Has Your CAH Joined MBQIP?

Over 75% of CAHs across the country are participating in the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (ORHP) Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP). This CAH initiative takes a proactive and visionary approach to ensure CAHs are well-equipped and prepared to measure and demonstrate quality. Through this program, ORHP will utilize the data CAHs submit to CMS for benchmarking, demonstrating improvements, sharing best practices, and generating reports to aid CAHs and states in quality improvement activities. There is information about MBQIP in this YouTube video from HRSA’s Senior Health Policy Advisor, Paul Moore. To sign up for MBQIP, contact jd@coruralhealth.org.

Registration extended...there are a few spots left!!

Workshop: Turning ICD-9 into ICD-10
Presented by RT Welter & Associates

Increased level of specificity in provider documentation is at the heart of the ICD-10 transition. All providers will need to be trained! Incomplete documentation will result in delays with claims submission and ultimately impact your revenue and cash flow! We will take the top diagnosis codes used in a rural health practice/setting and help you, and ultimately your providers, understand what changes will need to be made in the provider’s documentation to maintain timely and accurate claims submission and claims payments

To register please click on one of the four locations below. If you have any questions please contact Courtnay Ryan at cr@coruralhealth.org Hope to see you there!!

• September 18th - Holyoke, CO
• September 20th - Del Norte, CO
• September 25th - Grand Junction, CO
• September 28th - Webinar

Save the Date – October 25-26!

The 21st Annual Colorado Rural Health Conference will be October 25-26, 2012. This year’s conference will again provide participants with a wide range of educational topics including healthcare reform nationally and locally, innovative solutions to access to care, networking and resource opportunities and much more.
In order to better serve our members and reduce time spent traveling we are combining this year's annual conference with the Annual CAH Workshop. Stay posted for more details on location and topics in the coming months!

Event Info:
Date: October 25-26, 2012
Registration: Click here to register
Exhibitors and sponsors are invited to register online or download the form and email to events@coruralhealth.org

Hotel and Location:
Antlers Hilton Colorado Springs
Four South Cascade
Colorado Springs, CO 80903

 Discounted rate starts at $132/night - use group code COHC12 before October 3
Website

 Agenda: Coming soon!

IHI Author in the Room Teleconference

Join IHI on Wednesday, September 19, from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern Time for the Author in the Room® teleconference. The topic for this call is the JAMA article:
Comparison of Novel Risk Markers for Improvement in Cardiovascular Risk Assessment in Intermediate-Risk Individuals. Risk prediction for cardiac events is important to facilitate individualized patient counseling for risk reduction. The Framingham score predicts the risk for cardiovascular events by incorporating a patient’s age, gender, total and HDL cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, and smoking status into a score that is proportional to an individual patients risk for developing a myocardial infarction. The Framingham score stratifies patients into low, intermediate, and high risk categories. Dr. Phillip Greenland, a recognized authority in cardiac risk prediction and JAMA author, will discuss new findings regarding improvement in cardiac risk prediction.

TrailBlazer August eBulletin

The TrailBlazer eBulletin – August 2012 is now available on the TrailBlazer Newsletters Web page. The TrailBlazer eBulletins are posted monthly to ensure providers are kept updated of national and local policies, program updates, new initiatives and significant changes to the Medicare program.

Patient Collections: Proven Strategies You Can Implement Today!

Save the date - September 27th.

In the era of consumer-driven health care, more financial responsibility is in the hands of the patient -and it's up to you to collect from them. Industry research reveals that more than 80 percent of self-pay bills are never collected, and more than 50 percent of patient responsibility after insurance ends up as bad debt as well. Come to this seminar to avoid bad debt sinking your practice into real debt. Learn everything your practice needs to know to maximize your patient collections performance.

 

By learning from "best practice" trends and real-world examples, improve your bottom line. Discover how pre-visit processes can improve collections and how to structure them, how to improve time of service collections and eliminate billing altogether, tips for improving patient collections after the service is complete, and advice for holding your collection agency accountable. 

