Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP) now accepting applications

The Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program (NELRP), administered by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is now open and accepting applications from eligible candidates.  In exchange for the initial two year service commitment, participants receive 60 percent of their total qualifying nursing education loan balance. For an optional third year of service, participants may receive 25 percent of their original total qualifying nursing education loan balance.

Eligible Applicants
To be eligible to apply, an applicant must be:
  • a registered nurse who has completed training (diploma, associate, baccalaureate or graduate)
  • licensed and employed full-time (at least 32 hours per week) at an eligible facility or school of nursing
  • a U.S. citizen (born or naturalized) or National and Lawful Permanent Resident
  • educated through an accredited school of nursing located in a U.S. State
First preference for funding is given to qualified applicants whose total qualifying educational loans are 40 percent or greater than their base annual salary. A funding preference will also be given to nurses working in the types of facilities that have the most severe nursing shortage and to nurse faculty.

To Apply
For information, including the application and program guidance, checklist and supplemental forms and to apply, visit http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/index.html.

CRHC’s Colorado Rural Credentialing Network

Register now for CRHC’s Rural Credentialing Network. This peer-learning network provides hospital and clinic staff with information and resources related to the important task of credentialing. Facilitated by a credentialing expert, this network provides participants with the opportunity to participated in quarterly educational webinars, access to tools and resources, and access to an expert for questions. The annual fee to join the network is $250. Webinars will begin in early 2011. For more information and to register, click here.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

CMS Proposed Rule: EMTALA Applicability to Hospital and CAH Inpatients and Hospitals with Specialized Capabilities

This CMS advance notice of proposed rulemaking announces the intention of CMS to solicit comment on the need to publish a proposed rule to address two policies related to EMTALA. CMS is requesting comments regarding the need to revisit the policies in the September 9, 2003 Federal Register (68 FR 53243) and the August 19, 2008 Federal Register (73 FR 48656) concerning EMTALA and whether to reconsider its applicability to admitted inpatients needing to be transferred for specialized care. To access the proposed rule, click here. Comments must be received at CMS no later than 5 p.m. EST on February 22, 2011. If you have any comments or concerns, please contact jd@coruralhealth.org.

Updated CMS Transmittal: Waiver of Coinsurance and Deductible for Preventive Services in RHCs, Section 4104 of Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Transmittal 2093, dated November 12, 2010 is being rescinded and replaced by Transmittal 2122, dated December 21, 2010 to include the new HCPCS Codes (G0438 and G0439) for the annual wellness visit listed in Transmittal Attachment A. All other information remains the same. To access the updated transmittal, click here.

Monday, December 27, 2010

CMS Comment Period: Development of Part C and Part D RAC Programs

On December 27, CMS issued in the Federal Register a notice that presents an approach and requests comments on the provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires the expansion of the RAC program to Medicare Part C and Part D. To access the proposed rule, click here. Comments are due to CMS by February 25, 2011.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Rural Health Research and Policy Centers: Rural Hospital EMS Support

This study uses Medicare Hospital Cost Reports to identify rural hospitals, with and without EMS units, to answer the following questions: what proportion of rural hospitals support or operate EMS units; has this changed in last five years; what are the characteristics of rural hospitals that support or operate EMS; what are the financial investments made by these hospitals in EMS; and what describes the communities in which these hospitals are located. To access the study, click here.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Taking Care of Myself: A Guide for When I Leave the Hospital

As part of CRHC’s iCARE project (Improving Communication and REadmission), we will be sharing tools and resources related to improving communication in transitions of care and clinical processes. This resource from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Taking Care of Myself: A Guide for When I Leave the Hospital, is a new take home guide to help patients prepare to care for themselves when they leave the hospital, a key component in preventing re-hospitalizations. The guide is available as a printed document or a PDF that hospital staff can fill out with patient-specific information and share with patients before they leave. The guide can foster better communication so patients understand what happened in the hospital and how to care for themselves at home. Patients can then use the guide as a reference when attending follow-up appointments, providing important information to their community-based clinicians. To download copy of the guide, click here.

