Our President’s Message 

Hello GSAC Members,

The year is blazing by fast and GSAC members have been busy as ever. Several of our members attended the Annual AALNC Conference in Pittsburg and thoroughly enjoyed the event as usual. GSAC’s own Tracy Albee was the Conference Chair and did an incredible job of coordinating and providing an exciting educational conference program. Great Job Tracy!

Our Member–Get a Member Program is in full swing with a monetary rewards for bringing a new member to the group through October. One half year memberships of GSAC and AALNC start in July. To join our chapter you must be a member of AALNC.  Our Chapter dues is $25.00 instead of $50.00 starting in July with all of the membership benefits from July 1 to December 31. Let your prospects for membership know that there are many benefits to membership such as networking, sub-contract possibilities, as well as the AALNC educational programs, books and business development. Through AALNC, many discounts are also available for online stores and other vendors. Visit the AALNC web site for more details.  I encourage all of you to enlist additional members to promote our profession. 

Our region is so spread out that we were prompted to go virtual for many meetings.  Our Elluminate meeting site is up and running and we are all adjusting to it and the new method of communication. At the last meeting we discussed having a Case Presentation Program by the experienced LNCs in the group at a central meeting site in order to pass on information and experiences to newer LNCs. This was welcomed and we are currently hoping for a meeting time over the summer or early in the fall. We are also in discussion with the Bay Area Chapter [BACNC] for a joint conference with our AALNC Director-at-Large [DAL], Barb Boschert who expressed interest in addressing our groups. The Educational program for October is shaping up and should be interesting with 2 local attorneys giving their unique perspectives.   Once again we were asked to be a part of the Mock Trials at McGeorge School of Law and are hopeful to continue this annually.     

Our national organization, AALNC continues to show their commitment to all of their members as they add additional member’s benefits and bring the profession to the attention of attorneys nationwide.  Thanks to you all for your continued work and support.

Sincerely,
Marilyn McDonald RN BA CCN LNCC CNLCP

Life Care Planner/ Legal Nurse Consultant
2010 GSAC-AALNC President

Member Activities:  

GSAC Members Contribute to AALNC's latest Edition of their Core Reference Book.

 As you may already be aware, AALNC recently announced the availability of the third edition of their core textbook:  Legal Nurse Consulting, Principles and Practices.  While maintaining the high standards of the previous editions, this reference was fully revamped to adjust to the needs of today's legal nurse consultant. It was split into two volumes: Legal Nurse Consulting Principles and Legal Nurse Consulting Practices. 

Two of GSAC's current members and one from the recent past contributed to this publication.  Having been a practicing independent legal nurse consultant since 1991, Mariann Cosby co-authored a chapter in Volume 2 entitled:  The Legal Nurse Consultant as Expert Witness.  Tracy Albee functioned as reviewer for two chapters, one in each volume.  Diane Reboy, who recently relocated from Sacramento to New York, authored a chapter in Volume 1entitled:  Trial Preparation and the Trial Process. 

Congratulations to these individuals on their latest publication contribution to our nursing specialty! 

Welcome Newest Members!

Please feel free to go to our Members listing and learn more about all our members.

http://www.gsac-aalnc.org/Pages/MembersListing.aspx 

Past Events:

Our GSAC & BACNC members attending the 2010 AALNC National Conference in Pittsburgh, PA

                 Tracy Albee                                      Melony Carlton, Teresa Cox, Mitzi  Wortman                  Cheryl Pater, Marge Patzer, Julie Weaver, Muffy Ratto         

Upcoming GSAC-AALNC Events:

GSAC-AALNC

INTRODUCING A MEMBER-GET-A-MEMBER

CAMPAIGN!