Discover new ways to collect what patients owe - from writing collections letters that get results to improving the effectiveness of your patient statements. You'll come away from this educational session armed with Elizabeth's array of tools you can use to improve patient collections-- and boost your practice's bottom line. It's not just a fad - mastering patient collections is a business imperative. 

Here's just some of the information you'll get when you register to attend this in-depth program: 

 

• Recognize how pre-visit processes can improve collections - and customer service -- and how to structure them. 
• Describe how to improve time of service collections and eliminate billing altogether. 
• Determine tips for improving patient collections after the service is provided. 
• Define standards for training front desk and appointment scheduling staff so they know how to establish payment expectations with patients and follow through by using effective collection techniques when patients receive services. 
• Identify gaps and delays in your patient collections process so past-due balances are collected faster and, more importantly, fewer patients owe balances that could have been paid at or before their office visit. 
• Create strategies to solve your most persistent patient collections problems, such as writing more effective collection letters, offering realistic payment plans to patients who cannot pay in full and extending appropriate discounts to uninsured patients who pay at the time of service.

Sign Up Now  and hear Elizabeth Woodcock on patient

collections strategies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opportunity for Community Nurses!!

We want to inform you about a great training opportunity for community nurses.  
We would like to ask that you share this opportunity with your affiliate community clinics:  
The Ambulatory Care Board Certification Preparation Course is being facilitated on Monday Sept. 17th from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm
This 1-day course prepares RNs to take the ANCC Ambulatory Care Board Certification Exam.
The event is supported through National Community Benefit.  The course is open to community RN’s and is complimentary to registrants.

Location:  
St. Joseph Hospital Russell Pavilion
Sterne Elders second floor
1900 Lafayette St.Denver, CO 802188PM
St. Joseph’s Hospital Russell Pavilion
This education activity offers 7.5 contact hours. Faculty Provided by American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing.  
Lunch is provided to registrants.

Please click here  for a flyer that can be distributed to the clinics.  It gives information about the course including how nurses can register.

Are you registered???

Workshop: Turning ICD-9 into ICD-10
Presented by Todd Welter, MS, CPC

Increased level of specificity in provider documentation is at the heart of the ICD-10 transition. All providers will need to be trained! Incomplete documentation will result in delays with claims submission and ultimately impact your revenue and cash flow! We will take the top diagnosis codes used in a rural health practice/setting and help you, and ultimately your providers, understand what changes will need to be made in the provider’s documentation to maintain timely and accurate claims submission and claims payments

To register please click on one of the four locations below. If you have any questions please contact Courtnay Ryan at cr@coruralhealth.org Hope to see you there!!

• September 18th - Holyoke, CO
• September 20th - Del Norte, CO
• September 25th - Grand Junction, CO
• September 28th - Webinar

CMS issues payment methodology for global surgical split care submitted with Modifier -54 and/or -55 for CAH Method II providers

On August 3, CMS issued a transmittal and accompanying MLN Matters article that provides instructions for implementing the payment methodology for global surgical split care submitted with modifier -54 and/or -55 for critical access hospital (CAH) Method II providers.

CRHC Grant Applications Due Sept. 15

Marva Jean Jackson Grant

The Marva Jean Jackson (MJJ) Rural Community Health Scholarships Program can be used to help pay for the training and/or education of a local healthcare provider located at rural facilities or community groups. CRHC will match, two-to-one, the support provided, up to $1,000 a year. For example: a long term care facility might pay for an LPN to acquire an RN license; a hospital would help pay for a Medical Assistant training to become a Lab Technician; or, a small community would support a local student in becoming a Physician Assistant. Awards are made for one year, but applicants may be awarded up to three times. The scholarship recipient must be either currently enrolled in classes or start training within three months of the application date.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be rural; “rural,” for this program is defined as outside one of Colorado’s 25 metropolitan counties
• Applicants must be CRHC member

Click here to learn more and find out how to apply. Deadline to apply is September 15.