Instruct Online Webinars

CMS Finalized Visitation and Telemedicine
January 4, 8:00am-9:30am MST; Course: NGD1719
CMS has recently proposed two major changes to the hospital conditions of participations (CoPs) on visitation rights, healthcare surrogates and telemedicine, teleradiology, and teleinterpretive services. These proposed changes affect all hospitals that receive Medicare reimbursement including CAHs. This webinar will go into detail the proposed changes and help equip hospitals to understand these changes and tips to comply.

Joint Commission Infection Control Standards
January 5, 11:00-1:00MST
This program will cover in detail the Joint Commission infection prevention and control chapter and contrast CMS hospital CoP related infection control standards. Even hospitals that are not Joint Commission accredited should consider attending this program to help assess infection control risks and functions of their infection control plan/program. This program will discuss important hot issues such as the focus on appropriate sterilization of equipment, scopes, flash sterilization, cleaning between patient use of glucose meters and single use lancet devices. Hospitals should have a point of care testing policy and safe injection practices policy. It will cover single use vials and when multi-dose vials may be used.

Chargemasters for Critical Access Hospitals – Part 1
January 13, 12:00-1:30 MST;  Course: CCMA1375
Critical Access Hospitals are cost-based reimbursed so those coding, billing and associated reimbursements differ from PPS hospitals. The coding and billing process along with the chargemaster and development of the cost-report are critical. A different philosophical approach to the chargemaster is needed with due consideration to CMS coding and billing requirements.

The cost to participate in any of these webinars is $225. For registration and further information please contact Katie at katie@instruct-online.com or 319.626.3295.

CMS Delays Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Test Requirement

CMS has announced that it will delay for 90 days the implementation of a requirement, made as part of its most recent Physician Fee Schedule final rule, that a physician's or qualified non-physician practitioner's (NPP) signature must be included on requisitions for clinical diagnostic laboratory tests paid under the clinical laboratory fee schedule effective January 1, 2011. For more information, click here.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Home Health Face-to-Face Encounter; A New Home Health Certification Requirement

A new Medicare home health law goes into effect on January 1st that affirms the role of the physician as the person who orders home health care based on personal examination of the patient. Effective in January, a physician who certifies a patient as eligible for Medicare home health services must see the patient. The law also allows the requirement to be satisfied if a non-physician practitioner (NPP) sees the patient, when the NPP is working for or in collaboration with the physician.

As part of the certification form itself, or as an addendum to it, the physician must document that the physician or NPP saw the patient, and document how the patient’s clinical condition supports a homebound status and need for skilled services. A more detailed announcement on this subject will be available within the next few days, on the home health agency website at: http://www.cms.gov/center/hha.asp, under the Spotlight section. Additional guidance will be available next week via a Special Edition article on our Medicare Learning Network website at: http://www.cms.gov/MLNGenInfo.

Excellence in Mental Health Act Introduced in U.S. Senate

Senators Stabenow and Reed introduced the Excellence in Mental Health Act which would require the federal government to establish criteria for an organization to qualify as a “Community Behavioral Health Center” (CBHC), to be reimbursed at a minimum rate — based on reasonable cost per visit incurred — for services provided to Medicaid patients. The act also calls for grants for capital improvements and HIT and services provided by CBHCs to be recognized as mandatory in state Medicaid programs. For more information, click here.

In Need of Assistance?

CRHC offers dozens of programs and services to help RHCs manage their finances, improve patient care, add Health Information Technology, stay current on CMS changes, be prepared for an unexpected RHC survey, recruit and retain healthcare providers, and more! Some services are offered completely FREE of charge, and fees for the rest are lower than you'll find anywhere else--some services, such as our Financial Excellence in Revenue Management (FERM) program, will immediately show financial returns that far exceed your original cost! Contact Michelle Mills at mm@coruralhealth.org or 303.832.7493 for more information today!

Monday, December 20, 2010

HRSA CAH Replacement Process Manual and Roadmap

HRSA’s Office of Rural Health Policy developed the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Replacement Process: The Roadmap and The Manual to provide step-by-step guidance to help hospital administrators, board members, and community leaders perform a successful facility replacement. The Roadmap is meant to provide an overview of the facility replacement process while The Manual provides detailed guidance for hospitals that are planning facility renovation, expansion, or replacement. To access the Manual, click here. To access the Roadmap, click here.

