At the Forefront of Healthcare Transformation 

 ILHITREC Interchange Newsletter 
August 2019
 
Quality Improvement Strategies Shared at Thinkathon
 
 
Deena Layton, Physician Practice Quality Coordinator at Riverside Healthcare (right in left photo) is pictured at the Healthcare Thinkathon July 23, 2019, with Kerri Lanum, ILHITREC Clinical Informatics Specialist. Also pictured with Lanum at the conference are Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH (left in photo at right), the founding Director and Chief Innovation Officer of the Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science at IUPUI School of Medicine, and Jose Azar, MD Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine and Chief of Quality and Patient Safety, as well as a founding member of the Center for Healthcare Innovation and Implementation Science. The two men co-authored the newly released book Agile Implementation: A Model for Implementing Evidence-Based Healthcare Solutions into Real World Practice to Achieve Sustainable Change. 
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Kerri Lanum and Brenda Simms, Clinical Informatics Specialists with ILHITREC (Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center), attended the Healthcare Thinkathon in Indianapolis, IN, July 23. The event was sponsored by the Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science at IUPUI. It was a conference to affect change in healthcare by working toward shifts that will reach the quadruple aim of better care and improved outcomes at lower costs with enhanced patient and clinician experiences. Approximately 100 participants attended the Healthcare Thinkathon. Simms and Lanum learned new strategies at the conference to implement in the practices they consult with to create change and improve quality of care. A video highlighting the success of Riverside Healthcare in the TCPI program was played at the conference during the morning QIA meeting. The video will be shared at the TCPI expo in August: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XlMj2dx68HYmQsvaUB8BCnb_G0qPUg6M/view?usp=sharing. Riverside Healthcare's participation in ILHITREC's TCPI program is providing the medical group with valuable guidance to successfully implement quality improvement plans central to the new value-based payment model. The medical group employs more than 150 providers and has over 40 office locations throughout Kankakee, Will, Grundy and Iroquois counties. ILHITREC, based at NIU, is part of a collaborative network selected to participate in the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative, initiated in 2015 by CMS.   Read the full story about Riverside Healthcare. 
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Help ONC improve transparency in Certified Health IT Market  
Stop by an upcoming public open forum Tuesday, Aug. 20, to provide input on the new EHR Reporting Program, which will provide publicly-available, no-cost, comparative information on certified health IT available on the market. In the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016, Congress directed the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a new EHR Reporting Program, which the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is currently developing. The goal of this program is to provide publicly-available, comparative information about certified health IT features related to security, usability, interoperability, conformance to certification testing, and other areas in order to improve transparency of the market.
 
ONC has contracted with the Urban Institute and its subcontractor, HealthTech Solutions, to obtain stakeholder input on how to develop the EHR Reporting Program through public open forums across the country. Input from people like you will help determine:
  • What information should developers of certified health IT report? What information from users could be made available?
  • How that information is collected?
  • How this information will be disseminated to the public (for example, would you prefer a product comparison website, data in a spreadsheet, or something else?)
We are also providing a link (below) for regional stakeholders to participate in the open forum virtually. Please note that the open forums are scheduled for two hours, but feel free to drop-in when you're available. The seventh regional meeting will take place in Chicago, IL, Aug. 18-20, 2019. Public Open Forum details are as follows: Tuesday, Aug. 20, 5-7 pm (CDT), at the HIMSS' Chicago Office, 33 W. Monroe St.,, Suite 1700, 12th Floor Conference Room, Chicago, IL 60603. Virtual link: https://healthtechsolutions.zoom.us/j/135407349   

Can't make this event? Watch for more events where stakeholders can make suggestions at: https://healthtechsolutions.com/EHR-reporting-program.
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Prescription Monitoring Program Funding Assistance Offered  
The Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program is offering potential funding assistance to get your EHR integrated with the PMPnow feature. PMPnow  
allows you to access the PMP data in your workflow within your Electronic Health Record. This integration is required under Illinois State Statute by January 2021, and is part of the Stage 3 objectives for the Medicaid Promoting Interoperability program. Your EHR software will need to configure a connection by November 2019, per the grant period. This funding can assist you with getting connected quickly, save you time, and potentially money.   If you are interested in discussing this possibility further, contact the Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program office at (217) 524-8300.
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 Updated Stage 3 Resources on ILHITREC Website   
 
Visit ILHITREC's website for important up-to-date resources about the Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program measures and objectives related to Stage 3.

