The Roles and Functions of Medical Directors in Nursing Homes
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INSIDE LONG-TERM CARE IN RI The Roles and Functions of Medical Directors in Nursing Homes AMAN NANDA, MD, CMD 22 24 EN ABSTRACT resident care policies; provides oversight and supervision of The medical director is an important member of the physician services and the medical care of residents; plays a healthcare team in a nursing home, and is responsible significant role in overseeing the overall clinical care of res- for overall coordination of care and for implementation idents to ensure to the extent possible that care is adequate; of policies related to care of the residents in a nursing evaluates situations as they arise and takes appropriate steps home. The residents in nursing homes are frail, medical- to try to correct the root cause, if possible; consults with ly complex, and have multiple disabilities. The medical the resident and his or her physician concerning care and director has an important leadership role in assisting treatment, if necessary; and ensures the support of essential nursing home administration in providing quality care medical consultants as needed.” These guidelines are broad that is consistent with current standards of care. This ar- and vague. ticle provides an overview of roles and functions of the The 2000 report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), medical director, and suggests ways the medical director “Improving the Quality of Long Term Care,”2 urged that can be instrumental in achieving excellent care in today’s medical directors be given more authority and be held more nursing facilities. accountable for medical services in nursing homes. In order KEYWORDS: Medical Directors, Nursing homes, Quality to delineate the role and responsibilities of medical directors, of care the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), the society for post-acute and long-term care medicine, has peri- odically revised and updated its policy statement. In its latest white paper in 2011, AMDA identified roles and functions for medical directors.3 INTRODUCTION Nursing Homes are an important site for individuals who cannot manage without substantial help to live and receive ROLES OF MEDICAL DIRECTOR healthcare. In 1974, Medicare required skilled nursing facil- There are four major roles of the medical director outlined ities it certified, to have a medical director. The Omnibus by AMDA: Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA-1987)1 extended this requirement to all nursing homes. Services medical Physician Leadership directors provide to fulfill their obligations vary widely. The medical director should be a role model, and is respon- Medical directors may remain relatively uninvolved or be sible for the overall clinical care of the residents in the highly involved in working closely with the facility admin- facility. The medical director provides guidance for appro- istration to deliver high quality care to the residents. Simi- priate physician credentialing, coverage, and performance larly, the administration of a nursing home may employ a expectations. medical director just to fulfill the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirement for a medical direc- Patient Care-Clinical Leadership tor, or to use as a referral source for maintaining high occu- The medical director should apply clinical and administra- pancy in their facility. On the other hand, the Administrator tive knowledge to guide the facility in providing high quality and Director of Nursing may involve and fully embrace the care. The medical director should have a panel of residents skills the medical director has to offer and utilize that exper- under his/her care, and should set an example in seeing new tise in improving many aspects of the residents’ care quality. admissions and follow-up visits in a timely manner. The According to CMS, medical directors are responsible for medical director should be available to administration and implementing resident care policies and coordinating med- other providers to answer any clinical questions on a par- ical care of all the residents in the nursing homes. In the ticular resident. The medical director should assist in the early 1990s, CMS developed interpretative guidelines for development of specific clinical practices in the facility and the medical director’s role: “to ensure that the facility pro- ensure that they are resident-centered standard of practice. vides appropriate care as required; monitors and implements WWW.RIMED.ORG | RIMJ ARCHIVES | MARCH WEBPAGE MARCH 2015 RHODE ISLAND MEDICAL JOURNAL 20 INSIDE LONG-TERM CARE IN RI Quality of Care no other physician is willing to accept the new admission. The medical director should help the facility develop quality The medical director may take over the care of another phy- improvement projects. The medical director should assist sician’s patient under the following circumstances: the facility in providing a safe and caring environment and • request by resident/family; or, advise the administration on risk management. • to address any concern in quality of care. Education, Information, and Communication Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) The medical director should educate and provide infor- Each facility is required to have a quarterly QAPI meet- mation to the facility staff, and practitioners which helps ing, including the attendance of the medical director. The in improving the care of residents. The medical director medical director can guide the committee about projects to should act as a liaison with the community and assist in improve quality of care. It is recommended that QAPI meet- establishing appropriate relationships with other health care ings be held monthly rather than quarterly, and all depart- organization. ment heads should have a quality improvement project related to their discipline. Medical directors should main- FUNCTIONS OF MEDICAL DIRECTORS: tain written records and e-mails documenting their relevant activities. There should be an agenda item in QAPI meetings There are nine functions for medical directors, as stipulated regarding comments from the medical director. Activities by AMDA: conducted as part of the QAPI should be labeled as such, so they remain protected from discovery by the surveyors. Administrative This protection is intended to allow for more frank discus- The medical director should participate in developing and sion to support the QAPI activities and overall a better care approving patient care-related policies and procedures. The environment. medical director should meet periodically with the Admin- istrator and Director of Nursing (DON) and discuss patient Rights of Individuals care issues. The facility is required to have policies in place for ensuring Each facility is surveyed by state and/or federal survey- that the rights of residents are respected. The medical direc- ors once a year, or earlier if there are any complaints. The tor can help the administration in developing these policies, surveyors usually come unannounced. The medical direc- for example, by identifying and reporting abuse, or honoring tor should be notified when the surveyors survey the facil- a resident’s choice for a particular attending on staff. ity. The medical director should make every attempt to go to the facility and introduce him/herself to the surveyors Person-Directed Care and answer any questions while the surveyors are on-site. The medical director should play a lead role in promoting During or after the survey, the medical director can help person-directed care. Residents and their families should surveyors in clarifying any clinical questions. The medical be actively involved in decision-making about treatment director should try to attend the exit survey and should help options. Residents should be offered choices; for example, the administration in resolving or correcting any citations in regarding waking up and timing of medications administra- the correction plan. tion. Residents should be treated with respect and dignity. Professional Services Education Each facility should have a credentialing policy for the medi- The medical director should participate in educating the cal staff that includes physicians, mid-level practitioners and nursing staff as well as physicians and mid-level practi- consultants. The medical director plays a lead role in devel- tioners. The medical director can play a pivotal role in pro- oping this policy. The medical director ensures physician viding clinical leadership regarding current standards of care performance in the following activities: in attaining optimal residents’ outcomes in the facility. • providing appropriate medical care to the residents • performing timely admissions Employee Health • documenting care The medical director should participate in the development of policies for promoting employee health. The medical • making scheduled and as-needed visits director is not expected to substitute for employees’ pri- • providing medical coverage 24/7 mary care physicians. The medical director should approve The medical director is responsible for covering the attend- policies that cover employee immunization programs, and ing physician when the latter is unavailable. The medical address diagnosis and treatment of infectious illnesses that director becomes the attending physician by default when could be transmitted to residents or other employees. WWW.RIMED.ORG | RIMJ ARCHIVES | MARCH WEBPAGE MARCH 2015 RHODE ISLAND MEDICAL JOURNAL 21 INSIDE LONG-TERM CARE IN RI Community Acknowledgments The medical director should act as a spokesperson