CRHC Webinar: Utilization Management for Critical Access Hospitals

January 21, 2011; 11:00am-12:30pm MST
Sound Utilization Management (UM) and Utilization Review (UR) practices are integral to assuring optimal healthcare delivery and positive patient outcomes and achieving successful results during activities such as RAC audits. All CAHs must have a UM/UR Plan that describes the process used to review all services provided by the institution and by the members of the medical staff. During this webinar, presented by CRHC, experts from the Joffit Group, will discuss the components involved in setting up an efficient UM/UR process and will review CRHC's Utilization Management Resource for CAHs: a concise, easy-to-use tool for hospital providers and staff that explains the role of UM/UR in various CAH settings including: Inpatient, Outpatient, Observation, and Swing Bed. For more information and to register, click here.

Webinar: Reimbursement Reality 2011

Thursday, January 13, 2011; 1pm EST
In a complimentary webinar sponsored by Navicure, learn more about the 2011 reimbursement environment—and how to avoid the pitfalls and take charge in 2011.  In under an hour, you'll hear Elizabeth Woodcock, MBA, FACMPE, CPC, discuss:
  • How to leverage 2011's key changes—including Medicare reimbursement and the impact by specialty, an overview of the CPT changes and the payers' new focus on medical homes
  • How to manage the proliferation of high-deductible health plans—it pays to get into the price transparency game now
  • How to optimize your bonus payments from the government—eRx, PQRI and the EHR incentive payment program
Participants can earn up to 2.0 Continuing Education Units (CEU) from the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) by completing the pre-test and attending the live webinar.

Friday, December 17, 2010

2010 IHI National Forum Highlights

Several CRHC staff had the opportunity to attend the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) National Forum in early December in Orlando. Each year, the Forum provides its almost 6,000 attendees with seminars and workshops on topics related to improving patient care and health care performance. Here are some of the highlights CRHC staff took away from this year’s conference:

  • Patient experience needs to be central in all redesign and improvement efforts, and needs to become the focus of patient centered medical care, not just clinical outcomes for patients.
  • Coordination of care between clinics and hospitals is going to take on new emphasis as EHRs are implemented.
  • The informed, activated patient is integral to every initiative and process from transforming care to transitioning out of the hospital.
  • Understanding the connectivity and interdependency between each healthcare facility, system, and department is essential to establishing effective processes and improvements. We are each a piece of a larger puzzle and cannot operate in silos.

Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) Grants

For fiscal year 2012, approximately $6.7 million in funding is available for improving and expanding Colorado’s emergency medical and trauma services system.

Funds are available to organizations that have the provision of EMS and trauma services as their primary purpose. This includes EMS agencies, facilities, clinics, fire agencies, training centers and other public and private providers of emergency medical and trauma services in Colorado.

There are four types of funding available:
  1. EMS and trauma education grants through the CREATE program are open year-round
  2. EMS and trauma provider grant applications are due Feb. 15, 2011
  3. System improvement funding requests are due Feb. 15, 2011
  4. Emergency grants are open year-round

Thursday, December 16, 2010

CMS Rural Health Open Door Forum

The next CMS Rural Health Open Door Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, January 25, 2011 from 2pm-3pm ET.If you wish to participate dial 1-800-837-1935 Conference ID 29119737. The Rural Health ODF addresses RHC, CAH and FQHC issues, as well as some inclusion of other questions and concerns that occur in clinical practice pertaining to other CMS payment systems that also extend into these settings. For more information, click here.

CRHC Rural Credentialing Network – Register Now!

Register now for CRHC’s Rural Credentialing Network. This peer-learning network provides hospital and clinic staff with information and resources related to the important task of credentialing. Facilitated by a credentialing expert, this network provides participants with the opportunity to participated in quarterly educational webinars, access to tools and resources, and access to an expert for questions. The annual fee to join the network is $250. Webinars will begin in early 2011. For more information and to register, click here.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Medicaid Web Portal Update

A message from the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing:

The Medicaid Web Portal is now working correctly. Providers should be able to verify patient status and submit bills. The system is being monitored as more users log-on to assure that it continues to run smoothly. The underlying infrastructure was working properly; the issues occurred in the application and database which were completely rebuilt.

The Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, the Office of Information of Technology, other state agencies, our contractors, and many outside consultants worked day and night since the slowness of the system began. Thank you for your patience and support during this time.

Please contact Richard J Delaney at richard.delaney@state.co.us or 303.866.3436 with questions.

