UCSF Among 11 Hospitals Assessed Administrative Penalties

The California Department of Public Health notified UCSF Medical Center on March 13 that it is among 11 California hospitals being assessed with an administrative penalty related to licensure compliance. CDPH made a public announcement of the penalties on March 20. The UCSF penalty is $25,000. It is retroactive and concerns events that were identified by a CDPH team last September during a validation survey conducted under the direction of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Corrective actions were taken immediately to remedy the conditions that were found to be out of compliance, according to Mark Laret, medical center CEO. "Our first priority is and always will be to care for patients safely and effectively, and we welcome and respect all surveys and other regulatory reviews that assist us in meeting this goal. Our hospital is safer for patients today than it was last week, and it was safer last week than it was a year ago," Laret emphasized. The events were related to medication management and involved transcription of physician orders to a patient's medication administration record, administration of a pain medication in the accepted dose, and documentation of a possible adverse reaction to a medication. The medical center has an ongoing program to improve the quality and safety of patient care that includes: continuously evaluating its performance against rigorous internal standards and industry benchmarks, cultivating a patient care team who work together toward the same priority of patient-centered care and risk reduction, and employing physician specialists known as "hospitalists" who focus on coordination of a hospitalized patient's care. UCSF Medical Center last year was ranked among the top 10 university medical centers in the nation in quality and accountability by the University HealthSystem Consortium, reflecting this commitment to patient safety and quality. Related Links: California Department of Public Health Issues Administrative Penalties to Eleven Hospitals California Department of Public Health