Gulf Coast Medical Center
Physicians Hotline Number
747-7911
 Centralized Credentialing
Initiative
Lori Becerra, Physician Liaison
Medical Staff News
Gulf Coast Medical Center is
migrating to the new Orange Park
Credentialing Processing Center
(CPC) and onto the HCA Cactus
credentialing system on January 14,
2008.
Welcome New Medical Staff
First Quarter 2008
Volume 10, Issue 10
Steven Hadley, M.D.
Richard Baker and his staff will
utilize the CPC for intake of initial
appointments and re-appointments,
information gathering, and
verification of provider data. As
providers begin the re-appointment
process, they will be contacted by the
CPC and in return, the CPC will
collect the necessary data. Complete
re-appointment profiles will be sent
to Richard for the Gulf Coast
Medical Staff approval process.
Ophthalmology
Dr. Hadley has joined Advanced Eye
Care at City Medical Center located
at 2500 W. 23rd Street, Panama City,
FL 32405. The office phone number
is 784-3936 and the fax is 784-3539.
For those re-appointments that are
currently in process, Richard will
work with Sheila Frawley to assure
that the necessary documentation
gets to the Gulf Coast Medical Staff
as scheduled.
For the period of Jan 2008
through March 2008
The MedStaff News
Inside this Issue
1
1-2
Welcome New Medical
Staff Members
Medical Staff Office News
2-4
CEO News
Hospital News
Attachm April – June calendars.
ents
Remember…
You have 24/7 access to info you
need most from the Medical Staff
Office. Simply visit the website,
www.gcmedicalstaffoffice.com
and enter the “Members Only”
section (login & password
required).
Doron Kahn, M.D.
Questions, Comments
& Suggestions:
Richard Baker, CPMSM, CPCS
Director, Medical Staff Services
Gulf Coast Medical Center
P.O. Box 15309
Panama City, FL 32406-5309
Phone: (850) 747-7109
Cell:
(850) 896-5791
Fax:
(850) 770-8938
.......................
Internet Email Addresses:
Richard.Baker1@hcahealthcare.com
Hospital Website:
www.egulfcoastmedical.com
Medical Staff Website:
www.gcmedicalstaffoffice.com
The MedStaff News
Neonatology
Dr. Kahn has joined Sheridan
Children’s Health Services located at
449 W. 23rd Street, Panama City, FL
32405. The office phone is 747-7148
the fax is 747-7147.
Medical Staff Office News
 Notary Service
Notary service is now available in
the Medical Staff Office. Contact
Richard Baker at 747-7109 if you
should need a document notarized.
There is no charge for this service.
1
The Medical Staff Office would like
to hear from any medical staff
member that experiences problems
with this new process. Contact
Richard Baker at 747-7109 if you
need assistance with your paperwork
to assure a timely reappointment.
 Call Schedules
Lauri Brites, Credentialing
Coordinator will be working with
Richard on compiling the monthly
call schedules starting in January
2008. If you have a call schedule
change contact either Richard at 7477109 or Lauri at 747-7101.
 New Mail Courier
Gail Smolarsky has recently joined
the Medical Staff Office as our new
Medical Staff Assistant and Mail
Courier. Many of you know Gail
from her five year tenure in the OR
scheduling Department. Welcome
Gail.
Fourth Quarter 2007

Richard Baker Installed as
Emerald Coast Association Medical
Staff Services President
Baker, was recently installed as
President for the Emerald Coast
Association Medical Staff Services,
the local chapter of the Florida
Association Medical Staff Services.
Richard will serve as President for a
two-year period starting on January
1, 2008. For more information on
the Florida Association Medical Staff
Services visit their website at
www.famss.org.
 Medical Staff Rosters
Starting January 2008 the Medical
Staff Office will be e-mailing
updated medical staff rosters to
Office Managers the first week of
every month. If your Office
Manager has not supplied his/her email address to the Medical Staff
Office please have them contact
Richard Baker at 747-7109 or
Richard.Baker1@hcahealthcare.com
to be added to the mailing list. Hard
copies will also be available by
request.
