris Health System thanks all of our physicians and providers for the excellent care they provide our patients every day. Our purpose and mission would not be possible without our partners with the Baylor College of Medicine, University of Texas at Houston and University of Houston. We look forward to our shared successes and accomplishments and wish you and your families a very happy holiday season.
Presumed Indigent Screening
Presumed Indigent screening is designed to help emergency center (EC) patients who need urgent surgery that can be performed in an outpatient setting. This allows the patient to receive their surgery and time to complete the full Financial Assistance Program application. During the pandemic, Harris Health expanded its use of Presumed Indigent (temporary status) to screen for patients who came through the EC meeting eligibility criteria.
Effective Oct. 17, 2022, Harris Health has reverted to its pre-pandemic process of screening patients for Presumed Indigent by referral only.
If you have a patient needing screening, please call 713-873-4410 (Ben Taub) or 713-566-9556 (LBJ).
Eligibility Criteria:
- Lives in Harris County
- Not present in the U.S. on an active visitor visa
- Income is at or below 150% of Federal Poverty Guidelines
- No previous Presumed Indigent status
The patient must sign an affidavit attesting that the information provided is correct to the best of their knowledge. If the eligibility application is not completed within 60 days, the patient is assigned self-pay status. Patients who do not need urgent surgery will be given an eligibility application packet upon discharge from the EC. Patients admitted from the EC will be seen by a financial counselor at the hospital bedside to start the Financial Assistance Program application. Applications can be processed on-site for patients recently discharged from the EC/hospital, if all necessary verification documents have been provided.
Outpatient Pharmacy Copay Update
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Harris Health System will resume collecting outpatient prescription co-pays, as described in this attached memo. During the COVID pandemic, Harris Health opted to not collect copays from patients for outpatient prescriptions. This practice may be further revised once the public health emergency (PHE) officially ends. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Harris Health System Pharmacy at 713-634-1425.
EIRS Upgrade Training Sessions
The E-Incident Reporting System (EIRS) update will go live on Tuesday, Jan. 3. There will be live training sessions starting Monday, Dec. 12. Click here to see the schedule and sign up for the session that works best for you.
We listened to you! EIRS will be new and improved! We’ve streamlined the entry screens and eliminated 491 fields to ensure that the forms are easy to enter. Please sign up for one of these 15-minute online training sessions to get a brief overview of entering EIRS reports. Physicians and all staff are welcome to attend any of these sessions.
Clinical Documentation Improvement Tip –
Post-Operative Hemorrhage and Hematoma
Best Documentation Practices:
- Identify any relation of anticoagulant administration to the hemorrhage and/or hematoma if applicable.
- Identify the relationship of the hemorrhage/hematoma to the procedure.
- Specify the clinical significance or insignificance of the hemorrhage/hematoma to the hospital course.
- Please note that documenting “bleeding” regardless of the amount of blood loss will transcribe to a hemorrhage.
- Identify any diagnosis of coagulation disorder during the encounter.
Simple Documentation Example:
77 y/o with hx of DM and A fib on Xarelto presents after fall from standing. The patient was admitted for central cord syndrome and taken to OR. Lovenox ordered and started on POD 2. On POD 3, a patient with a decline in neuro status with MRI revealing an epidural hematoma; was returned to OR for evacuation.
PSI 09 – Postoperative Hemorrhage or Hematoma Rate –
Is flagged in a hospital discharge with a diagnosis of postoperative hemorrhage or hematoma WITH a procedure to treat the hemorrhage and/or hematoma.
Advanced Documentation Example:
77 y/o with hx of DM and A fib on Xarelto presents after fall from standing. The patient was admitted for central cord syndrome and taken to OR. Lovenox ordered and started on POD 2. On POD 3, a patient with a decline in Neuro status with MRI revealing an epidural hematoma; returned to OR for evacuation of hematoma 2/2 to anticoagulants.
Common diagnosis that serve as exclusions for this PSI 09 when present on admission:
- Thrombocytopenia
- Coagulation Defect
- DIC
- Hemorrhagic disorder due to extrinsic circulating anticoagulant
Remember to clinically validate your diagnosis within the medical record with justifiable, supported clinical criteria. See examples in attached reference sheet.
Informatics Update
Attached are six (6) important updates for the Epic EHR.
- Schedule an Appointment for e-Prescribe for Controlled Substances (EPCS) Virtual Enrollment
- Requesting Access for 3M Fluency Direct (Mobile Dictation)
- Epic May 2022 Version Upgrade In Basket Refresh
- Epic May 2022 Version Upgrade – Early Detection of Sepsis Model
- Prescription Ordering in Epic
- VTE Prophylaxis Orderset
Physician Kudos
Exceptional feedback from our patients about our doctors
Lisa Danek, MD Family Practice
Northwest Health Center
Baylor College of Medicine
“I just want to compliment Dr. Danek. She's an amazing doctor, an amazing healthcare provider. She's a great listener. She took the time to explain after every one of my questions. She always goes the extra mile and I would recommend her, as well as Harris Health Northwest Health Center, which has a great team system that's under Danek’s excellent leadership. The nurses and all the staff are wonderful.”
Brandy Ladonna Ferguson, MDEmergency Medicine
Lyndon B. Johnson Emergency Center
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston
“Doctor Ferguson is the kindest doctor and she explains things to me in a way that I can easily understand.”
Benjamin Joseph Moss, MDInternal Medicine-Pulmonary Disease/Critical Care
Ben Taub Hospital, 5A Medical/Surgical
Baylor College of Medicine
“I enjoy going to Ben Taub. Every time I go to Ben Taub, everyone is so nice and helpful. Also, when I see Dr. Moss he is very nice to me. Keep up the good work. Thank you!”
Thank you for your service!