Mental Health First Aid Instructor Certification Training

January 24– 28, 2011; Dallas, TX
Mental Health First Aid is an evidence-based public education and certification program that improves mental health literacy and teaches basic skills to help someone experiencing a mental health problem or crisis and connect them to professional care. The National Council trains and certifies instructors to deliver this public education program to diverse audiences including teachers, human resource managers, members of faith communities, doctors/nurses/physician assistants, police/first responders/security personnel, consumers/family members, and all groups of caring citizens. For more information and to register, click here.

41st National Council Mental Health and Addictions Conference

May 2-4, 2011; San Diego, CA
Registration is open for the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare’s 41st Annual Mental Health and Addictions Conference. For more information and to register, click here.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

New from IHI: Inpatient Hospital Waste Identification Tool

The new Hospital Inpatient Waste Identification Tool from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) helps identify and categorize actual or potential waste in the hospital setting, from the perspective of front-line staff, in order to identify waste reduction strategies that can be connected to system-level improvement strategies. For more information, click here.

Screening Mammography Guidelines

A letter from Dr. Jerome Schroeder, Medical Director of Imaging for the Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital Breast Care Center.  Should you wish to speak with him he directly, he can be reached at 303.318.3416.

As you might have heard, in mid-November 2009, the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) released new guidelines regarding screening mammography, eliminating the recommendation for screening altogether in averaged-risk women in their 40s and changing their recommendations to every-other-year screening in average-risk women aged 50-70.

The USPSTF cited research data indicating that, because it takes over 1900 women in their 40s invited to be screened in order to save one life, the costs were not worth it, despite acknowledging data that prove that the benefit of screening women in their 40s is equivalent to screening women in their 50s. They also pointed out that too many costly procedures overall are being performed and too many ‘non-killer’ cancers are being diagnosed, leading to unacceptable anxiety and ‘inconvenience’ to women subjected to these procedures.

What the USPSTF is ignoring, however, is robust data collected over the last 20+ years which actually put the decrease in the death rate for women screened from age 40 and older at over 40% and, in some populations, closer to 50%. The data are clear that, more than any other intervention, screening mammography is primarily responsible for the decrease in the death rate that we have witnessed since 1990. Furthermore, the decline in death for women in their 40s has been 3.3% per year since 1990, a full percentage higher than the 2.3% annual decline seen in the population as a whole. Although only 15% of breast cancers occur in women in their 40s, over 41% of life years lost to this disease are lost in this same patient population.

In terms of ‘undue anxiety’ or the ‘inconvenience’ of performing additional tests and biopsies, to claim that adult women are incapable of handling this is an insult at best and, at least, very paternalistic. Studies have consistently shown that, even with additional anxiety over having to have additional tests and/or biopsies, most women are grateful for what they perceive as ‘thoroughness’ and few, if any, say that their experience will keep them from returning for screening the following year.

Some feel that this report is the ‘opening salvo’ in the government’s attempt to reign in runaway health care costs. In this light, this may not be an attempt at ‘rationing’ as some claim, but rather to seriously look at what we have dogmatically done in medicine and ask the question ‘why?’ Personally, I think that there are other places to look rather than at a program with a proven track record of saving lives. Nevertheless, proponents of mammography have never claimed it to be perfect and it is well known that, in dense breasted women, it can miss up to 30% of cancers. Instead of ‘throwing the baby out with the bath water,’ though, perhaps we should refine for whom we recommend screening mammography based on risk and breast density, instead of arbitrary age groups, and come up with a better screening test for the rest. Breast MRI exam speeds and costs are approaching those of digital mammography. Could this replace mammography in certain women as a yearly screening exam? Its sensitivity for invasive cancers approaches 100% with no radiation to the breasts.

As we have become more sophisticated in understanding the genetics and biology of breast cancer, we are now able to accurately predict whether certain cancers need or do not need chemotherapy. As this research continues, it is a very realistic possibility that, when any cancer is diagnosed, tests will be able to tell us who does and does not need any treatment at all. Until we can accurately predict type, grade and stage of a cancer with imaging alone, however, we will still likely need to continue to perform biopsies to make the most accurate diagnosis. This will require the continued screening of women of all defined age groups.

