Important Announcements

View photos from the Physician Recognition Dinner and Ceremony

Acute Vascular Emergency Service at Virtua Marlton

The Acute Vascular Emergency Service (AVES) at Virtua Marlton is a streamlined process that rapidly diagnoses and treats patients with vascular emergencies including:

   * Abdominal or thoracic aortic aneurysms
   * Peripheral aneurysms
   * Mesenteric ischemia
   * Limb ischemia

Here’s how it works:

   * Call (856) 751-5800 to consult with a fellowship- trained vascular surgeon 24/7.
   * Your patient is transported by ambulance to Virtua Marlton and receives the latest in diagnostic testing.
   * A Virtua vascular surgeon consults with an interventional radiologist and with you to develop an ideal care plan.
   * Your patient receives precision treatment provided by a trained and dedicated staff in technologically advanced operating rooms.
   * The vascular surgeon sends the final report to you to aid in follow-up care.

For additional information about AVES, call 1-888-Virtua-3 (1-888-847- 8823).

An important announcement regarding Virtua's recently completed Joint Commission survey:

As you may be aware, Virtua recently completed its triennial Joint Commission survey. Overall it was a very successful survey, but a few areas of improvement were identified by the Joint Commission. The areas which require action are identified below and Virtua has 45 days to develop a corrective action plan and audit for the success. The medical staff’s cooperation is crucial and the Divisional Medical Executive Committees will be receiving regular reports regarding physician compliance. Specifically, the standards you can positively impact are:

1. TIMING AND DATING ALL ENTRIES INTO THE MEDICAL RECORD – This was a heavily cited area during the JC survey. All entries into the medical record need to have a time and date. This includes all progress notes, orders, history & physicals, consults, operative notes, etc…This is a CMS requirement and both the hospital and individual physicians may be asked to return Medicare reimbursements if time and date are not included in documentation.

2. UNIVERSAL PROTOCOL AND TIME OUTS – A time out must be performed for every invasive procedure regardless of where the procedure is performed and should include all who are participating in the procedure. All members of the team must suspend their activities to the extent possible, to participate in the time out. Procedures outside of the OR are documented on the Universal Protocol Form.

3. AUTHENTICATION OF VERBAL ORDERS – All verbal/telephone orders must be signed, dated, and timed within 48 hours of the original verbal/telephone order. This is also a CMS requirement.

4. THERAPEUTIC DUPLICATION – Physician were cited for ordering multiple medications for the same condition (pain, nausea, etc.) If multiple medications are ordered for the same condition a reason must accompany the order and instructions of when to use one drug as opposed to the other must be given. This issue most commonly occurred with the preprinted order forms. As a result they have been edited to clarify which drug should be given. In the event a duplicate drug is ordered pharmacy will call the physician for clarification.

5. PRN MEDICATIONS WITHOUT AND INDICATION – This was a frequently encountered issue during the survey. All PRN medications must have an indication. A list of commonly used PRN medications and their default indications has been developed and approved by P&T. If a reason is not given for a drug not on this list, the drug will not be dispensed by pharmacy.

All of these changes are being instituted in the best interest of our patients. These areas will be audited over the next few months and the results reported back to the respective Medical Executive Committees. Thank you in advance for your cooperation and attention to these issues.

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VirtuaBaby: Designed with the obstetrician in mind

Virtua is proud to provide Virtua obstetricians with new prenatal educational materials, VirtuaBaby: Your guide to delivering at Virtua. This guide is not only for patients, it was designed to support obstetricians in their requirement to share regulatory information with their patients.

This planner-style guide includes a "Protect your baby" section that contains patient-friendly information regarding newborn hearing, metabolic, and supplemental screening; umbilical cord donation and banking; pertussis immunization; HIV and pregnancy; and smoking cessation.

As regulations change, prenatal patients can remain up to date by logging on to VirtuaBaby.org, the planner’s complementary Web site. VirtuaBaby.org also provides women with personalized baby development information and pregnancy check lists, an appointment calendar, and educational videos.

Virtua Medical Staff Rules and Regulations are now available. Click here to view.

Competency Test for the Administration of Moderate Sedation. This site provides an on-line competency test in order to demonstrate and document your level of competency regarding moderate sedation. To begin click here.