CEO News
 From Todd Gallati – New Chief
Operating Officer Selection
I'm delighted to announce that Nancy
Dodson has been selected as Chief
Operating Officer (COO). Nancy
relocated to Panama City from New
Orleans where she served as the Vice
President of Operations and Quality
at Tulane Medical Center, an
academic medical center that is a
joint venture between Tulane
University and HCA. She has been
at Tulane for the past 5 years in
various capacities but most recently
as their Vice President, Operations
and Quality.
At GCMC she will have
administrative oversight for many of
the same departments that have been
associated with the COO with the
addition of Quality and Risk
Management. As part of the
The MedStaff News
interview process, Nancy had the
opportunity to interview with over 30
managers and physicians as well as
tour our community. Everyone was
highly impressed with her
professionalism, communication
style, and her fit with the culture of
GCMC. She, as well, was
impressed with those she met, our
accomplishments and our future
plans.
5.
Blood, Heart and
Circulation
6. Female Reproductive
System
7. Brochures/Products
8. Skin, Hair and Nails
9. Physician Referral (made by
a Customer Service Rep)
10. Bones, Joints and Muscles
 Construction Updates
Front Entrance Project
While she has already begun to
become familiar with our medical
center, her first official day was
Wednesday, January 2nd. She and
her husband look forward to their
relocation to Panama City. Thank
you to those that helped to participate
in this very important search.
Hospital News
 Community Responds to ConsultA-Nurse

Response to Gulf Coast Medical
Center’s new Consult-A-Nurse
service has been encouraging.
The free service generated 336
calls in November. Consult-ANurse is available 24 hours a
day, seven days a week by
calling 747-3600. If you would
like further information on how
to participate in the service,
contact the hospital’s Marketing
Department at 747-7134.
Work continues on schedule and is
expected to be finished by midFebruary. When completed, the
project will have created 42 new
patient, family, and visitor parking
space and provided a new, more open
look to the front of the hospital. New
lighting and landscape will also be
added.
 Construction Updates
Cath Lab Completion Gets Closer
Good weather has helped crews on
all of the construction projects stay
on schedule, especially the Cath Lab
project. Plant Operations Director,
Bill Jowers says the Cath Lab should
be open for business by mid-March.
Over the next couple of weeks, crews
will start installing the lab’s
electrical, plumbing, and heating and
air conditioning systems.
 Women’s and Children’s Health
Education
Top 10 Categories for Call
Volume for Physician Referral
1. Orthopedic Surgery
2. Internal Medicine
3. General Surgery
4. Otorhinolaryngology
5. Family Practice
6. Obstetrics & Gynecology
7. Gynecology
8. Pediatrics
9. Dermatology
10. Neurology
Top 10 Reasons a Call Was
Made to Consult-A-Nurse
1. Physician Referral (by RN)
2. Pediatrics
3. Hospital Information
4. Digestive System
2
The hospital’s Women’s and
Children’s Center invites OB/GYN
and other physicians to submit topics
related to women’s and children’s
health issues. The information will
be used to develop and education
campaign for women who are
pregnant or planning to have a baby.
One component of the campaign will
be a series of podcasts. Physicians
will be contacted with further details
and to encourage them to participate
in the program. Campaign
development will be coordinated
through the hospital’s Women’s &
Children’s Center and the marketing
Department. If you have topic
suggestions, please e-mail them to
Fourth Quarter 2007
the Marketing Director, Rod Whiting
at rod.whiting@hcahealthcare.org.
 H&P Guideline Update
CMS has evaluated their stance on
H&P completion requirements and
have ruled in favor of revising their
guidelines to be consistent with the
Joint Commission. The new ruling
continues to allow a hospital to
accept an H&P within 30 days prior
to the patient’s hospitalization,
however, there must be an updated
medical record entry within the first
24 hours after admission or 24 hours
prior to a procedure. The update
note should be timed, dated and
authenticated by the responsible
practitioner. For OB patients, the
guidelines state that an H&P should
be conducted during the first prenatal
office visit and office notes will
suffice as interim updates however,
another update is required at the time
of admission. Various departments
throughout the hospital have update
stamps available for physicians’ use
which state “I have examined this
patient and reviewed this History &
Physical and there are no changes.