If anything, these new guidelines have re-opened the debate and dialogue between patients, their providers and mammography specialists. Hopefully, in the end, this debate will result in more accurate screening and treatment approaches for this most common female cancer which do not arbitrarily exclude a population of women, ignoring the clear benefits to finding breast cancers at their earliest, curable stages. In the meantime, the policy and recommendation for yearly screening for all women aged 40 and older will remain those of the Breast Care Center at Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital.

Sincerely,

Jerome Schroeder, MD

Monday, December 13, 2010

Agricultural Injuries Cost Us All: Educating Adolescent Farm Youth and Teachers on the Economics of Injury Prevention Webinar

December 15, 2010; 11:00-12:00 MST

Participants attending this session will be able to:
  1. Explain an effective strategy for the integration of important health and safety information into required state content curriculum and teacher preparation programs;
  2. Identify the psychological and behavioral rationales for using story simulations and economics risk, decision and cost analyses as injury prevention instructional materials;
  3. Describe how to use web-based and digital technologies (e.g. digital documentaries) to evaluate students' grasp of health and safety information, and
  4. Describe four measures (demographic/surveillance, attitude/behavioral, performance and content knowledge) for evaluating the effectiveness of using an 'economics of prevention' intervention.
To attend, click here, enter your name in the guest login box and click on 'Enter Room'.

New Medicare Learning Network Provider Compliance Web Page

The Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) Provider Compliance web page contains educational products that inform Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) providers about how to avoid common billing errors and other improper activities when dealing with the Medicare Program. For more information, click here.

Payment to CAHs Paid Under the Optional Method

The Medicare Learning Network recently released an article explaining the Incentive Payment Program for Primary Care Services, Section 5501(a) of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Payment to CAHs Paid Under the Optional Method. To access the article, click here.

Look what CRHC can do for you!

CRHC can help RHCs manage their finances, improve patient care, add Health Information Technology, stay current on CMS changes, be prepared for an unexpected RHC survey, recruit and retain healthcare providers, and more! Contact Michelle Mills at mm@coruralhealth.org or 303.832.7493 for more information today!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

St. Anthony Summit Medical Center Named '2010 Top Hospital' for Outstanding Achievement in Patient Safety and Quality Care

This is an excerpt from a news release posted to PR Newswire.  To access the full article, click here.

The Leapfrog Group's annual class of top hospitals was announced on December 2 in Washington, DC at Leapfrog's 10th anniversary meeting and named St. Anthony Summit Medical Center, a Centura Health hospital, in Frisco, Colorado. St. Anthony Summit Medical Center was selected as one of only five rural hospitals nationwide.

The 2010 list includes 65 hospitals nationally; 53 urban, 5 rural, and 7 children's hospitals. The selection is based on the results of The Leapfrog Group's national survey that measures hospitals' performance in crucial areas of patient safety and quality. It is the most complete picture available of a hospital's quality and safety.

"Being named among the top hospitals in the country by Leapfrog is a tremendous honor. That recognition means that St. Anthony Summit Medical Center has demonstrated that it saves lives by delivering safe and high quality health care. That's health care with true value; the kind of health care that we all want and expect from the health care delivery system every day. The Colorado Business Group on Health congratulates St. Anthony Summit Medical Center and its CEO, Paul Chodkowski, for their ongoing dedication to patient safety and quality as indicated by this award," said Tammy Kirk, President, Colorado Business Group on Health.

The Hospital Survey focuses on four critical areas of patient safety: the use of computer physician order entry (CPOE) to prevent medication errors; standards for doing high-risk procedures such as heart surgery; protocols and policies to reduce medical errors and other safe practices recommended by the National Quality Forum; and adequate nurse and physician staffing. In addition, hospitals are measured on their progress in preventing infections and other hospital-acquired conditions and adopting policies on the handling of serious medical errors, among other things.


For a complete list of 2010 Leapfrog Top Hospitals, visit http://www.leapfroggroup.org/.
 
To access the full article, click here.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Research to Practice: Bringing Evidence-Based Practices to Your Organization

Tuesday, December 14, 2010; 12:00-1:30 MST
There has been much talk recently about the need for health providers to adopt evidence-based practices. Yet, translating research into practice can often be challenging. The second in a series of webinars brought to you by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare and the Georgetown University National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental Health, this webinar will focus on what it takes to successfully identify, select, implement and sustain evidence-based/evidence-informed practices in real world organizational and community settings. The webinar will use ‘from the field’ examples to illustrate some of the critical questions and decision points. Content will be specific to children’s behavioral health. For more information and to register, click here.

