By Greg Groeller, The Orlando Sentinel, Fla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 6--Florida's Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program will hold an educational seminar in Orlando on Oct. 15 for nursing-home officials and workers as well as residents and their families.
The seminar will include topics such as individualized treatment and bathing practices. Speakers include Rose Marie Fagan*, executive director of the Pioneer Network, a national organization dedicated to improving living conditions in nursing homes.
Florida's ombudsman program is administered by the state Department of Elder Affairs and consists is of volunteers who represent residents in nursing homes.
Seminars also will take place this month in Tallahassee, Gainesville, Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville. For more information, call 1-813-558-5590.
NEW WEB SITE: The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association has launched an Internet site to provide information to doctors, patients and health-care organizations about the latest drugs, medical devices and procedures. The site - www.bcbs.com/tec -- provides the association's assessment of topics such as oncology, cardiovascular medicine and diagnostic imaging.
MEDICAL DISCOUNTS: A new Cape Canaveral company has introduced a program that offers discounts on medical services. First American Benefits & Services LLC offers discounts from 10 percent to 50 percent on services such as doctors visits, hospital stays and medications. Costs for the plans range from $13.95 to $39.95 a month.
HOW TO TREAT VICTIMS: Wuesthoff Health System is sponsoring a program to train health professionals and law enforcement personnel who may have to examine and care for victims of sexual assault. The five-day program will run from Oct. 27-31.
DEADLINE EXTENDED: Separately, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association reports that each of its health plans -- including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida -- plans to give doctors offices more time to upgrade the computer systems they use for filing claims.
Federal patient-privacy rules require health providers to make their claims-filing systems more secure by Oct. 16. However, federal regulators have acknowledged that thousands of doctors offices likely won't meet the deadline. Providers can miss the deadline provided they can show they are making progress toward upgrading their systems, regulators have said.
As a result, Blue Cross health plans will allow doctors to continue filing claims using their old systems after Oct. 16, the association said.
The deadline for insurance-claim systems is the latest phase of regulators' implementation of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which was designed to protect the privacy of medical patients.
Greg Groeller can be reached at 407-420-5471 or ggroeller@orlandosentinel.com.
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(c) 2003. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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