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brought to you by the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign
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HHQI has free resources to help you promote many of May's annual events among your patients and staff. Visit the May featured resources page on the HHQI website.
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Now Available: Wound Management BPIP
The Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign's Wound Management Best Practice Intervention Package (BPIP) is now available for download. This brand new BPIP brings together evidence-
based practices from leading expert organizations, such as Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN); National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP); International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP); and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
The utilization of an interdisciplinary approach to wound care to improve care and efficiencies is emphasized throughout the package, and many tools for leadership, clinicians, and patients to support your agency's wound management program are included.
FREE CONTINUING EDUCATION
A corresponding course is also available in
HHQI University
, which has been approved by the Alabama State Nurses Association for 3.25 Nursing contact hours. Alabama State Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
To receive CE credits, you must read the BPIP and complete additional coursework in HHQI University.
This course is located in the Disease Management course catalog.
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HHQI University PT CCUs Accepted in 32 States
T
here are now 32 states that accept Physical Therapy (PT) Continuing Competency Units (CCUs) approved by
ProCert,
the continuing competence activity accreditation program of the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy. These states include: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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May 2018 HHQI Agency of the Month
This month, HHQI recognizes
Elsmar Home Health Care of Detroit, Michigan for their dedication to improving home health care quality.
Home health agencies that are active in the HHQI National Campaign and closest to the
national, r
isk-adjusted ACH 20th percentile and/or the national, risk-adjusted Oral Medication Improvement 80th percentile (or better) are eligible for random selection as HHQI Agency of the Month.
Be in the spotlight.
Nominate your agency today
, and if you are selected, your organization will be prominently featured here in HHQI Inside Edition -- which reaches more than 13,000 subscribers -- and on the HHQI website. Your achievement will also be shared via HHQI's social media channels.
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Upgrades Coming to HHQI Data Access
HHQI's secure Data Access system is getting an upgrade this summer. Here's what you should know now to plan for any needed adjustments in obtaining your reports:
- You will continue to see the monthly report for the current year (2018), but the historical OASIS-based reports (ACH, OM, FLU & PNE Immunization Reports, Cardiac Risk Reports) dating from 2010-2017 will be condensed to annual reports showing all 12 months' data for that specific year.
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The Data Access System will be unavailable from June 18-20. This will impact accessing the support resources, tutorial webinars, FAQs, OASIS-based reports, and the HHCDR.
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Combatting the Opioid Epidemic in Home Health
Whether as health care providers or just concerned citizens, we are all affected by the nation's opioid epidemic in one way or another.
So that HHQI can tailor future resources to address the need associated with substance use disorder, would you take just a moment to follow
this link and answer these 3 quick questions?
- Is your agency performing any quality improvement work related to opioids? For example, planning or executing an opioid reduction QAPI plan.
- Is your agency involved in any local groups addressing the opioid epidemic? These could be groups such as harm reduction coalitions, stakeholder consortiums, etc.
- If you answered yes to either of the questions above, please share your contact information so we can contact you to learn more. Or just leave these fields blank if you prefer not to be contacted.
You may also
contact HHQI to share your suggestions for how home health providers can best contribute to combatting the nationwide opioid epidemic. Thank you for your input!
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Save the Dates
'Third Thursdays' Event Schedule
Home health professionals are busy. Now, there's an understatement. In order to make the most of your limited time, HHQI's three primary online Networking events -- LiveChat, Cardiovascular Learning & Action Network (CardioLAN) webinars, and Underserved Populations (UP) webinars -- will
each be held quarterly.
Events will rotate and always begin at
2pm (ET) on the third Thursday of the month
.
Click on the networking event type above for links to past event recordings and upcoming event registration. You can also
subscribe to our mailing lists
to receive details (topics, objectives, speaker info, & registration links) as soon as they are available.
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Quarterly Networking Event | May 17, 2018 | 2-3pm ET
Get Answers to Your Home Health Questions
 Networking regularly with other home health professionals can fast-track your quality improvement efforts. No matter what challenge your agency is facing, there's a good chance that another agency can offer some valuable first-hand insight. HHQI's quarterly LiveChats are an excellent opportunity to connect and learn what worked -- and what didn't work -- for other agencies when they were in a similar situation.
LiveChat is similar to an online chat room. There is no audio. You will type to ask questions and share your knowledge. It's a fun, casual way to learn from each other'sexperiences. You can also
email your questions to us ahead of time to be addressed during the event.
The May 2018 LiveChat happens to fall on World Hypertension Day, so we will plan to share several related resources, but all topics are welcome for discussion.
Set an email reminder
now! You can also browse past events.
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Improving Resident Health in Long-Term Care Facilities
In recognition of National Skilled Nursing Care Week, the May 2018 issue of QIO News looks at how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations are working to reduce the use of antipsychotics in long-term care facilities and improve health outcomes among people with Medicare in nursing homes.
Learn how
new CMS policies will lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries and combat opioid overprescribing and abuse.
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Available Now from Great Plains Quality Innovation Network
Home Health Infection Prevention Toolkit
Infections in the home care setting are not uncommon, yet there are few tools and resources specifically designed for the home care professional. To help address this need and make care safer, the Great Plains Quality Innovation Network Home Health Infection Prevention and Control Initiative was established.
The initiative team, led by Great Plains QIN, has developed an
Infection Prevention Toolkit
, which contains tools, resources and best practices to help reduce Acute Care Hospitalization (ACH) or Emergency Department (ED) visits related to wound, urinary tract and respiratory infections. The Toolkit contains many tools and resources for wound, urinary tract and respiratory infections, immunizations, antibiotic stewardship, patient and family education, risk assessment and surveillance, sepsis and others.
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New Medicare Cards On the Way
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is required to remove Social Security Numbers (SSNs) from all Medicare cards by April 2019. A new, unique Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) is replacing the SSN-based Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) on each new Medicare card. Starting April 2018, CMS begun mailing new Medicare cards to all people with Medicare on a flow basis, based on geographic location and other factors.
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New Card Sample |
These mailings will follow the sequence outlined
here. Additional details on timing will be available as the mailings progress. Medicare beneficiaries can get information about the mailings and sign up for emails about the status of card mailings in their area on
Medicare.gov/NewCard.
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Upcoming Industry Webinars, Courses & Other Events
*Continuing education credit is included, available, or pending.
Reference to any specific organization or its products or services is for information and convenience and
does not constitute endorsement
, recommendation, or favoring by Quality Insights, the Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign, or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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| This material was prepared by Quality Insights, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization supporting the Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The views presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. Publication number 11SOW-WV-HH-MMD-050118 |
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