Medicaid Expansion — Coverage for Persons with Disabilities

Recent regulations issued by CMS allow children with serious emotional disturbances, individuals with disabling mental disorders, and individuals with mental disabilities that prevent them from performing tasks of daily living to be exempted from enrolling in Medicaid benchmark plans. While most individuals who are newly eligible for Medicaid under health reform will be enrolled in benchmark coverage, these individuals with severe needs may instead be enrolled in standard comprehensive Medicaid. The National Council fact sheet, “Medicaid Benchmark Benefits in Health Reform: Improvements and Exemptions,” describes the differences between benchmark and standard coverage, the improvements to benchmark coverage under health reform, and the implications of these changes for individuals with disabilities. States will need to develop processes to identify which individuals meet the criteria of having a disabling mental disorder or functional impairment. Download the National Council Fact Sheet now.

Take Advantage of Our RHC Services!

CRHC offers dozens of programs and services to help RHCs manage their finances, improve patient care, prepare for RHC survey and plan for health information technology initiatives. Some services are offered completely free of charge while fees for the rest are lower than you’ll find anywhere else. Some services, such as our Financial Excellence in Revenue Management (FERM) program, will immediately show financial returns that far exceed your original cost! For more information, contact Michelle Mills at mm@coruralhealth.org or 303.832.7493.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

CMS/HRSA Low Income Health Access Open Door Forum

December 14, 2010; 12:00 PM- 1:00 PM MST
The Forum addresses the concerns of the beneficiary advocates, providers, and information intermediaries throughout the country interested in improving access to Medicare and Medicaid for lower income Americans. Generally, CMS addresses new guidance or initiatives in programs for people with low-incomes, such as the Medicaid and SCHIP programs; information on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit, as well as the low-income subsidy. Services settings such as FQHCs, CHCs and 340(b) Hospitals and other providers are also often discussed. CMS and HRSA co-host this forum. Dial: 1-800-837-1935 & Conference ID: 23018348. For more information, click here.

Medicare Learning Network Swing Bed Fact Sheet Revised

The revised fact sheet titled “Swing Bed” (November 2010), which provides information about the requirements hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals must meet in order to be granted approval to furnish either Acute- or Skilled Nursing Facility-level care via a swing bed agreement, is now available in downloadable format from the Medicare Learning Network®.

McGladrey Webinar: Lean Six Sigma: Demystifying quality management for health care

December 9, 2010; 11:00-12:00 MST
Join leading professionals in health care, strategy and operations from McGladrey and ProcessArc as they discuss the benefits of implementing Lean Six Sigma tools and methodologies, including:
  • Reducing cycle times in critical departments
  • Eliminating waste that poses risk to care quality
  • Recovering significant costs
  • Improving patient satisfaction
Throughout the webinar, real life case studies from health care systems nationwide will illustrate both the challenges and successes involved in applying Lean Six Sigma. Register here to attend this informational program.

Healthcare Partners Emergency Preparedness Communications Project

The Colorado Rural Health Center supports the Healthcare Partners Emergency Preparedness Communications Project and has agreed to work with the University of Colorado, Center for Integrated Disaster Health Preparedness to encourage all Rural Health Clinics to participate. CRHC recognizes the importance of improving communication and collaboration with your community health partners for emergency planning and response activities. This project, facilitated by All Clear Emergency Management Group ties in with CRHC’s other emergency preparedness work also funded by CDPHE/EPRD. Your clinic’s involvement will help you to be a stronger participant in your community in the event of a disaster/emergency.

Please click here for more information and register ASAP to participate in the introductory webinars.  Contact Ron Seedorf at rs@coruralhealth.org with questions.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Instruct Online Webinar--E/M Coding: Staying in Compliance

December 15, 2010; 9:00-10:30 MST; Cost $225

Webinar Objectives:
  • To review the E/M codes as they appear in the CPT Manual
  • To compare and contrast E/M coding for the physician professional component versus the hospital technical component
  • To appreciate the difference between ‘new’ versus ‘established’ patients for physicians and hospitals
  • To understand the differences in E/M coding for ER physicians and provider-based clinic physicians both primary care and specialty
  • To appreciate the physician E/M documentation guidelines versus the lack of guidance for hospital use of E/M codes
  • To review the technical component E/M coding system principles as enunciated by CMS
  • To explore the compliance challenges faced by both physicians and hospitals for E/M coding and the “-25” modifier
  • Recognize how to make changes to accommodate CMS’s dropping the use of the consultation codes
Click here to register or call 319.626.6129.