In addition to pages about the PI Program and Stage 3 measures, Objectives 1-8 each have a page dedicated to explaining the requirements and providing additional resources.
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2015 Edition CEHRT is Required in Program Year 2019  
 
 
Beginning this year, all Promoting Interoperability Program participants must use 2015 Edition certified electronic health record technology (CEHRT) to
avoid downward Medicaid and Medicare payment adjustments.  
 
CMS believes these up-to-date standards and functions of 2015 Edition CEHRT will better support interoperable exchange of health information and improve clinical workflows.  
 
2019 CEHRT Requirements
  • The 2015 Edition CEHRT did not need to be in place by Jan. 1, 2019, but must be used for the entire EHR reporting period of any continuous, self-selected 90-day period.
  • The 2015 Edition CEHRT functionality must be in place by the first day of the EHR reporting period and the product must be certified to the 2015 Edition criteria by the last day of the EHR reporting period.
Attestation Statements
In addition to using the 2015 Edition CEHRT, participants must attest to certain statements to demonstrate that they have not knowingly and willfully taken action to limit or restrict the compatibility or interoperability of their CEHRT. These statements are referred to as the "prevention of information blocking attestation." For more details on information blocking, review this fact sheet.
For more information,about 2015 Edition CEHRT requirements, review this fact sheet. Additional information on 2019 program requirements can be found on the Promoting Interoperability Programs website.
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National Health IT Week Sept. 23-27, 2019

The Illinois Health IT Regional Extension Center (ILHITREC) is a partner of the nationwide action week focused on catalyzing change within the U.S. health system through the application of information and technology. There is no better time for the health IT community to come together and take action to transform health in the U.S. and around the globe.Visit the Health IT website for more details. 
   
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Webinar Replays Offer Critical Information on PI Program

If you missed ILHITREC's recent Webinars about the Medicaid Promoting Interoperability Program Measures,  you can listen to the recordings or download the PowerPoint Presentations in PDF format. 
2019 Patient Electronic Access  
& Patient Education
 
Presentation April 17, 2019 Covered: Requirements for meeting this NEW measure for 2019 and any exclusions available to Medicaid providers; Best practices from other Illinois practices on how to meet this measure; New ways to meet this objective and changes from previous year.

 
2019 Health Information  
Exchange Objective
 
Presentation June 11, 2019 Covered:  Changes to the 2019 requirements for this objective; Strategies and best practices to successfully meet the measures; Exclusions available to Eligible Professionals.

 
 
     2019 Coordination of Care  
     through Patient Engagement
 
Presentation May 14, 2019 Covered: The requirements for meeting this NEW measure for 2019 and any exclusions available to providers; Strategies to engage your patients
in the use of the patient portal including entering patient-generated health data.

 
  
 
Registry Reporting Objective 
Public Health & Clinical Data
 
Presentation July 16, 2019, Covered: 
The elements and definitions of the 2019 Public Health & Clinical Data Registry Reporting Objective; Strategies and best practices to successfully meet the measures; and exclusions available to Eligible Professionals.
 
 
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Updated 2019 Medicaid Specification Sheets
 
CMS has updated its Promoting Interoperability Programs webpages to include program year 2019 information and details:
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Submit Patient Volume for Pre-Approval  
for Medicaid EHR Program Year 2019  
 
ILHITREC encourages Illinois providers participating in the eMIPP program to submit patient volume for pre-approval for the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program for the 2019 Program Year as soon as possible to avoid any delays in attestation. Use the format below to provide the following information via email to   hfs.ehrincentive@illinois.gov:
  • Payee TIN = _________________
  • Payee NPI __________________
  • Group or individual numbers?  _______________
  • Provider type:  (physician, hospital, dentist)  _________________
  • Selecting a Date Range: (Select Calendar Year 2018 only for Pre-Approval)
     - Date Range: Calendar Year, any 90-day period in 2018 ___________
     - Can not use the same date or overlap date used for Attestation Year 2018
  • Straight Medicaid (only traditional Medicaid & All Kids) = _______________
  • Medicaid Managed Care = ________________
  • Total Encounters for all payees = ________________
Primary Contact:
Primary Phone:
Primary Email: 
 
Please note that ILHITREC's Clinical Informatics Specialists are trained to assist you with any questions or concerns related to the EHR Incentive Programs. Contact us at  info@ILHITREC.org or visit ILHITREC.org for complete details on the wide variety of services provided by ILHITREC. 
 
About Support Provided by ILHITREC
The Illinois Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (ILHITREC), under contract with the Illinois Department of Health and Family Services (HFS), is providing education, outreach, EHR, and Meaningful Use support to Medicaid providers for the Promoting Interoperability Program. Contact us at info@ILHITREC.org.