 Privacy Signs – from Deborah
Robitaille, Facility Privacy Officer
Gulf Coast Medical Center recently
posted new privacy signs in many of
the patient care areas throughout the
facility. These signs are intended to
serve as a reminder to our staff that
protected health information may not
be discussed in front of a patient’s
family, friends and/or visitors
without the patient’s permission as
required by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
There are limited exceptions to these
standards, for example, discussing
treatment information in emergent
situations.
We hope that this will help our
patient visitors understand they may
be asked to leave a patient’s room
while we discuss medical conditions
or obtain the patient’s permission to
discuss the information in their
presence.
The MedStaff News
It is also our hope that these signs
will serve as a reminder to our
hospital employees as they interact
with their patients on a daily basis. I
would also like to ask for your
assistance, when you think it is
necessary, by verifying that your
patient is comfortable with the
disclosure prior to discussing any
medical information in front of your
patients’ family, friends or visitors.
If you have questions related to the
new signage, please do not hesitate to
contact me at 747-7909 or by e-mail
Deborah.robitaille@hcahealthcare.com.
Thank you for supporting our ongoing commitment to ensuring that
our patient’s right to privacy is
maintained.
 Now Available – New Holter and
Event Monitor Service
We are excited to announce our
Cardiac Holter and Event Monitor
services now available for adult,
pediatric and neonatal inpatients and
outpatients at Gulf Coast Medical
Center.
We now have the newest technology
in 21 Day and 30 Day Event
Monitoring in addition to new
streamlined 24 and 48 hour Holter
Monitors. We offer the following
advantages with our new monitoring
services.




Through this service, a team of
technicians
are
observing
patients cardiac telemetry output
24/7.
With determination of life
threatening Cardiac arrhythmias
by the holter service, 911 is
called for immediate patient
care.
21 or 30 Day Event monitors can
provide daily MD notification of
patient arrhythmia.
An End of Study Summary
report for all 24 or 48 hour
Holter Reports will be available
within 24 hours of completion of
study and faxed to the ordering
physician.
3




Patients unable to identify
symptoms of cardiac arrhythmia,
or episodes that may occur
during sleep, an event monitor is
now available that auto-triggers
to capture Atrial Fibrillation,
Pause,
Tachycardia,
and
Bradycardiac cardiac activity for
21 days.
Physician Order forms that are
quick and easy to use with
supporting ICD-9 codes easily
identifiable.
Devices
are
small
and
lightweight.
No additional cost beyond
insurance
or
Medicare
reimbursement.
 Florida Administrative Code
Annotated Title 64, Department
of Health Subtitle 64B8. Board of
Medicine Chapter 64B8-9.
Standards of practice for Medical
Doctors
2) This Rule is intended to prevent
wrong site, wrong side, wrong
patient and wrong surgeries/
procedures by requiring the team
to pause prior to the initiation of
the surgery/procedure to confirm
the side, site, patient identity, and
surgery/procedure.
a)
As
used
herein,
“surgery/procedure” means
the incision or curettage of
tissue or an organ, insertion
of natural or artificial
implants, elector-convulsive
therapy,
endoscopic
procedure
or
other
procedure requiring the
administration of anesthesia
or an anesthetic agent.
b) Except in life-threatening
emergencies
requiring
immediate
resuscitative
measures, once the patient
has been prepared for the
elective surgery/procedure
and the team has been
gathered and immediately
prior to the initiation of any
procedure, the team will
Fourth Quarter 2007
pause and the physician(s)
performing the procedure
will verbally confirm the
patient’s identification, the
intended procedure and the
correct surgical/procedure
site.
The
operating
physician shall not make
any incision or perform any
surgery or procedure prior
to performing this required
confirmation.
