This newsletter is a biweekly forum to keep practices

connected and informed on the Cohort 1 Redesign efforts.

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For previous newsletters you may have missed, please visit MSHP's News and Media page .

Save the Date! Final Learning Collaborative on June 14th

Join us in a celebration of all of your accomplishments as part of the Primary Care Redesign!

150 East 42nd Street

4th Floor, Rooms 4-A-16-12-8

8:00 am — 1:00 pm

Update on Redesign

Transitional Care Management for Patients with High Medical Complexity

Cohort 1 practices are currently working on creating workflows for Transitional Care Management (TCM). TCM services are performed after transitioning patients from various hospital settings, including inpatient acute care hospital, inpatient psychiatric hospital, long-term care hospital, and more. Click here to find out if your patients qualify for TCM and how you can bill and code for TCM services appropriately.

“To take care of our patients we need to take care of ourselves”:

Interview with Dr. Mari Umpierre, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Calm, Behavioral Health and Research for the Mount Sinai Health System’s Employee Wellness Initiatives

Work related stress and wellbeing are topics on the minds of most providers and healthcare staff, and for good reason. Medscape’s National Physician Burnout, Depression, & Suicide Report 2019 found that 44% of physicians reported feeling burned out, 11% were colloquially depressed, and 4% were clinically depressed. We spoke with Dr. Mari Umpierre, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Calm, Behavioral Health for Mount Sinai Health System’s Employee Wellness Initiatives about wellness programs available to Mount Sinai employees, infusing a culture of self-care across practices, and strategies to manage stress. Most of us spend more waking time at work than anywhere else, and consequently, work-related stress is the highest risk factor for mental health problems among working adults. “Stress is inevitable; we can’t eliminate it,” Dr. Umpierre says. “But we can find ways to manage it. At Mount Sinai we are committed to help staff lead fulfilling and enjoyable lives by helping them to refine their self-care.”

Researchers have found that social connections are a source of personal satisfaction often neglected because of our busy lives. As we’re finally enjoying spring, Dr. Umpierre suggests taking a cue from nature. “Nurture your relationships and get together in real time, not just online. Go chat with your coworker instead of sending an email. Carve out a few minutes for a cup of tea or a walk in the park and deepen your social connections at work.”

How else can you practice self-care in the workplace? Try the following:

In addition to finding small ways to practice self-care throughout the day, Mount Sinai Calm offers a variety of classes to help employees practice mindfulness and enhance their wellbeing. Take up yoga, Pilates, or tai-chi to get moving. Meditation, art making, and music making classes are also available. Tune into the mind-body connection and learn a new skill while practicing self-care. Class times and locations vary; consult the Mount Sinai Calm webpage or email 4calm@mountsinai.org for details.

If in-person classes aren’t for you or you want to decompress on your own schedule, why not try Mount Sinai Calm On-The-Go? Access these self-care tools 24/7 wherever you are:

Looking for something personalized to you? Mount Sinai Calm also offers free, individual, and confidential self-care consultations for staff members to develop action plans and connect you with appropriate further resources. These 30-minute sessions are available in-person or over the phone and you can make an appointment by emailing 4calm@mountsinai.org.  

When asked if she has any advice for practices undergoing redesign, Dr. Umpierre replied, “Change is inevitable, but we can embrace it.” As your cohort wraps up your practice redesign, reflect on the changes you’ve embraced and how that’s transformed your practice. What changes in your professional or personal life are causing anxiety for you? What can you embrace in those changes to help move forward?

Looking for more wellness resources?

Reach Your Peak, t his year’s spring-and-summer walking challenge, is another stress buster. Forming a team and joining RYP will strengthen your social connections, help you manage stress and give you a chance to enjoy the outdoors. To register visit the Mount Sinai Calm and Fit website.

Visit the Mount Sinai Wellness webpage or contact Dr. Mari Umpierre at mari.umpierre@mountsinai.org . 

Mount Sinai also has an  Office of Well-Being and Resilience  led by Dr. Jonathan Ripp, Senior Associate Dean for Well-Being and Resilience. You can reach him at  jonathan.ripp@mountsinai.org. You can also learn more by listening to this podcast episode with Dr. Ripp and Dr. Fields.

Curious how a practicing physician incorporates mindfulness into his day-to-day practice? Dr. Greg Dodell, endocrinologist and PCP, offers up some tips. Dr. Dodell also discusses mindfulness on this podcast episode.

Episode 8: Building Resiliency and Battling Burnout with Dr. Jonathan Ripp

Dr. Jonathan Ripp, Senior Associate Dean for Well-Being and Resilience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, joins Dr. Fields to discuss the movement in healthcare systems to promote wellness and combat burnout among providers, graduate fellows, and others. They discuss the sense among physicians of lack of control, advocating for regulations that make sense, a model of population health that doesn't contribute to burnout, and more.

Also available through  iTunes  and  Google Play

“One Thing Different”: Small Interventions Can Make Big Differences for Patients

Dr. Ghazala Sharieff, an emergency medicine physician and Chief Experience Officer of Scripps Health, discusses the “One Thing Different” program in article for the Harvard Business Review . Dr. Sharieff found that simply asking a patient what their biggest concern was could lead to life-changing care. This initiative asks front-line staff to make one simple change in their daily routines with patients and share them on a dedicated website. With over 4,000 entries in just over a year of the program’s existence, it’s clear that staff have embraced the concept. The result is not only improved patient experience, but staff empowerment as well. Click here to read the article or watch the video here .

 

Have you tried changing one small thing in your practice? We’d love to hear about it! Email us at mshp@mountsinai.org .  

The World Health Organization Updates Burnout Definition

The updated definition, "an occupational phenomenon" characterized by "feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one's job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and reduced professional efficacy" falls short of classifying burnout as a medical condition, but may help increase the legitimacy of the condition. According to this updated definition, in order to diagnose burnout mental health professionals must rule out anxiety and mood disorders. Read more.

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If you'd like to view back issues of the Primary Care Practice Redesign newsletter, please visit the

MSHP website's News & Media page.

Would you like to learn more about Mount Sinai’s physician wellness activities? Please  visit the Office of Well-Being and Resilience's website  or contact Dr. Jonathan Ripp at  jonathan.ripp@mountsinai.org .