APP Key Messages | August 12, 2021

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August 12, 2021

In this issue

COVID-19 vaccine requirement
Population health performance
New Medicare Advantage plan
Supporting your practice

Physician Colleagues,

As we find ourselves facing another COVID swell, I want to take a moment to pause and express my sincere gratitude to you and your staff. The uncertainty of the coming weeks and months probably feels very overwhelming right now. But remember this – you are not alone. As part of Advocate Physician Partners, you are joined on the frontlines by more than 4,500 physician colleagues, supported by Advocate Aurora leaders and team members – all working together to provide safe, high quality, efficient care for our patients and communities.

Though the future may feel uncertain right now, the way to end this pandemic certainly is not. Vaccination is critical to protect ourselves and our patients from unnecessary illness and death.

This is why Advocate Aurora Health has joined many other health systems and employers across the country to mandate the vaccine for everyone who is part of our team – including employees, aligned physician partners, credentialed/privileged medical staff members, students, volunteers, and vendors.

Thank you for leading by example to get vaccinated and encouraging your staff and patients to do so, as well. Thank you for educating others on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy. Your voice as a trusted, clinical expert is so valuable, appreciated and needed.

You have likely heard that you will need to submit verification of vaccination status, even if you were vaccinated at an Advocate Aurora vaccine clinic. This is because aligned physician data is not stored in Advocate Aurora’s employee health database. We appreciate your partnership to ensure we have accurate records. Please reach out to your primary Advocate hospital’s Medical Staff Services team with any questions.

As you and your staff continue to fight the good fight on the frontlines, please remember that your support extends far beyond the walls of your office. We remain in this together. Thank you for all you do for our patients, our communities and each other.

Gary Stuck, DO FAAFP

CMO, Advocate Aurora Health

CEO, Advocate Physician Partners

President and CEO, Jim Skogsbergh, along with a panel of experts, answered your questions about the vaccine requirement during a virtual Team Member Town Hall yesterday.

REMINDER: All team members, including physicians, medical staff members and other privileged practitioners, students, remote workers, volunteers and vendors are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15.

Click on the "Read more" button below to learn how to get vaccinated, the exemption process, vaccine verification, key dates and links to more information and resources.

Monoclonal antibody update

The Emergency Use Authorization for REGEN-COV (casirivimab/imdevimab combination) was expanded to allow use for post-exposure prophylaxis against COVID-19 in individuals who are not fully vaccinated or who are not expected to mount an adequate immune response to complete SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. Epic has been updated based on this new guidance Please read the SBAR for more details.

Pre-procedure and admissions on COVID-19 testing update

We're reinstating pre-procedure testing for certain procedures and all admissions regardless of vaccination status or symptoms. Sites should begin the expanded testing process as soon as operationally ready - and no later than Aug. 17. Additional guidance:

COVID-19 testing options

There are multiple, acceptable sources of COVID-19 testing for team members, including physicians and APCs, with COVID-19-like symptoms, including tests completed at our medical group primary care offices, immediate care centers, or purchased from a pharmacy or online retailer. In addition, to meet the current spike in COVID-19 cases, Employee Health has secured many Binax test kits that will be available to symptomatic team members by contacting them. You can perform self-testing and report the results back to your local Advocate Aurora Employee Health.

Symptomatic or exposed?

As a reminder, if you're experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed to COVID-19, please self-report using the exposure evaluation tool or the SafeCheck app. Do not call Employee Health.

Opportunity to Improve Population Health Performance

Don Calcagno, SVP, Population Health & Managed Care | President, APP

Carrie Nelson, MD, System VP/CMO Population Health & Health Outcomes | Chief Clinical Officer, APP

To truly help our patients live well, we must ensure they are receiving recommended health care to help close care gaps and to be connected to various programs to manage health conditions.

While we track this care through several measures in our nationally recognized Clinical Integration Program, we have identified eight core adult measures that have the most significant impact to advance our population health work. As you’ll see in our latest results, we have an opportunity for improvement. View here.

Most importantly, behind these numbers are our patients. Read more for the impact of these numbers and how you can help – along with a story from your physician colleague. Thank you for your commitment to ensuring our patients receive the highest quality care.

Read full message

Helping More Seniors Live Well

We’re excited to announce APP will participate with Devoted Health, one of the fastest growing Medicare Advantage (MA) companies, to launch an MA HMO plan for seniors across northern Illinois in 2022.

This partnership aligns with our mission to help more people live well and create better health care value. Having more patients in MA plans allows our physicians to better coordinate their care, deliver top health outcomes and manage total cost of care. Read more.

Epic Transformation

EpicCare Link order entry update: We previously shared that we are going live with ECL order entry this month. Last week, we had the opportunity to host a focus group with several of your physician peers and office staff. We learned that we have opportunities to rethink our original plan to best fit your needs. At this time, we are holding on a go live date and will share new information once available. Practices should continue to use current processes for managed care referrals, orders and preauthorization.

Advocate Aurora Epic upgrade educational materials available now: To prepare for a smooth Aug. 25 Epic upgrade, please refer to this document for relevant education and training information. Upgrade start time will be 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 25.

Important dates ahead for advanced care planning: Advanced Care Planning (ACP) & Shared Decision Making in Serious Illness (SDMSI) is our work to ensure that through every interaction we are honoring our patients’ wishes and preferences. Read more for important dates as we advance this work, including new Smart Phrases that went live in Epic on Aug. 2 and new ACP tools in Epic coming Oct. 19. Review this SBAR to prepare for a Jan. 1, 2022 go live of new legislation in Illinois.

Epic Connect "day in the life": We continue to follow our first practices on their Epic Connect journey as they approach their Go Live date. View this video from Sandeep Chandra, MD.

Supporting Your Practice

Clinical Integration program: Review recent issue's update.

Pharmacy & therapeutics updates: Review the latest summary of activity from the Advocate Aurora Health Pharmacy and Therapeutics system and ambulatory committees.

Telehealth cost-sharing waiver ends: Last month the waiving of member cost-sharing for telehealth was removed from the Executive Order. During the transition, BCBSIL will have a grace period through Aug. 15. Copays for telehealth will no longer be waived for date of service beginning Aug. 16, for the following impacted plans: HMO-Illinois, Blue Advantage, Blue Precision, BlueCare Direct and BCBSIL PPO. The process to submit telehealth claims will remain the same. Read details.

Lung screening toolkit: View this toolkit to support you in ordering lung cancer screenings for your patients. Our lung cancer screening campaign is underway to raise awareness about this life-saving annual screening. In related news, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force endorsed a final recommendation to lower screening start to age 50 and exposure level to 20 pack-years.

United Healthcare ACA Exchange product offer: United Healthcare intends to offer an ACA Exchange product in the Chicago market in 2022. APP has officially declined participation in this ACA Exchange product. APP physicians that have direct agreements with United Healthcare may be approached to join this ACA Exchange product in 2022. APP cannot advise you on your direct agreements. Read details.

Please “Read more” for additional important updates: