The National Association of Occupational Health Professionals (NAOHP) has awarded Meridian Occupational Health a three-year Quality Certification under its Site Certification Program. The program received a nearly perfect score of 99.08 percent out of a possible 100 percent compliance to the standard, the highest score awarded since the program’s inception in 2006. It is also the first program located in the Northeast to become NAOHP Quality-Certified. Meridian is a regional occupational health network affiliated with the Meridian Health system on the Jersey Shore. The award acknowledges that Meridian Occupational Health offers an exceptionally high level of occupational health-related services to employers and employees in the region. Meridian’s comprehensive range of products and services are delivered at worksites, via clinics in Toms River, Neptune, West Long Branch, Lakewood, Manalapan and Holmdel, and through affiliated Meridian Health hospitals and outpatient facilities.
“Our team is ecstatic about the results,” said Corporate Medical Director Steven Crawford, M.D. “It was a great experience. The real value is in the preparation. The leadership team sat around the table and debated, ‘What do we have here and what do we need there in order to comply?’
“The work we did to prepare for the site survey was very worthwhile, and the feedback we received was invaluable”.
“The work we did to prepare for the site survey was very worthwhile, and the feedback we received was invaluable. It will make us even better. I knew we had a good practice here, but we had no real means of comparison. To be able to compare our practice to national standards issued by professionals in the industry was very attractive to us. ”
NAOHP Site Surveyor Donna Lee Gardner, a nurse and consultant who was instrumental in developing the NAOHP certification standards, said she was particularly impressed by the performance of Meridian’s physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, physical therapists, radiographers, allied professionals and support staff.
“I want to congratulate all of the Meridian team members,” Ms. Gardner said. “They did an exceptional job preparing for the evaluation. Their organization of the materials facilitated a very timely, well-coordinated and systematic review.”
Process Improvements
Dr. Crawford said he found it particularly helpful to obtain insights about ways to improve the network’s handling of electronic medical records. The program had been struggling with what should and should not be included on the medical record (using iSystoc software). For example, if a patient presents with hypertension or a history of breast cancer, the information is included in their medical history, which becomes part of the record. However, employers do not have a need or right to obtain that information. Dr. Crawford felt additional safeguards needed to be put into place. Ms. Gardner suggested utilizing a routine medical questionnaire to which employers have access and a separate but related review-of-systems form designed to satisfy medical history and billing components to which employers do not have access. The treating provider can then simply make a notation on the medical questionnaire to refer colleagues to the review of systems/medical history, as appropriate, without compromising patient privacy. With regard to outcomes, Dr. Crawford said he has given a great deal of thought to performance measurement and incentives based on what physicians and physician extenders do from “soup to nuts” on a daily basis. Each activity, from giving instructions to a patient to conducting a workplace walkthrough, is detailed in a written job description. He places a particular emphasis on professionalism and patient/customer satisfaction during every encounter. Although Meridian currently ties physician incentives to specific financial targets, the program is moving toward incorporating rewards based on satisfaction scores as well as incentives based on clinical outcomes. During her site visit, Ms. Gardner first reviewed all documentation and practices in comparison to NAOHP standards. She used the remaining time to brainstorm with staff members and offer suggestions for process improvements. “This is a consultation that also gets you a certification,” Dr. Crawford said. “That’s the great part of it. By comparison, the Joint Commission does an evaluation – they tell you where your deficiencies are but they don’t tell you how to fix it. Donna Lee tells you how to fix it. “If a program considering certification were to ask me if they should pursue it, I would definitely say, ‘Yes, you should. It’s going to require some work on your part, but you will end up with an even better practice.’”