ONC Seeks Public Comments on Personal Health Records

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) invites members of the public to provide comments on Personal Health Records (PHRs). Comments can be submitted in writing through ONC’s PHR Roundtable website. The online public comment period will close on Friday, Dec 10.

Medicare Learning Network “Recovery Audit Contractor Demonstration High-Risk - Vulnerabilities for Physicians”

The Medicare Learning Network® (MLN) has released MLN Matters Special Edition Article #SE1036 as the next in a series of articles designed to educate providers about RAC demonstration high-dollar improper payment vulnerabilities. This article is designed to educate physicians about two vulnerabilities concerning services with excessive units billed and duplicate claims in an effort to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future, and is available online.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Healthy Choice Hotline

This free tool can help improve the health of the families you work with. This program is intended for families with children 5-12 years old, and is available for any child regardless of weight.

The Healthy Choice Hotline (HCH) is a series of seven automated calls provided through an interactive voice response system. It was developed by the Kaiser Permanente Pediatric Nutrition Services in collaboration with the actor/educators from Kaiser Permanente's Educational Theatre Programs and employs a creative "theatrical" presentation style. The calls connect your families to a personal family coach, Jumpin’ Jack Johnson. Each week your families will spend about 5 minutes with Jumpin’ Jack setting family health goals for healthier eating and a more active lifestyle. These entertaining calls are designed for the whole family.

Want to hear a sample of the “Healthy Choice Hotline”? The sample call will take you through one full call topic “Sweetened drinks”. You will hear a “beep “whenever we have made a selection answering Jumping Jack’s questions. In a normal call, the caller would make their own selections. To hear a sample call, visit http://www.healthychoicehotline.org/ and click on the listen to a sample call.

The HCH focuses on five key health behaviors: Increasing Fruits and Vegetables, deceasing Screen time, increasing Physical activity, decreasing sweetened drinks and regular meals. Each call uses parenting strategies (role modeling, consistency, getting your kids involved, setting limits and healthy rewards) to help parents implement a weekly behavior goal into the family’s lifestyle. The table below illustrates the key health behavior, the national guideline for that behavior and the parenting strategies used to improve the behavior.

If you have comments or questions about the Health Choice Hotline, contact Michele Gilson at 303.614.1072.

Rural Trauma Team Development Course

On September 27, 2010, the Centura Health Trauma System presented the Rural Trauma Team Development Course in Burlington, Colorado. Multiple facilities participated in the one day course and included 18 representatives from Kit Carson County Community Hospital, Keefe Memorial Hospital, Lincoln Community Hospital, and Goodland Regional Medical Center.

The Rural Trauma Team Development Course (RTTDC©) was developed by the ad hoc Rural Trauma Committee of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma to help rural hospitals with development of trauma teams. The course is designed to train small rural hospital or clinic trauma teams in the team approach to the initial assessment and resuscitation of the injured patient and his/her transfer to definitive care. The goal of the course is aimed at promoting a decision to be made regarding the need for transfer of the critically injured trauma patient requiring definitive care in a level 1 or 2 Trauma Center within 15 minutes of patient contact. Key points are that the small rural facility can make a difference in the care of the trauma patient, the regional trauma center is a resource, and pre-hospital personnel are valuable assets (taken from the intro to the RTTDC from the ACSCOT publication).

This was an 8 hour course that combined didactic sessions with hands on skills and scenario stations. Teams were invited to participate from facilities with a recommendation of 3 persons per team, preferably a physician or physician extender, a nurse, and a pre-hospital provider. Trauma surgeons from within the Centura Health Trauma System presented the learning modules and then teams rotated through the scenario and skills stations. Participants were able to place chest tubes, practice intubation techniques, and perform surgical and needle cricothyrotomies as well as perform as teams in the simulated care of a critical trauma patient.