May 1, 2010 to October 1, 2010

MEMBER-GET-A-MEMBER PRIZE: For every new member that joins and provides your name as the referral source, you will be provided a “Certificate Good For $20.00” to be used towards your 2011 GSAC-AALNC or AALNC Renewal Fees

For more information or questions please contact Tracy Albee, Membership Chair:  tracy@medilegalinc.com

Watch our website for more details:  http://www.gsac-aalnc.org/Pages/MemberEvents.aspx

Updates from Nationals:

AALNC Conference Updates

Tracy Albee, RN LNCC CLCP FIALCP

On March 24 to March 27, I had the pleasure of being the Conference Chair for the annual AALNC 2010 National Educational Conference, held in Pittsburgh, PA. There were about 300 attendees. This year’s conference may have been the last of its kind with a full day of pre-conference workshops and leadership forums, followed by two-and-a-half days of presentations that included 3 sessions per timeslot for our attendees to choose from.  The conference also included a Networking Lunch, a Power Lunch, and an optional event that took us site-seeing over the city. The opening and closing keynote speakers were incredible and brought the audience to both tears and laughter.  Our session presenters were impressive, to say the least, and included 8 attorneys, 6 medical doctors, and 3 PhDs; as well as many well known Legal Nurse Consultants and Clinical RNs.    The feedback throughout the conference and afterward has been 100% positive and I have not received a single complaint.  I am so thrilled to have been able to lead my committee, AALNC staff, and many volunteers at this very successful event.

As you read above, you will note that I said that this conference “may have been the last of its kind”.  Due to severe budgetary concerns at AALNC, the current leadership has made a very difficult decision to change the structure of our annual educational offerings.  The fall in the economy nation-wide has resulted in a drop in membership, an increase in hotel and travel costs, and a consistent doward trend in conference attendance.  A short survey circulated last month found that, of those who responded, more member will likely attend an educational event if the conference was shorter, requiring less time away from work, and less expensive both in travel and in conference fees. 

Based on the Board decision, as I understand it, in the spring of 2011, AALNC will plan to put on a 1.5 day conference in Baltimore and this program will be marketed as a “regional” event.  This event will likely consist of a two track program that will include sessions of interest to beginners and to more advanced LNCs.  The presenters will be local to the area and the conference will be held close to an airport at the lowest possible expense to attendees.  It is believed that those who choose to attend will live within a couple hundred of miles from the event to reduce traveling expenses.

IF this new format is successful, then AALNC will plan to repeat a similar program somewhere “west of the Mississippi” so that others in the country can potentially attend a second regional event.  I have suggested San Diego be considered, but there is no guarantee that this will be the chosen destination.  If both the events are successful, then by 2012 there should be a central US location added, in order to make the events accessible across the country. 

For those who have concerns about obtaining CEU’s for LNCC recertification, AALNC is planning to increase the educational offerings in the form of webinars and internet based classes. 

If anyone in our chapter feels strongly in support or in opposition to the new conference plans, I highly encourage you to email our 2010-2011 President, Karen Huff, who can be reached at:  huffk@steptoe-johnson.com

Chapter Educational Opportunities:

Bay Area Chapter

                                  October 9, 2010   

                          Plantiff Med Mal Case Analysis 

                             Rita Kaye Restrepo, RN and
                                 J. Niley Dorit, Esq.

                           

                          Luncheon Meeting, 12:00 pm

 

San Francisco Marriott, San Francisco, CA

 

Directly after the education meeting ends, all BACNC members are

 invited to join the Board Of Directors during our business meeting.

 

 

                             November 16, 2010  

                             "Tools of the Trade"

                           Marcy Robertson, LNC

                           Dinner Meeting, 6pm

 San Francisco Marriott, San Francisco, CA

For more information please go to:  http://www.bacnc.org/information.html

Orange County Chapter

                    May 26, 2010

                  Advance Directive:

              Litigation and Legislation

Presenters:

Eileen (Croke) Watson, EdD, RN, MSN, ANP, GNP, LNC-C

Pamela Daguro, JD, Attorney at Law

• 4:00 PM - Steering Committee

• 6:00 PM - Networking

• 7:00 PM - Dinner Meeting

2010 Meeting Location

Doubletree Club – OC Airport

7 Hutton Centre Drive

Santa Ana, CA

Directions:

55 freeway – exit west to MacArthur Blvd., left turn (south) at MacArthur Place, left turn on Sandpointe Ave., and drive into the free parking lot

For more information and registration:  www.aalnc-orangecounty.org/calendar.htm

San Diego Chapter  

Tuesday, June 1 , 2010

Caroline Guerrero Cauchi, OD, FOAA

"Considerations in the Evaluation of Traumatic Eye Injury"

All meeting times are as follows:

5:30 – 6:00 Registration and Dinner

6:00 – 7:00 Educational Presentation

7:00 – 7:30 Q & A, Networking, Adjourn

 

All Thursday meetings held at Sharp Specturm:

8695 Spectrum Center Court

San Diego, CA  92123

CEU’s will be provided at the end of each meeting.  MCLEs are provided for select presentations.