 Stroke Program
In order to be certified as a stroke
center by the Joint Commission,
there are a number of indicators we
are required to monitor on an
ongoing basis. The result of this
monitoring is presented to medical
staff committees to keep you aware
of our progress with the stroke
program.
There are two new
guidelines/indicators for 2008.
STK-6: Discharged on Cholesterol
Reducing Medication
That all stroke patients will be
discharged on a cholesterol reducing
medication unless contraindication is
documented.
STK-7: Dysphagia Screening
All stroke patients will receive a
dysphagia screening, if they fail – No
food, fluids, or oral medications.
We are recommending placement of
NG/OG tube until the patient is
evaluated by speech therapy.
If you have any questions concerning
the Stroke program or these
indicators please call Robbin
Whoolery at 747-7969.
 Stroke and Wound Center Receive
National Recognition
Gulf Coast Medical Center continues
its tradition of providing high quality
healthcare and is again nationally
recognized for excellence. The Joint
Commission has recently announced
that
GCMC
has
received
recertification as Stroke and Wound
Care Centers of Excellence.
The MedStaff News
Gulf Coast Medical Center CEO
Todd
Gallati
says,
“The
recertification demonstrates
the
consistent focus GCMC has placed
on quality of care and patient safety.
The physicians and staff of Gulf
Coast Medical Center strive to
provide quality care to our patients
that meets and exceeds national
standards.
The recertification is
evidence of our commitment.”
Congratulations to everyone involved
in the recertification process!
 New Reappointment Profile Form
to be Implemented in 2008
When you apply for membership for
the Gulf Coast Medical Center
medical staff this is called the initial
appointment. There are a number of
documents
and
additional
information you need to submit for
this process. After you have been
approved as a medical staff member
you must reapply for membership on
your two-year anniversary date. Part
of that reappointment process is an
evaluation of the quality of care
delivered during those two years.
We have developed a new form that
contains the indicators and data we
will be collecting. The form will
presented for informational purposes
at all the Medical Staff Department
Committee meetings in the first
quarter of 2008. If you would like a
copy e-mailed to you contact Richard
Baker
at
747-7109
or
Richard.Baker1@hcahealthcare.com.
 New GCMC Physician Directory
GCMC will print an updated
Physician Directory in February
2008. If you have a new photograph
or other contact information you’d
like used in the publication, please
contact Marketing Director, Rod
Whiting at 747-7817 or via e-mail at
rod.whiting@hcahealthcare.com
 Record Completion
Acknowledgement Program
In an effort to express appreciation to
those physicians who consistently
4
complete their patient records within
28 days after discharge, a new record
completion
acknowledgement
program will be implemented
beginning in January 2008. Statistics
will be compiled by The Health
Information Director on a weekly
basis and results will be posted on an
Honor Roll in the Physicians’
Lounge at the end of the month.
Each month, one physician, selected
by random drawing at the Medical
Executive Committee meeting, will
receive a $75 gift card for dinner at a
local restaurant. Winning physician
will also appear in the quarterly
Newsletter.
Thanks to your
diligence, we are able to maintain
accurate and complete information to
support our patient’s continuing care.
 New Contacts for Scheduling
Surgeries:
The Scheduling Department has
added a new employee.
When
calling to schedule a surgery they
request you use one of the following
contacts and phone numbers:
Patricia Kobleur – 747-7111
Deborah Dawes – 747-7112
 House for Sale- Airport/Kings
Point area:
Newly built custom home located
near Airport/Kings Point. 4 BR, 2.5
BA, open floor plan with hard wood
floors, large kitchen, fireplace,
spacious master bath, 2 walk-in
closets in master suite, screened
porch, large deck and over sized 2
car garage.
Many extras and
upgrades! $425K or best offer. Call
(850)
814-8833
or
visit
www.forsalebyowner.com listing #
21178322.
REMINDER – Monthly call
schedules are due to the Medical
Staff Office (MSO) no later than the
18th of each month. For those
schedules not received the MSO will
have to complete the schedule based
on past rotation schedules. Fax
schedule to 770-8938. Thank you
for your assistance.
Fourth Quarter 2007