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DCMA Standing Up for Members

and Patients in Tallahassee

The 2020 Florida Legislative Session kicked off earlier
this month with confirmation that health care will remain
at the center of the debate in Tallahassee. The Dade
County Medical Association (DCMA) has been busy set-
ting the table for a successful session by hosting a number
of events and engagements with the Miami-Dade
Legislative Delegation.
The DCMA is pursuing a pro-physician and pro-patient
agenda in 2020. Legislation has been filed to provide com-
mon sense reforms to prior authorization, drug formulary
switching, and step therapy protocols. We are also pursu-
ing bills that will prohibit retroactive denials by insurance
carriers for services they have previously authorized and BY FRASER COBBE
we deliver in good faith.
A 2018 study published by the American Medical
Patient Credits Care Team Association illustrates the detrimental impact that the expanding utilization of prior
authorization has on the healthcare system. The study found that prior authorization
processes cost the equivalent of more than two full workdays per week in physician
at Baptist Health Emergency Care and staff time; $82,975 per full-time physician annually; and $23 billion to $31 bil-
lion annually to the health care system which is absorbed by the government,
Center with Saving Her Life employers and individuals that purchase insurance coverage.
Furthermore, the study found that one in four physicians (28 percent) report that
authorization delays have led to a serious adverse event (such as hospitalization, dis-
One year ago, after a night out full of dancing and fun with her husband, Martha ability or permanent bodily damage, or other life-threatening event) for a patient in
Gonzalez arrived at the newly opened Baptist Health Emergency Care center in West their care. Most physicians (92 percent) also report that authorization requests have
Kendall with what doctors later determined was a severe heart attack. Since then, had significant, negative clinical impacts and delayed needed therapies and treatment
Martha has made a full recovery, and she wanted to thank the team who cared for her within the past year.
for all they did to save her life. She and her husband were a sweet surprise at the cen- We hope this is the year that the Florida Legislature acts to eliminate the harmful
ter’s one-year anniversary celebration. administrative actions taken by health insurance carriers that jeopardize the health
Just weeks after the center opened, Martha arrived with chest pains and shortness and safety of our patients.
of breath. The doctors and nurses reacted quickly by giving her medications to help If you want to help our advocacy efforts, please reach out to the DCMA at
increase her blood pressure and intubating her to ensure her oxygen levels were con- www.miamimed.com.
trolled. She was rushed to get a CT scan of her chest, which was reviewed by the car-
diologist who determined that she needed a stat ECHO and would be transferred to Fraser Cobbe is Executive Director of the Dade County Medical Association.
Baptist Hospital for Intensive Care treatment. For more information, contact the DCMA at (305) 324-8717.
After arriving at Baptist Hospital, she remained in the ICU for over 2 weeks. Martha
has now made a full recovery. If the location had not opened a few weeks prior to his
wife’s heart attack, Martha’s husband said he knows things could have been different.

When It Comes to Patient Care,

Hire a Team Looking for Purpose?
“ You can’t separate the clinical
and the fi nancial – not anymore.” Right now, the economy is absolutely crank-
ing. Be it the stock market, consumer confi-
dence, household income, or whatever metric
People who know Healthcare, know BDO.
you look at, things economically are very good
right now.
One thing that is amazing are the employ-
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ing than ever before, but the unemployment
numbers are at record lows. With that said, the
competition for talent is becoming increasingly
problematic as job-seekers are in the driver’s
seat and employers look to attract and retain
talent. BY JAY JUFFRE
According to Hireology, a company who uti-
lizes many aspects of technology to help com-
panies hire the right people, right now the employment population breaks
down in to 3 basic categories: the bottom 25%, the middle 50% and the top
25%. The bottom group is obvious. No matter if it is hourly or salaried, DO
NOT HIRE FROM THIS GROUP, they are just plain bad employees who will
give you the bare minimum and do just enough not to get fired. The middle
The BDO Center for Healthcare Excellence & Innovation group is equation based. I will do X, and you will pay me for it. This group
tends to be your good employees. They come to work; they do what they
As the healthcare industry enters an era of unprecedented transformation, anticipating and
understanding the future state model of healthcare is more important than ever. From advising on are asked to do. No more, no less.
complex joint ventures, to M&A services, to healthcare redesign, BDO’s multidisciplinary teams help When it comes to the last group, this is the group you want to pull from.
organizations plan for and implement the fi nancial and clinical changes needed to transform their The top 25% (and this segment is getting bigger thanks to the Millennials)
institutions — and thrive in the years to come. wants to have purposeful and meaningful work. This is the group that looks
to align with your Mission Statement, Values and yes, will totally buy into
Alfredo Cepero, 305-420-8006 / acepero@bdo.com
the concept of high patient satisfaction. If you are trying to build a great cul-
Angelo Pirozzi, 646-520-2870 / apirozzi@bdo.com ture, look to hire people who want to be part of something special. Seventy-
five percent of the population is not wired that way, but if you can find the
@BDOHealth www.bdo.com/blogs/healthcare ones who are, your patients and their families will thank you.
Accountants | Advisors | Doctors
www.bdo.com/healthcare Jay Juffre is Executive Vice President, ImageFIRST. For more information on
ImageFIRST, call 1-800-932-7472 or visit www.imagefirst.com.
© 2019 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved.

8 February 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News