Executive Notes

Danbury and New Milford Hospital Medical Affairs Update

Patricia Tietjen, MD
VPMA Danbury Hospital and New Milford Hospital

Opioid Rules and Requirements

The state of Connecticut passed new legislation (Public Act 16-43) regarding opioid prescribing. Effective July 1, 2016, practitioners will only be allowed to give a seven-day supply for new outpatient opioid prescriptions for both adults and minors. If a patient has failed other pain treatment therapies or has a specific need for more than a seven day supply, this must be clearly delineated in the medical record. If a provider is prescribing opioids to a minor, the practitioner is required to discuss with the minor and, if present, the minor’s custodial parent, guardian or legal custodian- 1) the associated risks of addiction and overdose, 2) the dangers of taking opioids with alcohol, benzodiazepines and other central nervous system depressants and 3) why the prescription is necessary.

The reappointment process is underway. The Departments of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Ob/Gyn are reappointing along with any practitioners who are off cycle with their department. Please check your email for the paperwork. The deadline for submission is July 1, 2016.

Ongoing Professional Performance Evaluations (OPPE) for all associate medical staff are due on June 30.

The Medical Staff Advisory Council continues to meet on a regular basis. Communication improvement and resolution of some issues with IT and the new Find-A -Doc tool are some of the topics that have been addressed. With Mr. DeBarba’s departure, Ms. Sharon Adams, COO & CNO for the network will Co-Chair these meetings with Dr. Tietjen.

The transition to the Cerner IT platform transition is well underway. Thank you in advance for your participation. Dr. Eric Jimenez will be giving the medical staff frequent progress reports.

The first WCHN Palliative Care Seminar was a huge success, thanks to Damanjeet Chaubey and her team. Dr. Diane Meier’s keynote address is available on the Palliative Care website -- this is a must view for all!

Dr. Herrick gave a great introductory talk to the medical staff at the last GMS meeting on the topic of burnout. Institutionally, we are working on programs to identify and hopefully alleviate the problem - more to come on that.

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