Mount Sinai Health Partners
Clinically Integrated Network Newsletter
|
|
December 31, 2019
February 13, 2020
Free MSHP CME Event: Clinical Success in Managing CHF and COPD
|
|
Save the Date: Thursday, February 13 — Complimentary MSHP CME Event: Clinical Success in Managing CHF and COPD
Please join us on the evening of
Thursday, February 13 from 5:30pm - 8:00pm for a complimentary CME event on achieving clinical success in managing CHF and COPD.
Dr. Sean Pinney, Professor of Medicine, Cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and
Dr. Stacey-Ann Brown, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will share their expertise with you in identifying and managing CHF and COPD, and when to refer your patients to a specialist. More information and a formal invitation to follow.
|
|
January 1, 2020: MSHP Providers Participating with Empire Now in “Top Tier” for Mount Sinai South Nassau Employees
Effective January 1, 2020, MSHP’s clinically integrated network providers (both employed and voluntary) who participate with Empire BlueCross BlueShield will be in Mount Sinai South Nassau’s Top Tier network and able to service Mount Sinai South Nassau employees and their eligible dependents. No action on your part is needed.
We encourage you to inform your staff on this change and instruct them to check member ID cards at each visit so that accurate copays are charged. This Top Tier network provides health care services to Mount Sinai South Nassau employees and their eligible dependents at a level of coverage that has the least out-of-pocket costs. Keep an eye out for a reference guide with additional information on copays, sample ID cards, and contact numbers. For any questions, please contact
mshp@mountsinai.org
or call us at 877-234-6667.
Please note that Mount Sinai Health System’s Top Tier network remains in place for Mount Sinai Health System faculty, staff and eligible dependents and is administered by UMR, a division of United Healthcare. A 2020 reference guide will soon be available.
|
|
Complete Your 2019 CI Program Requirements by the End of the Year
Be sure to complete your 2019 CI Program Requirements if you have not done so already. The mandatory requirements for the 2019 PCP CI Program are:
- Care Coordination
- Program Engagement
- Practice Engagement
- Privacy Training
|
|
|
Tip of the Month: Create a Provider Directory by Specialty, County, and Payer
We are excited to announce a new tool to generate a customized online Provider Directory at our
website
(no log in required).
Generate a specialty-specific provider directory by county and payer in just a few moments!
This directory can be downloaded as a PDF or Excel document and shared with your practice staff and patients.
We encourage you to use this tool to help create community and referral relationships with your peers and keep patient care within in the clinically integrated network.
Watch a 2 minute video
on how to create the directory here or see below for step-by-step instructions.
|
|
How to Create Directory
- Visit our website and select “Provider Search” from the home page. From there, select the blue circle at the top of the page labeled “Click here to prepare a directory by county, specialty or payer.”
- Select one or more specialties, counties and health plan (default is all health plans) and select how you’d like the output (either PDF or Excel). Your file will be sorted by specialty, zip code, then physician last name.
- Click the “Search” button and a new tab will open with your search results
We thank you for all the feedback we received on the necessity of connecting physicians within the clinically integrated network to help foster referral relationships and more coordinated care. If you have any feedback or suggestions about this new resource, please email us at
mshp@mountsinai.org
.
|
|
Practice Tips & Transformation
|
|
Improving Patient Outcomes with an Embedded Pharmacist
AMA Steps Forward offers a module on embedding pharmacists into a practice to improve patient outcomes.
Click here
to learn what it means to embed a pharmacist into your practice, the roles they can play, necessary skills, and ways to measure impact. They also offer a variety of
downloadable materials
including a need assessment worksheet, onboarding checklist, quality opportunities checklist, and more.
|
|
In this episode of the MSHP podcast, Dr. Ruchi Tiwari, Director of Pharmacy, Population Health, joins Dr. Fields to discuss clinical pharmacy in primary care and ambulatory settings and how clinical pharmacists can be crucial to population health. Dr. Tiwari sees clinical pharmacists as coaches and champions for patients and key players in the goal of medication adherence.
|
|
Dr. Fields catches up with Dr. Jonathan Arend, an internist at Mount Sinai Doctors Internal Medicine Associates (IMA), Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Medical Director for Population Health for the Health System, and Associate Medical Director for Clinical Operations and Clinical Quality at IMA. Dr. Arend and Dr. Fields discuss the value that having a clinical pharmacist on staff adds to his practice, where his patients have a complicated mix of physical and social needs. Dr. Arend shares a variety of roles a PharmD can take on in a primary care practice, discusses his experiences with different models of team-based care, and leveraging non-physician staff to meet patient needs.
|
|
Hypertensive Medication Recall
Since July 2018, many manufacturers have issued voluntary recalls of hypertensive medications including: losartan, valsartan, irbesartan, and combination Angiotensin Receptor Blockers (ARBs) due to impurities. Patients have expressed concerns over whether or not they are affected by the recalls, and this
has subsequently impacted patients’ adherence to these medications. The below guidance has been issued by the FDA, should you receive questions from patients. Please also support requests for prescription changes if clinically warranted (ACEi/ARB alternative, other antihypertensive drug classes).
FDA issued patient education:
- Patients should contact their pharmacies to inquire if their medication was effected by the recall to receive new supply. They may also look up impacted manufacturers and lot numbers on the FDA’s website.
- FDA deemed the recalled products to pose an unnecessary risk to patients
- We recommend patients should continue taking current medicine until they obtain a replacement supply or their healthcare provider issues a change in their treatment
|
|
Resources for Clinical Pharmacist Scope of Practice
Under NY State law, clinical pharmacists work under a Collaborative Drug Therapy Practice (CDTM) agreement with primary care physicians. Pharmacists also provide support for nurses, CDEs, care coordinators, and other clinical staff to identify and manage chronic diseases, manage medication regimens, and provide disease and device training education. Additionally, clinical pharmacists can bill Medicare directly for Medicare Annual Wellness Visits designed for proactive preventive health plan development and quality improvement. Clinical pharmacists provide value to both the physician and patient by conducting more frequent visits with the patient, providing feedback to the physician about medication tolerance and suggested titrations, and educating the patient about how to effectively take their medications. Please click on the below links to access resources on understanding the value a clinical pharmacist can bring to your practice
Resources:
Ruchi Tiwari, PharmD, MSHP Director of Pharmacy, also presented on the value of adding a clinical pharmacist to primary care practices at out October 2019 CME event.
Download the slides and staffing tool here
.
|
|
Population Health in the Literature and Media
|
|
Review on Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence
Research demonstrates that in the US, 30-50% of adults with chronic illness do not take medications as prescribed. Medication nonadherence is associated with 125,000 deaths, 10% of hospitalizations, and $100 billion in healthcare services in the US each year.
As reported in this
JAMA review article, adherence may be improved with clinician education at the time of diagnosis and follow-up, reinforcing phone calls. The reviewers further find that clinical pharmacists co-managing chronic diseases can improve medication adherence and potentially disease control.
Click here to read more.
|
|
P: 877-234-6667
F: 646-537-1481
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|