For more details:  http://www.aalncsandiego.org/education.html

Puget Sound/Portland Chapters

“Legal Nurse Consulting Boot Camp"

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Conference Features:

Starting or restructuring a business

Marketing ideas that work

Performing a quality med-mal review

Taught by 2 pioneers in the Industry:

Rose Clifford, RN LNCC, provider of LNC Internships

Pat Bemis, RN CEN, President of NNBA

Conference Location: Red Lion Inn, Sea-Tac

Two-tier payment plan available: $149 by 7/1;  Balance of $150 by 9/15

14 CEU’s Available 

For more information & registration form, go to our web-site: www.seattleaalnc.org

Webinar’s 

May 19, 2010 at 8:00 PM Eastern - One hour webinar
An Eye for an Eye: The Legal Consequences of Vision Loss
Joseph Citron, MD Esq. 

A uniquely qualified presenter, Dr. Joe Citron is both an ophthalmologist and an attorney. He explains the mystery of how we see and what goes wrong when the visual system is injured. Loss of vision can have profound effects on a plaintiff, affecting vocational, social, and psychological issues. Dr. Citron pulls back the covers to share his knowledge. Eyes, vision and injuries have long been the province of a few specially trained medical people. No more! He’ll use common English and a minimum of medical terms to explain how people see. He’ll help you understand the connections between the eyes and the brain as well as the methods used for testing these areas. What’s the eye case worth? Dr. Citron will help you determine the value of eye injuries.

June 29, 2010 at 8:00 PM Eastern - One hour webinar
Nutrition: Was Malnutrition the Culprit? Janet McKee, MS RD CSG LD/N DAPWCA

Forty to eighty five percent of patients and nursing home residents experience protein-calorie malnutrition, which promotes involuntary weight loss, pressure wound development, poor wound healing and other negative patient or resident outcomes.   Because malnutrition and many of its unintended consequences can often be prevented, appropriate recognition and management of malnutrition or the risk for malnutrition is of primary importance in assessing the status of patients and residents. An evaluation of the nutritional assessment, care planning, interventions and monitoring should be completed for each case involving malnutrition, weight loss or pressure wounds. A nutritional expert exposes the practices that lead to malnutrition. This interactive webinar provides the knowledge to determine when nutrition is a key issue in case evaluations and screening a claim for merit.

Webinars are $47 for the live program 

www.patiyer.com or www.medleague.com for more details.

Small Business workshops

Virtual Small Business Tax Workshop is composed of nine interactive lessons designed to help new small business owners learn their tax rights and responsibilities.  Check out the IRS website listed below to view. 

http://www.tax.gov/virtualworkshop/

What’s happening today:

In the news:

Medical manufacturer Atricure to pay U.S. $3.76 million 

Compliance Monitor, February 10, 2010

Atricure Inc. will pay the United States $3.76 million to resolve allegations that the medical device manufacturer illegally marketed its surgical ablation devices, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.

Allegedly, Atricure marketed the medical devices to treat atrial fibrillation, a use that was not approved by the FDA. According to the DOJ, Atricure also took part in the following alleged offenses:

Promoting the company’s devices during expensive heart surgery, when less invasive means were appropriate

Advising hospitals to up-code procedures using the company’s devices to inflate Medicare reimbursement

Paying kickbacks to healthcare providers for use of its devices

The whistleblower who filed this lawsuit under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act, will receive $625,000 of the settlement.

http://www.hcpro.com/CCP-246282-862/Medical-manufacturer-Atricure-to-pay-US-376-million.html

Recalls/Product Safety:

FDA Announces Possible Safety Concern for HIV Drug Combination

Feb. 23, 2010The FDA announced preliminary data suggesting that Invirase (saquinavir) in combination with Norvir (ritonavir) may have potentially important adverse effects on the heart. When used together, the drugs may cause prolongation of the QT and PR intervals on an electrocardiogram.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm201552.htm

