SMHE Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Emergency Department

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled today for a $94 million dollar emergency department at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas.

The project ,when complete, will replace the current ER which is less than half the size, with only a dozen beds, compared to the 27 planned for the new facility. A second floor on the new structure will hold three dozen inpatient beds in private rooms.

Around 40,000 patients use the hospital's emergency department annually.

Scripps Health said the population of coastal North County has increased 20 percent in the past decade, and the hospital's caseload has gone up accordingly.

Actual construction on the project began last month, according to Scripps Health. Opening is scheduled for early in the summer of 2014.

—City News Service 

Administrative Professionals Week

Since 1952, the last full week of April has been designated Administrative Professionals Week (formerly called Secretaries Week) by the International Association of Administrative Professionals, with the 25th being the official Administrative Professionals Day.

Traditionally, bosses use this time to show their appreciation to their assistants for all of their hard work throughout the year. To help bosses along (apart from giving the usual flowers and candy) we contacted several administrative assistants who were more than willing to give us some suggestion for bosses to show their appreciation during Administrative Professionals Week. Each business relationship is different so you may want to talk to your assistant first, but here are some of the ideas that these administrative professionals came up with:

•  Take her/him out for a nice, long lunch at a local fine restaurant;

•  Provide a morning at a local spa;

•  Give a gift certificate for a dinner for two or an evening at a hotel or resort

•  Arrange for a housekeeper for the day;

•  Present a plaque for her/his years of valued work;

•  Provide a family pass to the movies and plenty of popcorn money;

•  Arrange for groceries to be paid for and delivered;

•  Find out who is her/his favorite author and buy their latest book;

Don’t forget that Administrative Professionals Day or Week isn’t the only time of year you should show your appreciation to the administrative professionals in your life. Ensure that you make them feel valued throughout the year. You'd be amazed at how far a "thank you" or kind word can go.

Now, if you are a Physician without an assistant, don't let this day go by without patting yourself on the back for handling all of the administrative tasks. 

Facts About California Overtime

Facts About California Overtime

In California, the general overtime provisions are that a nonexempt employee 18 years of age or older, or any minor employee 16 or 17 years of age who is not required by law to attend school and is not otherwise prohibited by law from engaging in the subject work, shall not be employed more than eight hours in any workday or more than 40 hours in any work week unless he or she receives one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay for all hours worked over eight hours in any workday and over 40 hours in the workweek. Eight hours of labor constitutes a day's work, and employment beyond eight hours in any workday or more than six days in any workweek is permissible provided the employee is compensated for the overtime at not less than:

1. One and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight hours up to and including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours worked on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek; and
2. Double the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek.

There are, however, a number of exemptions from the overtime law. An "exemption" means that the overtime law does not apply to a particular classification of employees. There are also a number of exceptions to the general overtime law stated above. An "exception" means that overtime is paid to a certain classification of employees on a basis that differs from that stated above.