 

Seed Grants

Seed money is available for purposes or projects whose intent matches CRHC's mission: enhancing healthcare services in Colorado by providing information, education, linkages, tools & energy toward addressing rural healthcare issues. As you can imagine, there is a great deal of flexibility within this criterion. Applicants are welcome to contact CRHC to see if an idea meets the general intent of this program before filing out the application form. The maximum amount of an award is $1,000. Smaller requests are encouraged. A member can only receive one grant per calendar year.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be rural; “rural,” for this program is defined as outside one of Colorado’s 25 metropolitan counties
• Applicants must be CRHC member

Click here to learn more and find out how to apply. Deadline to apply is September 15.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QHi-CART Import Function

The Quality Health Indicators (QHi) Benchmarking Tool plans to roll-out a new function in early September that will give QHi users the ability to import CART reports directly into QHi. This will eliminate manual entry of CMS data abstracted through the CART tool. QHi is an online benchmarking tool geared towards CAHs that allows hospitals to benchmark Quality, Financial, and other measures against other CAHs. Currently, over 200 CAHs in 14 states are participating in QHi. CRHC’s FLEX grant allows for all Colorado CAHs to sign up for QHi at no charge. For more information about QHi, contact jd@coruralhealth.org.

CMS releases 2013 IPPS final rule

On August 1, CMS issued a display copy of the 2013 inpatient prospective payment system final rule. Highlights of the rule include proposed changes to the list of complications and comorbidities (CC) and major CCs (MCC), the addition of two conditions to the list of hospital-acquired conditions, and finalized operational details for the value-based purchasing program. For more information, click here.

Funding Opportunity – Kaiser Permanente IHI Community Benefit Program

CRHC is pleased to offer this program which provides eligible rural clinic leaders conference registration scholarships and travel support funding to participate in IHI courses. Funding is limited, apply today! For more information, click here.

Colorado Colorectal Screening Program Funding Announcement

Dear Partners,
It is with great pleasure that we can send this note to you announcing that the Colorado Colorectal Screening Program has successfully competed for funding for a three year grant that allows us to substantially restore activities of the Program. We have received a 2.86 million dollar award for 9 months, starting October 2012 to support endoscopic screening, including some treatment and navigation support, as well as, additional activities in systems change to support the use of high sensitivity fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) for colorectal cancer screening, and to start improving our partnerships with other chronic disease prevention programs.
Contingent on the state budget, we will receive $3.82 million in each of the following two years. While this doesn't meet our previous funding levels, it is a step in the right direction to provide this important cancer screening for medically underserved Coloradans. Please share the good news with your screening and treatment providers!
The Program will holding a series of conference calls in early September with the details about the grant and will be contacting clinics directly regarding the allocations of screens and participation in FOBT systems changes. The Program will be contacting you and your service partners in the next few weeks to execute new memorandums of understanding for this Fiscal Year 2013 grant. We plan to make these contracts for the 3 year grant period from October 1, 2012 to June 30, 2015.
Thank you for your continued partnership and effort to help us provide endoscopic screens to about 1850 people by the end of May 2013. 

Best regards,
Holly and the Coordinating Center team




Holly Wolf, PhD, MSPH
Program Director
Colorado Colorectal Screening Program
University of Colorado Cancer Center

We are Celebrating Safety Net Clinic Week, August 20-24!

In an effort to raise awareness of Colorado's health care safety net providers, clinics across Colorado are participating in the third annual Safety Net Clinic Week, August 20-24, 2012. Sponsored by the Colorado Rural Health Center and ClinicNET, the week is devoted to educating the public and policy makers about these vitally important health care clinics – federally certified Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Community-Funded Safety Net Clinics (CSNCs).

Contact the Colorado Rural Health Center at info@coruralhealth.org or visit www.coruralhealth.org or contact ClinicNET at info@clinicnet.org or visit www.clinicnet.org for more information.

Safety Net Clinic Week 2012 will kick off with an open house at the Prowers Medical Center in Lamar on Monday, August 20th from 12 pm – 2 pm at 401 Kendall Drive in Lamar. A light lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to charlotte.kaye@clinicnet.org.

