1500 Forest Glen Road
Silver Spring, MD
20910-1484
Phone: (301) 754-7000
www.holycrosshealth.org
Memo
TO:
Members of the Departments of Surgery and Obstetrics & Gynecology
FROM:
Blair M. Eig, MD, Chief Medical Officer
DATE:
March 15, 2013
SUBJECT:
Support for Our Surgical PA Program
We have had a lot going on at Holy Cross Hospital during the past year: The celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the
hospital, the start of construction on our new patient care building in Silver Spring and a new hospital in Germantown,
recognition by The Joint Commission of the hospital as a top performer in quality for the second year in a row, and so
much more. As we look ahead to the changing landscape of new technologies and health care reform, we continue to
explore what initiatives will help us sustain the organization in the future.
One initiative we feel most positively about is our Physician Assistant (PA) program. The PA program was developed to
provide increased clinical support to key surgical service lines so that our surgeons would have the resources needed to
operate efficiently and provide safe and quality clinical care to our patients. As we continue to develop this vital program,
we seek your commitment in working with us to ensure its sustainability.
Documentation Improvement – How You Can Help
As you utilize PAs as First Assistants on your surgical team, please include their name on your final operative report to
ensure the clinical integrity of the health record. We currently are reviewing surgical cases on bill hold because the PA’s
name is not in the final operative report and implementing the following processes to work through the backlog of cases:


For surgeons who have more than five (5) pending cases, our Health Information Management (HIM) department will
modify your final operative report by adding the PAs’ names, and send the revised operative reports to your inbox.
Please review and approve the revised reports as soon as possible.
For surgeons who have less than five (5) pending cases, we will provide you with your list of cases and the PAs’
names who assisted you, so you can add an addendum and re-finalize the operative report.
If you need assistance completing the cases, please call a Physician Coach at ext. 8938.
Please also be aware that if you request that a PA perform an Evaluation & Management (E&M) assessment on your
patient, the PA will document his or her actions in the clinical record, and will charge for his/her services on behalf of HCH
Professional Services.
Communication with Patients – How You Can Help
As you speak with your patients to coordinate their surgeries and care plans, please let them know that you may be
utilizing a physician assistant as part of your care team. We are developing other ways to educate our patients about PA
services, but we know that the conversation between you and your patient is one of the most effective and meaningful
methods of communication.
Reimbursement Impact – How This Can Help the Hospital
Please note that we are holding all PAs accountable for documenting their services and submitting charge tickets for their
billable activities. This should not impact physician reimbursement.
By improving the quality of our clinical documentation and ensuring compliant, accurate and timely charge capture, we will
be able to support you—our valued medical staff—in your efforts to provide the highest level of care to our patients. If you
have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at ext 7060. Thank you.
CC: Julie Keese, Vice President, Revenue Cycle Management
A New Generation of MedicineSM