1.	Q.	What is the "regular rate of pay," and how is it determined?
	A.	Overtime is based on the regular rate of pay, which is the compensation you normally earn for the work you perform. The regular rate of pay includes a number of different kinds of remuneration, such as hourly earnings, salary, piecework earnings, and commissions. In no case may the regular rate of pay be less than the applicable minimum wage. Ordinarily, the hours to be used in computing the regular rate of pay may not exceed the legal maximum regular hours which, in most cases, is 8 hours per workday, 40 hours per work week. This maximum may also be affected by the number of days one works in a workweek. It is important to determine what maximum is legal in each case. The alternate method of scheduling and computing overtime under most Industrial Welfare Commission Wage orders, based on an alternative work week schedule of four 10-hour days or three 12-hour days does not affect the regular rate of pay, which in this case also would be computed on the basis of 40 hours per workweek. The agreed upon regular hours must be used if they are less than the legal maximum regular hours. For example, if you work 32 to 38 hours each week, there is an agreed workweek of 35 hours, and thirty-five hours is the figure used to determine the regular rate of pay. However, in circumstances where the workweek is less than 40 hours, the law does not require payment of the overtime premium unless the employee works more than eight hours in a workday or more than 40 hours in a workweek. In other words, assuming you are employed under a policy that provides for a 35-hour workweek, the law does not require the employer to pay the overtime premium until after 40 hours in a workweek. If you work more than 35 but fewer than 40 hours in a workweek, you will be entitled to be paid for the extra hours at your regular rate of pay, as overtime premium pay is only required after 40 hours in a workweek. The following are examples of how to calculate the regular rate of pay: If you are paid on an hourly basis, that amount is the regular rate of pay. If you are paid a salary, the regular rate is determined as follows: Multiply the monthly remuneration by 12 (months) to get the annual salary. Divide the annual salary by 52 (weeks) to get the weekly salary. Divide the weekly salary by the number of legal maximum regular hours (40) to get the regular hourly rate. If you are paid by the piece or commission, either of the following methods may be used to determine the regular rate of pay for purposes of computing overtime: The piece or commission rate is used as the regular rate and you are paid one and one-half this rate for production during the first four overtime hours in a workday, and double time for all hours worked beyond 12 in a workday; or Divide your total earnings for the workweek, including earnings during overtime hours, by the total hours worked during the workweek, including the overtime hours. For each overtime hour worked you are entitled to an additional one-half the regular rate for hours requiring time and one-half, and to the full rate for hours requiring double time. A group rate for piece workers is an acceptable method for computing the regular rate of pay. In using this method, the total number of pieces produced by the group is divided by the number of people in the group, with each person being paid accordingly. The regular rate for each worker is determined by dividing the pay received by the number of hours worked. The regular rate cannot be less than the minimum wage. If you are paid two or more rates by the same employer during the workweek, the regular rate is the "weighted average" which is determined by dividing your total earnings for the workweek, including earnings during overtime hours, by the total hours worked during the workweek, including the overtime hours. For example, if you work 32 hours at $9.00 an hour and 10 hours during the same workweek at $7.00 an hour, your weighted average (and thus the regular rate for that workweek) is $8.52. This is calculated by adding your $358 straight time pay for the work week (32hours x $9.00/hour) + (10 hours x $7.00/hour) = $358) and dividing it by the 42 hours you worked.
2.	Q.	If an employee works unauthorized overtime is the employer obligated to pay for it?
	A.	Yes, California law requires that employers pay overtime, whether authorized or not, at the rate of one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of eight up to an including 12 hours in any workday, and for the first eight hours of work on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek, and double the employee's regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 12 in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of eight on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek. An employer can discipline an employee if he or she violates the employer's policy of working overtime without the required authorization. However, California's wage and hour laws require that the employee be compensated for any hours he or she is "suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so." California case law holds that "suffer or permit" means work the employer knew or should have known about. Thus, an employee cannot deliberately prevent the employer from obtaining knowledge of the unauthorized overtime worked, and come back later to claim recovery. The employer must have the opportunity to obey the law.

VIP Physician Resource Center Showcase

WEBINAR - ICD-10 Documentation

April 26: ICD-10: Will Your Documentation Be Ready?
One of the largest problems following the October 1, 2013 implementation date for ICD-10 will be documentation insufficient to support the specificity required for the new ICD-10 code sets. A recent study evaluating over 3,000 medical records across the country revealed that on average only 37% of the current physician documentation would support the newer standards that are going to be required by ICD-10. We believe a behavioral change in documentation habits for most providers will be necessary—and now is the time to start preparing.
View a sample note with improved documentation to support ICD-10.
This webinar will focus on key steps and strategies to help you prepare your physicians for a successful transition to ICD-10.
Come to this webinar to learn:

• How ICD-10 will impact your physicians
• Strategies for preparing your physicians for ICD-10 including when and how to start
• Specificity requirements of ICD-10 including laterality, stages of healing, episodes of care, and changes in terminology
• Steps for incorporating ICD-10 Readiness Assessments into your practice
• Results of case studies from ICD-10 readiness assessments
• Key trends that will help you better prepare your practice for the upcoming change

Title: ICD-10: Will Your Documentation Be Ready?
Cost: $29.95
Date: Thursday, April 26, 2012
Time: 10am PT / 11am MT / 12pm CT / 1pm ET
Length: 60 Minutes
Presenter: Peggy Stilley, CPC, CPMA, CPC-I, COBGC
Note: There are no CEUs offered for this event

Articles Worth Reading

CMS Confirms: Medicare Reimbursement Rates Wont Be Cut in 2012

PECOS Accepting E-applications, E-signatures

Solve 5 Common Problems To Improve Your Bottom Line

HHS Proposes Delaying ICD-10 Implementation By A Year

Follow the Med4Nicaragua Team!

The Med4Nicaragua team is currently in Nicaragua, view the team's blog at www.med4nicaraguacomblog.blogspot.com for real time updates!