We're excited to bring you a new interactive ICD-10 Workshop!

Workshop: Turning ICD-9 into ICD-10
Presented by Todd Welter, MS, CPC and Lou Ann Wilroy

Increased level of specificity in provider documentation is at the heart of the ICD-10 transition. All providers will need to be trained! Incomplete documentation will result in delays with claims submission and ultimately impact your revenue and cash flow! We will take the top diagnosis codes used in a rural health practice/setting and help you, and ultimately your providers, understand what changes will need to be made in the provider’s documentation to maintain timely and accurate claims submission and claims payments

To register please click on one of the four locations below. If you have any questions please contact Courtnay Ryan at cr@coruralhealth.org Hope to see you there!!

• September 18th - Holyoke, CO
• September 20th - Del Norte, CO
• September 25th - Grand Junction, CO
• September 28th - Webinar

Free tool: Outpatient surgery and observation

This pocket card available from HCPro provides “points to remember” when it comes to outpatient surgery as well as information on the appropriate use of observation services. Click here to download the pocket card.

You are invited to join us Tuesday, September 11, 2012 for J-1 Visa Waiver Webinar

 When: Tuesday, September 11, 2012
10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Colorado Rural Health Center's Colorado Provider Recruitment team along with presenters from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Primary Care Office for a free informative live presentation on the J-1 Visa Waiver Program and how it’s another option for your provider recruitment needs. The webinar covers background and program basics and will also feature testimony from a current J-1 sponsor and a J-1 provider.

Includes an interactive question and answer session.
Speakers Include:
Brooke Wagenseller, Workforce Retention Specialist, Primary Care Office
Amber Galloway Stephens, Workforce Programs Manager, Primary Care Office
Jamie Groy, Recruitment Coordinator for the Colorado Rural Health Center
Mendi Choat, Medical Practice Administrator for Prowers Medical Center and our J-1 Sponsor Spokeswomen
J-1 Provider, TBA!

There is no charge to attend this webinar.
To register please click here!

ICD-10 Online Training for Coders, Billers, Auditors, & All Healthcare Professionals

• Too busy to go to ICD-10 training?
• Perhaps, you’ve attended ICD-10 Workshops, but would love additional training?
• Is your budget stretched thin already -- and you wish you could find an unbelievable bargain for your staff to learn ICD-10 and how to become proficient with the rules and regulations of the future?
• If you answered yes to any of the above questions, CRHC can help now!!

 

Take advantage of this opportunity to enroll in the following online courses that will prepare you and your organization for the successful transition to ICD 10. These courses will provide you with history, structure, functions, guidelines and the terminology needed to ensure accurate and efficient billing processes. Whether you are a new coder, an advanced coder with years of experience, or a health care provider -- you will find value in this timely information. For more information on a specific course, please click on the links below. If you are employed by a Colorado Critical Access Hospital (CAH) or a rural PPS hospital with less than 49 beds, you are currently participating in the FY2011 SHIP Grant Program – and -- your online classes are FREE to all hospital staff!!! click here to get started now! If you are a Rural Health Center (RHC) or other rural health care facility in Colorado, please click here for a class listing and the opportunities available to you! CEU’s are available for all classes. Don’t wait…get started today!

 

 

For more information or questions, please contact Danette Swanson, HIT Program Coordinator, at ds@coruralhealth.org

ICD-10 Training – Rural Health Organizations

ICD-10 Online Training for Coders, Billers, Auditors, & All Healthcare Professionals

 

• Too busy to go to ICD-10 training?
• Perhaps, you’ve attended ICD-10 Workshops, but would love additional training?
• Is your budget stretched thin already -- and you wish you could find an unbelievable bargain for your staff to learn ICD-10 and how to become proficient with the rules and regulations of the future?
• If you answered yes to any of the above questions, CRHC can help now!! 