LifeScan Recalls Specific Lots of Consumer and Professional OneTouch® SureStep® Test Strips Due To Inaccurate Readings at High Levels 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeScan, Inc. is conducting a voluntary recall in the United States of eight lots of OneTouch® SureStep® Test Strips, used by people with diabetes to measure their blood glucose levels at home. The test strips are being recalled because they may provide falsely low glucose results when the glucose level is higher than 400 mg/dL.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm202119.htm

FDA Drug Safety Communication: New safety requirements for long-acting inhaled asthma medications called Long-Acting Beta-Agonists (LABAs) 

Safety Announcement

[02-18-2010] Due to safety concerns, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requiring changes to how long-acting inhaled medications called Long-Acting Beta-Agonists (LABAs) are used in the treatment of asthma. These changes are based on FDA's analyses of studies showing an increased risk of severe exacerbation of asthma symptoms, leading to hospitalizations in pediatric and adult patients as well as death in some patients using LABAs for the treatment of asthma.  For the complete article see the web site below:

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm200776.htm

Edwards Lifesciences Aquarius Hemodialysis System: Recall

Audience: Nephrology and hemodialysis healthcare professionals, hospital risk managers[Posted 02/03/2010] FDA notified healthcare professionals of a Class I recall of the Aquarius Hemodialysis System, Model number GEF09800, because of reports of clinically significant fluid imbalance. When a certain level of fluid imbalance is detected, the Aquarius will trigger an alarm. However, users are able to override this alarm and continue therapy. It is possible to remove too much fluid from or replace too much fluid to the patient. In repeated cases, this imbalance increases, and may result in serious injuries or death. Baxter International, Inc. is the U.S. distributor of the Aquarius system. 

The company notified its customers of a planned software upgrade to prevent users from bypassing the fluid balance alarm more than five times in a 20-minute period.

[02/03/2010 - Recall Notice¹ – FDA http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/Safety/RecallsCorrectionsRemovals/ListofRecalls/ucm199187.htm] 

Product Approvals:

FDA Approves Pneumococcal Disease Vaccine with Broader Protection

Feb. 24, 2010

The FDA approved Prevnar 13, a pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate vaccine for infants and young children ages 6 weeks through 5 years. Prevnar 13 will be the successor to Prevnar, the pneumococcal 7-valent conjugate vaccine licensed by the FDA in 2000 to prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and otitis media.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm201758.htm

FDA Approves Rituxan to Treat Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Feb. 18, 2010

The FDA approved Rituxan (rituximab) to treat certain patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a slowly progressing blood and bone marrow cancer.

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm201069.htm

Medicare & Medicaid Informational tid-bits!

Obama addresses new Medicare and Medicaid anti-fraud plan

Compliance Monitor, March 17, 2010

On March 11, President Obama ordered a crackdown on Medicare and Medicaid waste and fraud while speaking at a Missouri high school, reported The New York Times. American taxpayers lost almost $100 billion in 2009 due to improper payments, Obama said in the speech.

Obama’s plan includes providing auditors with high-tech computer programs to “hunt down” fraudulent claims through billing records. Pilot programs in California, New York, and Texas have recouped $900 million in taxpayer money between 2005 and 2008.

In Washington, the President had HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speak on involving insurance companies to disclose all requests for increases in premiums and other factors that would increase rates.

http://www.hcpro.com/CCP-248065-862/Obama-addresses-new-Medicare-and-Medicaid-antifraud-plan.html

Chiropractor and physician among three defendants indicted in alleged $1 million health care fraud scheme.

Thursday Marcy 11, 2010

Chiropractor, Darwin Minnis, Jacob Solomon, MD, and a billing employee at the Chicago Spine and Joint Rehabilitation Center, a clinic owned by the chiropractor in Maywood were indicted on federal health care fraud charges, federal law enforcement officials announced today.

Darwin Minnis, 54, allegedly forged doctors’ signatures on false documents for physical therapy services that were either inflated or never provided at his Rehabilitation Center. Jacob Solomon, MD, 63, also allegedly signed the false documents that mainly targeted U.S. Postal Service employees who were eligible to recoup benefits from the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Program.

Minnis faces 18 counts of healthcare fraud, each carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a $250,000 fine. Salomon and biller and claims processor, Gary Strauss, 31, each are charged with one count of healthcare fraud.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2010/pr0311_01.pdf