The Quality and Public Affairs Committee met Tuesday afternoon. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Former Managing Editor for Design
The Board of Trustees committee for Quality and Public Affairs approved new privilege forms, quality plans and improvement plans for the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and The James on Tuesday.
One of the privilege forms approved by the committee includes integration of oriental medicine in the practice for family medicine, such as Chinese herbs, diet, medication and acupuncture, Dr. Andrew Thomas, internal medicine physician at the medical center, said.
The committee also approved the creation of a new cardiothoracic associate position in the Division of Cardiac Surgery at the medical center.
The committee approved the Wexner Medical Center Clinical Quality Management, Patient Safety and Service Plan that “outlines goal and vision and structure, as well as operational structure of quality department and associated committees,” Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser, chief quality and patient safety officer at the medical center, said.
The plan also includes a name change from the Quality Leadership Council to Quality Leadership Committee.
Though there are few changes from last year’s plan to this year’s, Gonsenhauser said the plan outlines specific committees’ roles, structures and purpose to “protect peer review and quality and non-discoverability of data.”
The committee approved the James Cancer Hospital Clinical Quality, Patient Safety and Reliability Plan presented by Dr. David Cohn, chief medical officer at the cancer hospital.
The plan serves to recognize structure and oversight of programs and includes a “process to improve communications about serious illnesses to patients,” Cohn said.
The Quality and Public Affairs Committee will meet again on Sept. 24.