Take advantage of this opportunity to enroll in the following online courses that will prepare you and your organization for the successful transition to ICD 10. These courses will provide you with history, structure, functions, guidelines and the terminology needed to ensure accurate and efficient billing processes. Whether you are a new coder, an advanced coder with years of experience, or a health care provider -- you will find value in this timely information. For more information on a specific course, please click on the links below.  If you are employed by a Colorado Critical Access Hospital (CAH) or a rural PPS hospital with less than 49 beds, you are currently participating in the FY2011 SHIP Grant Program – and -- your online classes are FREE to all hospital staff!!! click here to get started now!  If you are a Rural Health Center (RHC) or other rural health care facility in Colorado, please click here for a class listing and the opportunities available to you! CEU’s are available for all classes. Don’t wait…get started today!

For more information or questions, please contact Danette Swanson, HIT Program Coordinator, at ds@coruralhealth.org

Complimentary 340B Roundtable Luncheon in Denver

Wednesday, August 29, 2012; 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, Denver Health Medical Center
Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access (SNHPA) and the Denver Health Hospital Authority, a SNHPA member health system, invite your hospital to a complimentary roundtable luncheon covering key issues in the 340B federal drug discount program. With government audits of 340B hospitals now underway, compliance and accountability are a major focus.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Pharmacy directors, pharmacy buyers, CFO's, in-house counsel, government relations directors and compliance officers.
AGENDA: The roundtable will be moderated by Bill von Oehsen, who was involved in drafting the 340B law and was also involved in drafting the new 340B provisions that were included in health care reform, such as the new compliance requirements for manufacturers and providers and the addition of rural hospitals to the program. You will learn about:
The changing compliance landscape, with an increased emphasis on oversight, enforcement and audits
How to prepare for audits
Inventory management, replenishment and credit and rebill issues
Making sure you are using the 340B program effectively while ensuring compliance
Addressing Medicaid billing and reimbursement challenges
How to engage in advocacy efforts to protect and improve the 340B program.
REGISTRATION: There is no cost to participate in this event, but registration is required. Due to space limitations, participation may be limited. To register, click HERE. All registrations must be submitted by Tuesday, August 21, 2012. If you have questions, contact Evangeline SoleynJohn at (202) 552-5865 or evangeline.soleynjohn@snhpa.org or Fred Moxley at fred.moxley@snhpa.org or (202) 552-5854. To learn more, go to www.snhpa.org.

Has Your CAH Joined MBQIP?

Over 75% of CAHs across the country are participating in the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy’s (ORHP) Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP). This CAH initiative takes a proactive and visionary approach to ensure CAHs are well-equipped and prepared to measure and demonstrate quality. Through this program, ORHP will utilize the data CAHs submit to CMS for benchmarking, demonstrating improvements, sharing best practices, and generating reports to aid CAHs and states in quality improvement activities. There is information about MBQIP in this YouTube video from HRSA’s Senior Health Policy Advisor, Paul Moore. To sign up for MBQIP, contact jd@coruralhealth.org.

Free Webinar: Teledentistry

September 12, 2012, 12:00PM MDT

The University of Arizona Center for Rural Health & the Southwest Telehealth Resource Center invite you to a free webinar on the implementation and practice of telemedicine. This is an opportunity to learn about:
1. How are preventive dental services delivered to underserved communities and families at a distance?
2. How technology is used to deliver clinical & educational services supported by private-public partnerships?
3. What are current teledentistry programs and practices in development to improve access to dental care?
4. What are developing/potential linkages between teledentistry and telehealth?
For more information and registration instructions go to http://www.telemedicine.arizona.edu/upcomingworkshops.cfm

Rural Locum Tenens Scholarship Opportunity

The Colorado Rural Health Center is offering Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Dentists an opportunity to receive scholarship money for locum tenens pay, and/or travel costs associated with attending local, statewide, or national conferences or additional trainings (up to $1,500 dollars total). Funding cannot be used to pay for the cost of attending the conference, or registering for the program. Applications may be submitted for consideration only after the training/expense has occurred. To learn more about the program and how to apply please click here. If you have any questions please call/e-mail Robyn Purvin, Recruitment Associate, at 303-407-2031 or rp@coruralhealth.org

Seats are filling fast...are you registered?

