Announcements
The Wyoming Telehealth Network if asking physicians to complete a brief survey to help assess current practices and attitudes regarding telehealth services.
In case you missed it, CMS released a statement regarding a new section on its website dedicated to the small or rural practices interested in participating in the Quality Payment Program. The site can be found here. This page serves as a single point of reference to help you prepare for, and actively participate in, the Quality Payment Program, especially, for those of you participating under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) track. You can quickly locate contact information for the organizations providing assistance to practices through the Small, Underserved, and Rural Support initiative using a simple interactive map.
These local, experienced, community-based organizations provide hands-on training to help thousands of small practices, especially those that practice in historically under-resourced areas including rural areas, health professional shortage areas, and medically underserved areas. The training and education resources are available nationwide and will be provided at no cost to eligible clinicians and practices. You can also review the flexibilities to help reduce the participation and reporting burden on small practices for 2017. We anticipate adding more features and information over time and will continue to keep the lines of communication open, as we value your feedback in helping us improve your experience in the Quality Payment Program.
KEPRO has implemented an online program that will allow hospital providers to schedule a Short Stay review educational session when they receive an initial determination letter with a Major Concern. This program can be accessed on the KEPRO website and should improve ease of scheduling for these sessions. This should also enhance the timeliness of the educational sessions. We hope that hospital providers will find convenience with the new online scheduling program and take advantage of this opportunity. If you have further questions about Short Stay reviews or the online scheduling program, please contact 813-280-8256 ext. 7480 or KEPROteleconference.resource@hcqis.org.
Publications
Denver-area healthcare services company RT Welter and Associates released a couple of newsletters since we have last sent out an update. The June 29 edition features posts on possible benefits to small practices from the newly proposed QPP rule, as well as industry hot buttons. In its July 7 dispatch, RTWelter reprints a story suggesting there are new rules to streamline Medicare Claims Denial Appeals. It also offers the latest in its series of Coding Conundrums.
You can set your watch by the arrival of the MLN Connects dispatch from CMS and that means three more editions of that newsletter as well. The June 29 edition offers posts regarding the new Medicare Numbers, the Evaluation and Management of Correct Coding and more. The July 6 edition of MLN Connects offers posts about proposed 2018 policy and payment rate changes for ESRD, as well as more on the new resources for physicians interested in participating in MIPS. The July 13 edition features information on hospital discharge notices, QPP Webinars, and National HIV Testing Day.
SourceMed offers a post on the updated surgical site infection guidelines from CDC. This post is their four key takeaways on the new guidelines.
HITECH Answers offers its monthly newsletter here, which contains a number of complimentary Ebooks and white papers on everything from Navigating the MACRA Manifesto to Hospital and Physician Practice Revenue Integrity. The newsletter also lays out the list of webinars offered by HITECH through the end of the month.
DocPreneur offers a podcast called, Meet a Membership Pharmacy Where Everyone Qualifies and RX is Made Affordable. The 26-minute podcast is available here.
The summer dispatch from the National Council of Dementia Practitioners features posts on Memory Care Forum and ways to become a CDP Certified Dementia Practitioner.
United HealthCare offers its July 2017 Provider Bulletin. In this issue, you will find articles about: improving patient experience; enhancements to link coordination of care through controlled substance monitoring, and much more.
The American Academy of Family Practitioners offers its July newsletter, complete with posts about reducing frustration and increasing mindfulness as well as treating anxiety and depression in primary care.
Webinars/Conferences
HITECH’s HIPAA Chat is set for noon on July 18. The topic for this chat is Privacy and Security by Design.
HITECH is back on July 20 with its series, ABC’s of MIPS in which it continues its review of the 2018 proposed rule of QPP under MACRA. That starts at noon as well.
Finally, on July 26 at noon, HITECH offers a webinar called Critical Condition: Business Continuity Planning in an Always-on, Cloud Connected Patient-Centric World.
Mountain-Pacific Quality Health offers a pair of times to take part in its webinar, titled, The Mechanics of MIPS Data Submission Options. The webinar offers information on The options for submitting MIPS data and the pros and cons of using each option; the mechanics of how to use each option to submit MIPS data; and practical tips for successfully and efficiently submitting MIPS data using each available option. The event is deigned or MIPS eligible clinicians from small practices and is offered either Tuesday, Aug. 1 from 1:30-2:30 p.m. or Thursday, Aug. 3 from 9-11 a.m.
Mountain-Pacific offers two webinars in August. At noon on Aug. 1, of offers a webinar to help practices develop a fluFIT workflow. Physicians will learn how to explain the patient flow for implementing fluFIT, describing the rationale for offering FIT before the shot, and discussing clinic-based versus screening event variations.
The second Mountain-Pacific webbing is called Systems to Support Patient Follow-up and is set for noon on Aug. 29. Physicians will be able to explain evidence-based interventions for increasing FIT kit returns; describe the clinical team member roles for FIT tracking and more.
Another Mountain-Pacific Webinar is set for July 19 at 1 p.m and is called Implementing the Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship. Join Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, CDC expert Dr. Katherine Fleming-Dutra and your fellow health care professionals for this virtual collaborative kick-off, where we will discuss how to implement the Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship.
Our friends at the Wyoming Telehealth Network have a webinar series with two sessions coming up in the next two months. On July 26 at noon, they will present a webinar called Opportunity for Wyoming Rural Healthcare: FCC/USAC Healthcare Connect Subsidies. At noon on Wednesday, Aug. 30 it will offer a webinar on Cybersecurity.
Registration is now open for the 2017 Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Summit, “Advances in the State of the Science and Best Practices.” Join health care professionals, researchers and academicians involved in all aspects of psychological health and traumatic brain injury (TBI) care for the military community September 19-21, 2017 for this free virtual conference. For event and registration information, please reference the attached flyer or visit dcoe.adobeconnect.com/dcoesummit2017/event/event_info.html.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), Rocky Mountain Region, will be presenting FREE training on the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules: HIPAA for the Small Provider. The purpose of the presentation is to help small health care providers that are covered entities understand their regulatory obligations under HIPAA. OCR will cover a number of topics such as an individual’s right of access, safeguarding protected health information, the business associate agreement requirement, and risk analysis/risk management. Participants can register by emailing either of the following: Scott Grayson at Scott.Grayson@hhs.gov; or Hyla.Schreurs at Hyla.Schreurs@hhs.gov.
There will be training in Wyoming at: Cheyenne from 8 a.m.- noon on Aug. 31 at the Joseph O’Mahoney Federal Center, room 215. There is also offering at Salt Lake City’s Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building from 1-5 p.m. on July 25. Rapid City will have a training on July 28 from 8 a.m. – noon at the Forest Service Building. A training in Billings will take place Aug. 10 from 8 a.m. – noon at the SCG Conference room. Finally, a Sept. 8 meeting in Denver’s Byron Rogers Federal Building is slated again for 8 a.m. – noon.