 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 May Mystery shrouds dismissal of OMA top executive The Oregon Medical Association and its executive director, Dr. Eugene Ogrod, have parted ways. It’s unclear what happened since those who know the truth aren’t talking, including Ogrod. All OMA President Dr. John Moorhead would say was, “We mutually agreed the fit wasn’t what we expected.” He added, “The tort reform battle won’t be impacted by Ogrod’s departure.” Moorhead was uncertain when a new CEO would be hired. An interim CEO had not been named at press time. Why, after less than seven months, was Ogrod out the door? Did the staff turn against him or were physicians uncomfortable with his aloof management style and excessive spending on consultants? It may have boiled down to a clash of cultures at the staff level and among physicians on the OMA’s Executive Committee who had torn loyalties. Drug study funded When Gov. Kulongoski announced Oregon would help people import pharmaceuticals from Canada, an important story was buried at the bottom of most newspapers. But it could produce even greater savings for state government. For the past few weeks, officials from the Heinz Foundation have been gathering data from state agencies on pharmaceutical spending. Organizations such as Medicaid, SAIF, the state hospital and the youth authority have all been reviewed, said Dr. Bruce Goldberg, administrator of the Office of Health Policy and Research. By late summer, a report will be issued recommending ways the state can purchase drugs for less. Mercer Human Resource Consulting is assisting. Bulk purchasing time Some critics judge presidents by their first 100 days in office. Missy Dolan can empathize. She’s been hired to administer the state’s prescription drug purchasing pool, and has a scant 113 workdays to build the program from scratch. On Sept. 30, Dolan must present a plan to the Interim Legislative Committee on Human Services. If all goes as planned, the program will be launched Jan. 1. Eventually Dolan hopes to expand the pool to include the 587,000 Oregon ians without prescription drug coverage. Is OHSU shunning Oregon students? Since she was a little girl, Holly Hunt has dreamed of attending Oregon Health & Science University Medical School. She began working at OHSU along side her mother at age 15, and for the past three years she has clocked hours in the Office of Orthopedic Surgery while attending collage. Now 25, Hunt thought graduating summa cum laude from Portland State University with an impressive MCAT score would put her in a good position of getting into OHSU. Plus, she’s an Oregon resident. But she didn’t even land an interview. “It’s frustrating,” she said. What’s more frustrating is that an out-of-state student might have taken her spot. Jean Thorne speaks Even prominent insiders were surprised when Jean Thorne was asked to leave as director of the Department of Human Services in March. Dedicated and well liked, she was often called the mother of the Oregon Health Plan. Many thought her departure signaled the end of the road for the health plan. Although the plan faces tough days ahead, Thorne’s settling in to a lower-profile position as administrator of the Public Employees’ Benefits Board, which covers 110,000 lives. She spoke to Oregon Health News Associate Editor Rory Carroll about leaving DHS and possible changes at PEBB. OHN: Were you asked to leave DHS? JT: Yes. The governor told me he wanted to change his leadership, and I worked at the pleasure of the governor in that position. We talked about the possibility of PEBB. The job was open, it looked interesting, so that’s where I am now. Addressing autism The number of people diagnosed with autism grew by 172 percent in the ‘90s. That makes it the fastest-growing developmental disability, according to the Autism Society of America. That fact isn’t lost on Oregon Health & Science University. It’s holding a conference on autism on June 19 with the Northwest Autism Foundation. (www.autismnwaf.org for information). “The focus of the conference will be to share information with parents of children with autism and to start a dialogue about how we plan for the future,” said Dr. Brian Rogers, professor of pediatrics and director of the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center at OHSU. Ballot measure goes to the Capitol The cargo elevator at the Capitol will be full this Friday, May 21. That’s when the Oregon Medical Association plans to truck 105,000 signatures up to the Secretary of State’s office to get Measure 106 qualified for the fall ballot. The initiative would cap non-economic damages at $500,000 in medical malpractice cases with annual increases tied to the Consumer Price Index. The OMA will continue gathering signatures in case some are rejected, making it a near certainty the measure will face voters. “We’re on schedule,” said Dr. Peter Bernardo, who’s leading the OMA’s tort reform efforts. Actuary hired to study malpractice As the tort reform battle heats up, an independent actuarial firm has started gathering data to determine the root causes of the problem. Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, based in Bloomington, Ill., has been hired to wade through claims data, investment expenses, defense and administrative costs and come up with an unbiased objective report. It will be paid $200,000 and must submit a draft report by Sept. 15. A liability task force will review the report on Oct. 14. The final report must be completed by Nov. 17. Pinnacle beat out bids from Milliman USA and KPMG, said Peter Merck, corporate management analyst for SAIF, which selected the actuary in collaboration with Cory Streisinger, administrator of DCBS. Pinnacle will rely on data from malpractice insurers, and the Oregon Medical Association and Oregon Trial Lawyers Association, if they wish to participate, he said. Northwest Physicians Mutual in the red Northwest Physicians Mutual Insurance lost $8.5 million in 2003, according to financial statements filed with the Insurance Division. In fact, the malpractice insurer recorded a negative bottom line every year since 1999 when Oregon’s Supreme Court overturned a cap on non-economic damages. “Prior to that we were profitable,” said CEO Jim Dorigan. The loss in 2003 came despite a $2.5 million profit on investments. But the tort reform measures edging towards the fall ballot could reverse that slide. “If they pass, they would be an immediate help to our bottom line,” Dorigan said. Also in this issue...
|
|
 |
