Upscaling HIV and hepatitis C testing in primary healthcare settings: stigma-sensitive practice.

Increasing testing for viral hepatitis and HIV is central to meeting World Health Organization and Australian targets to eliminate blood-borne viruses as public health priorities by 2030. In this paper we draw on findings and recommendations from a Victorian consultation with 40 health and community practitioners engaged with blood-borne virus testing. The consultation focused on identifying what constitutes best practice in pre- and post-testing discussion in the current era of highly effective treatments for HIV and hepatitis C.

Talking testing: Impact of a training intervention on midwives' antenatal HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C screening practice.

Background: Midwives play a critical role in ensuring that HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C screening occurs during early pregnancy, in accordance with national consensus guidelines and policies. Limited opportunities exist for midwives to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence required to initiate testing discussions at the first antenatal visit.

Aim: To design, deliver and evaluate a workforce education intervention to build midwives' capacity to initiate testing for HIV and viral hepatitis.

Evaluating the fair market value of pay for performance.

When assessing a pay-for-performance arrangement, the following factors should be considered: Existence and/or size of minimum savings threshold before savings are allocated. Savings allocation percentage available to physicians. Benchmarks used to measure quality against past performance and/or medical evidence.

The risks and rewards of setting physician compensation internally.

To establish physician compensation internally, finance leaders should: Educate decision makers on basic regulatory guidance and valuation theory. Determine fair market value. Consider using a compensation calculator.

Commercially reasonable--whose responsibility is it?

According to federal regulations, any business arrangement between a hospital and a physician or physicians must comply with a set standard establishing that the arrangement is commercially reasonable. The commercially reasonable standard can be briefly defined as the requirement that the arrangement make business sense without being contingent on physician referrals. Before engaging outside expertise to assist in making the determination that an arrangement is commercially reasonable, hospital executives can address many key questions with respect to this determination themselves using a checklist of key operational, clinical, and financial considerations.

5 things you should know about co-management arrangements.

Key factors that a hospital finance leader should focus on when considering a potential co-management agreement with physicians, in which the physicians are compensated at fair market value, include: Fee structure of the agreement. The quality metrics that will be used. Benchmarking to set appropriate targets for metrics.

Do you know the fair market value of quality?

To develop a physician compensation package that includes fair-market-value incentive payments for their efforts to improve healthcare quality, a hospital first needs to: Evaluate current market data on quality incentive payments. Be familiar with the existing regulatory guidelines related to paying for quality. Understand the requirements for complying with the regulations.

Paying for call coverage: what you should know.

Hospitals are finding they must pay for call coverage because of physician's growing unwillingness to provide such coverage without compensation. In light of a July 2007 Office of Inspector General advisory opinion and federal regulations surrounding payments to physicians, it is critically important that call coverage arrangements be structured appropriately and at a fair market value (FMV) rate. Failure to set compensation at FMV could result in criminal and/or civil penalties based on healthcare fraud and abuse laws.