WVMI & Quality Insights   
Improving Hypertension and Diabetes Care with Health IT  
Diabetes Self-Management Tools and Patient Engagement Resources You Can Use     
 
Flyer:  The Burden of Diabetes in Pennsylvania is a fact sheet that was developed by t he American Diabetes Association  which includes information that shows the burden of diabetes on Pennsylvania from both a population and a cost perspective. This flyer can be distributed or posted to help patients understand the various effects of this chronic disease.

Website:  Diabetes HealthSense provides easy access to resources to help patients with diabetes live well and meet their goals, whether they have diabetes or are at risk for the disease.

Webinar Recording:  Empowering Patients To Take Their Medicine: What Can We Do? Achieving optimal medication-taking behavior is a collaborative process of communication and understanding between patients and their health care teams. During this webinar, John G. Ryan, D.Ph., Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine describes the scope of non-adherence and summarize key barriers to medication-taking including health beliefs, cost, health literacy, and the complexity of the prescribed regimen. 

Jennifer K. Bussell, M.D., F.A.C.P., Instructor of Clinical Medicine at Northwestern Univ. Feinberg School of Medicine shares tools for assessing medication adherence and explores approaches for improving medication-taking behavior at a variety of levels including the health system, pharmacy, and patient/provider interactions. 

T his webinar also highlights the National Diabetes Education Program's new Promoting Medication Adherence in Diabetes web resource, which is designed to support health care professionals in promoting medication taking-behavior among their patients and within their teams. 

Website: GoodRx.com - Help your patients stop paying too much for their prescription medications. GoodRx.com  helps patients find the best price for medications in their area by entering the name of the medication, the dose, and their zip code. 

Try It Out: Visit GoodRx.com and type in the medication Metformin in the search box. Within seconds you will see for yourself the valuable information this website provides for patients, including details about the medication, prices, coupons, discounts and savings tips for the prescription at local pharmacies.

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Mobile Phone Apps Help Patients with Medication Adherence   
 
Quality Insights recently hosted a webinar,  Medication Adherence: Strategies for Improved Outcomes, which featured guest speaker Andrea Williams, RPh, MBA, RX CONSULTANTS, LLC. Ms. Williams shared numerous strategies for improving medication adherence rates from a pharmacist's perspective. 

As part of this session, Ms. Williams discussed some of the many valuable educational resources and support that retail pharmacies offer which can help to improve medication adherence, including mobile phone apps. 

Here are two examples of pharmacy mobile phone apps that Ms. Williams shared which contain features that can make it easier for people to better adhere to their medication regimens:
  • myCVS On the Go: This smart phone app from CVS provides an easy and convenient way to manage prescriptions, order refills, and get e-mail refill reminders. This app also allows you to save time and money by filling 90-day prescriptions.
  • Walgreens App: Walgreens offers a smart phone app that allows you to manage and refill prescriptions from your mobile phone. It contains a Refill by Scan feature that allows you to scan your prescription label and your refill will be ready in about an hour. The app can also be used to set pill reminders, find out which immunizations are right for you, and more.
To learn more about other mobile phone apps that have been developed to improve medication adherence, please click here.
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Important EHR Incentive Program Updates and Deadlines from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
 
MAPIR System Updated
As a reminder, the Medical Assistance Provider Incentive Repository (MAPIR) system has been updated and is now ready to accept 2015 applications using the 2015-2017 Modification Rule. Eligible providers (EPs) may now complete 2015 application for Meaningful Use (MU) or can continue to complete 2015 or 2016 applications for Adopt, Implement or Upgrade (AIU). If you have any questions at all, please e-mail us at ra-mahealthit@pa.gov .
 
July 1, 2016: Application Deadline for Medicare EHR Incentive Program Hardship Application  
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is extending the application deadline for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program hardship exception process that reduces burden on clinicians, hospitals, and critical access hospitals (CAHs). The new deadline for Eligible Professionals, Eligible Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals is July 1, 2016. CMS is extending the deadline so providers have sufficient time to submit their applications to avoid adjustments to their Medicare payments in 2017.

In January, CMS posted new, streamlined hardship exception application forms that reduce the amount of information that eligible professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals, and CAHs must submit to apply for an exception. The new applications and instructions for providers seeking a hardship exception are available here.  Here is the link to the MU hardship exception application

July 30, 2016 - In order to meet the Re-enrollment/Revalidation deadline on September 24, 2016, providers  MUST submit your application by July 30, 2016. This deadline is rapidly approaching for Medical Assistance provider enrollment/revalidation so please submit your application as soon as possible.
 
July 31, 2016 - This is the last day Eligible Professionals (EPs) can attest for Program Year 2015 for both AIU and MU. Since the MAPIR system is now accepting Program Year 2015 applications, EPs are encouraged to attest now to reduce the backlog that usually occurs at the end of the grace period. Learn more here
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Check Out the New Quality Insights Practice Transformation Website      
 
The WVMI & Quality Insights Practice Transformation team is proud to announce the launch of our new website. This new website provides details about the expertise, experience and educational resources Quality Insights can offer to providers to help you deliver the highest quality and most cost effective health care.

Our team has provided on-site technical assistance to more than 7,000 primary care providers in the areas of electronic health record (EHR) adoption, Meaningful Use, and privacy and security. We are also helping practices become certified as patient-centered medical homes and participate in alternative payment models, such as Accountable Care Organization (ACOs).

Part of our practice transformation work includes the PA Department of Health (DOH) Hypertension and Diabetes Control and Prevention Project. We invite you to visit the new website at www.hit.wvmi.org to access the resources, news, events calendar, and e-newsletter archive for the PA DOH project, as well as to learn more about the other practice transformation services that Quality Insights offers. 
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Contact:
Rhonda Dodson
1.877.346.6180, Ext. 7711
  
Publication Number: PADOH-LF-070116