October 3, 2014

MEC formally opposes Proposition 46 (aka MICRA) (PDF)
California healthcare costs will significantly increase with new MICRA proposition. The Medical Staff Executive Committees of the Stanford Hospital and Clinics and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (the "MECs"), representing the over 2500 physicians who care for patients at these hospitals and clinics, formally oppose Proposition 46 dealing with patient drug checks, physician screening and medical malpractice lawsuits. The MECs believe that this initiative will compromise patient privacy, limit access to needed healthcare services, increase healthcare costs, foster baseless lawsuits, and create significant inefficiencies. Click here to read the joint statement of SHC and LPCH Medical Staff Executive Committees.

Prop. 46 / MICRA Questions and Answers (PDF)
Medical Staff members who desire to respond to or initiate discussion of Prop. 46 with patients and others have ready talking points with this Question & Answer sheet.

Inpatient Palliative Care Consultations now available 24-7
The Inpatient Palliative Care Service has now expanded to offer 24-7 coverage for consultations and can be reached by calling the consult pager 26254. The service welcomes feedback from primary teams on this service expansion. Please contact Stephanie Harman, MD at StHarman@stanfordhealthcare.org with questions or feedback.

Registration is now open for the Stanford CME online course "Statistics for Medical Professionals"
Join Stanford University Associate Professor Kristin Sainani as she guides you through the world of Statistics for Medical Professionals using real examples from medical literature and popular press.

P&T Update – September 2014 (PDF)
The Stanford Hospital & Clinics Pharmacy & Therapeutics (P&T) Committee has added vincristine liposomal (Marqibo®) to the formulary. Click here for details.

What's New and Coming Soon in Epic
Hydrocodone Class Changing from Schedule III to II
The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has changed hydrocodone combination products from Schedule III to the more-restrictive Schedule II. Hand-written secure prescriptions will be required starting 10/6/14. “No Print” orders should be placed in Epic for clinical documentation and medication safety.

Submit an article to medstaff@stanfordhealthcare.org