Workshop: Turning ICD-9 into ICD-10
Presented by Todd Welter, MS, CPC and Susan Whitney, CPC, CPC-I.

Increased level of specificity in provider documentation is at the heart of the ICD-10 transition. All providers will need to be trained! Incomplete documentation will result in delays with claims submission and ultimately impact your revenue and cash flow! We will take the top diagnosis codes used in a rural health practice/setting and help you, and ultimately your providers, understand what changes will need to be made in the provider’s documentation to maintain timely and accurate claims submission and claims payments

To register please click on one of the four locations below. If you have any questions please contact Courtnay Ryan at cr@coruralhealth.org Hope to see you there!!

• September 18th - Holyoke, CO
• September 20th - Del Norte, CO
• September 25th - Grand Junction, CO
• September 28th - Webinar

QHi Back to Basics Session - August 15

The next QHi Back to Basics session is scheduled for Wednesday, August 15 from 1:00-2:00 MDT. The Quality Health Indicators (QHi) benchmarking tool is an online system geared towards Critical Access Hospitals. During the Back to Basics webinar, QHi system administrators will give an overview of the system and do a brief walk-thru of the fundamentals of using this online benchmarking tool. All Colorado CAHs have access to QHi at no charge through CRHC’s Flex funds. For more information, contact jd@coruralhealth.org.

Apply for a $25,000 Rural Health Award

Do you have an idea for improving health in rural communities? The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, based in North Carolina, recently announced the “Innovations in Rural Health Award” and is seeking ideas to address rural health care challenges. Three winners will receive a $25,000 New Rural Award for their innovative and inspiring ideas. Any individual or organization from across the U.S. is welcome to apply. Learn more about the Award and how to apply by clicking here. To learn more about the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, visit www.kbr.org.

Rural Locum Tenens and CME Travel Scholarship

The Colorado Rural Health Center is offering Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Dentists an opportunity to receive scholarship money for locum tenens pay, and/or travel costs associated with attending local, statewide, or national conferences or additional trainings (up to $1,500 dollars total). Funding cannot be used to pay for the cost of attending the conference, or registering for the program. Applications may be submitted for consideration only after the training/expense has occurred. To learn more about the program and how to apply please click here. If you have any questions please call/e-mail Robyn Purvin, Recruitment Associate, at 303-407-2031 or rp@coruralhealth.org

Special Opportunity from The Dartmouth Institute

Work with a National Expert to Develop an Ethics Committee for Your Critical Access Hospital or Rural Health Facility

For the first time, prominent ethics expert, Dr. Bill Nelson, Director of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth's Rural Ethics Initiative, is conducting a fully online course and mentoring program to assist small rural facilities and/or critical access hospitals establish and cultivate an ethics committee. Dr Nelson's recently published book, "Critical Access Hospital Ethics Committee Resource Guide" will be given to each student. “Research indicates that many critical access hospitals said they would like to have an ethics committee, but because they’re small, they may not have the resources,” says Nelson. “Everyone knows each other in rural communities, so issues of privacy and confidentiality are very different than if you’re in a non-rural setting where you’ll probably never see that patient outside of the hospital. The rural setting alters that relationship because you may be treating your neighbor. It raises many issues that are rarely, if ever, discussed in ethics literature, however rural caregivers must address - so having an effective ethics resource can be very beneficial
This course will give you practical tools you can put to use immediately – to create a new ethics committee or to improve upon a current ethics committee or program. Learners are provided with a course text, and given the opportunity to have one-on-one mentoring conversations with Dr. Nelson to discuss specific issues related to the development of an ethics committee in their facility. 
This course is FULLY online. The class will meet virtually every other week for a 1 hour session. Between sessions you will be asked to complete readings and assignments. Expect to spend approximately 3 hours/week on the course.

For more info and to register, go to:
http://www.tdiprofessionaleducation.org/eth2000.html