The Centura Health Trauma System looks forward to presenting this course on a biannual basis in various regions of the state. For further information please contact:

Amanda Soychak, RN, NREMTP
Trauma Outreach Coordinator
Centura Health Trauma System
303.804.8254
amandasoychak@centura.org

Campaign to End Childhood Hunger invites you to participate in the first Colorado Summer Food Summit

Thursday, January 20, 2011; 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

This one-day conference, being held at the Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital Russell Pavilion Conference Center (1900 Lafayette Street, Denver, CO 80218) will:
  • Allow participants to network with people from around the state who are involved in the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
  • Provide resources and technical support for prospective, new, and experienced SFSP sites and sponsors
  • Offer professional development to both new and experienced SFSP sponsors and sites
  • Provide an opportunity to plan for summer 2011
  • Give participants an opportunity to share stories, brainstorm ideas, and celebrate successes with others who are devoted to ending hunger
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Meals will we provided. Need help covering the cost of travel? Scholarships to assist participants with travel costs and hotel accommodations are available.
  • To register, please click here.
  • To view a tentative agenda, please click here.
  • To learn about scholarships available to attend the Summit, please click here.
  • To learn more or get more information please visit our website or please call 720.328.1284.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Justifying Your Tax-Exempt Status

During this webinar, presented by Rural Health Innovations, Cindy Dupree from Draffin &Tucker, LLP, and Kami Norland from the National Rural Health Resource Center discussed the new IRS requirements as outlined in Section 9007 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act applicable to 501c3 non-profit hospitals including: community needs assessments, financial assistance policies, limitation on hospital charges, and billing and collections. To access the Dupree presentation outlining the new requirements, click here. To access the Norland presentation with tips on conducting Community Needs Assessments, click here. Because much remains unclear about how the IRS expects rural hospitals to comply with the legislation, CRHC remains alert for further clarifications, in order to make information and assistance available to you as quickly as possible. For any questions or concerns, contact Clint Cresawn at ccr@coruralhealth.org.

2010 Educational Webinar Series

CRHC offer webinars that provide valuable information for Rural Health Clinics and Critical Access Hospitals. We have webinars focusing on billing, advocacy, compliance, and more. For detailed information and to register, click here.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

CDC Net Conference

December 9, 2010; Noon - 1 p.m. EST
Register Now for the Upcoming CDC Net Conference: Current Issues in Immunization - MCV and Adult Influenza.  Speakers will be Dr. Amanda Cohn & Dr. Carolyn B. Bridges.

Rural Access to Emergency Devices (RAED) Training Funds

Limited funding is available to train first responders, as well as community members in CPR/AED courses. The courses must be either American Heart Association or American Red Cross, as they are the national standards recognized by the state. Entities eligible for this funding must be located in rural Colorado counties and courses must have been completed between 6/15/10 and 1/15/11.

Requests for reimbursement for CPR/AED classes will be on a first come/first serve basis. This is a reimbursement for classes that have already occurred, and requests may be up to $30.00 per student. To request reimbursement for CPR/AED training, you must complete and provide:
  1. 2010 RAED Training Reimbursement Request Form
  2. 2010 RAED Training Log
  3. Copies of pertinent invoices/receipts, i.e. from instructors, for books, etc.
Email all documents in one pdf file to rs@coruralhealth.org. Reimbursement requests must be received by Ron Seedorf no later than 5:00 p.m. 1/17/11. For all questions regarding this funding, contact: Ron Seedorf at 970.302.9021 or rs@coruralhealth.org.

Modern Healthcare Webcast: When Nurses Lead the Way on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

December 15, 2010; 9:00am MST
Promoting patient safety in the hospital setting requires dramatic culture shifts, less hierarchy and more physician-nurse collaboration. Increasingly, nurses are being charged with making change occur. Are such efforts working? What are some of the difficulties that can arise in these types of initiatives?

Attend this webcast to find out and get answers to questions such as: How can nurse leadership spur success in quality and performance improvement?; Are current nurse-led patient safety programs meeting their goals?; Are nurse leaders able to successfully engage physicians and promote a culture of teamwork among clinicians?; What are some effective ways to use nurse leadership in your own organization’s safety initiatives? Visit ModernHealthcare.com/Webcast11 to register.