Please note: This is an internal Advocate Aurora Health newsletter and safe to open. Use Chrome for best viewing. |
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In this issue
- COVID-19 Boosters
- MACRA Reporting
- Medicare Advantage and Devoted Health
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Ending the Year Strong
Don Calcagno, SVP, Population Health & Managed Care | President, APP
Carrie Nelson, MD, MS, FAAFP, SVP/CMO, Health Outcomes & Population Health | Chief Clinical Officer, APP
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Thank you for your hard work this year to help our patients live well. We want to call your attention to the following items to help us finish the year strong and keep the momentum going into the new year. It’s this important work that helps us improve quality for patients and build the incentive fund.
- Access your CI scorecard to see how you are doing.
- Engage patients still in need of a Medicare Wellness Visit (MWV).
- Ensure you are refreshing care plans for chronic conditions at all visits.
- Encourage patients to have all appropriate annual screenings.
- Ensure medical record documentation is up to date and outside reports are stored in the EMR.
Read more for additional details. As always, thank you for your partnership.
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Booster update: Patients, team members and medical staff are now able to schedule Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson vaccine boosters at Advocate Aurora’s patient vaccine clinic locations across Illinois and Wisconsin, and may mix and match booster doses in accordance with CDC guidelines. We continue to provide a third dose of both mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) to patients who meet the CDC's criteria for moderately and severely immunocompromised. Eligible patients and team members can schedule boosters via the LiveWell app, at aah.org or by calling 866-443-2584.
Pediatric vaccine administration: Following FDA and CDC approval, we are now vaccinating our patients ages 5-11. Parents or legal guardians can schedule a vaccine-only appointment for their child or minor ages 5-11, by calling their pediatrician’s office, our hotline at 866-443-2584 or via our LiveWell app. Given our large pediatric patient population and the wide availability of COVID-19 vaccines and locations across our communities, at this time scheduling is open to our pediatric patients ages 5 to 11 who have had a visit with an Advocate Aurora medical group PCP/pediatrician in the last two years. Many APP aligned practices in Illinois are offering pediatric vaccines in their offices, as well. Once our patients have had an opportunity to schedule, we will look to open appointments for non-patients soon.
Resources for APP pediatric/family medicine practices: The Illinois Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (ICAAP) and the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians (IAFP) have teamed up to help support physicians who see children in their practice. I-VAC (Illinois Vaccinates Against COVID-19) is a statewide, clinician-focused program to support expansion of COVID-19 vaccine administration into routine patient care workflows in primary care settings, hospital urgent care centers and upon hospital discharge. I-VAC is sponsoring COVID Vaccine Bootcamps to educate the clinical community. Learn more and register.
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Honoring Veterans Day
We thank our Advocate Aurora Health veterans today, and every day, for their dedication and service to our country. Your role within our organization helps define the strength, courage and determination of our workforce.
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Advance Care Planning Reminders |
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Advance Care Planning Epic go-live postponed: The launch of the new Advance Care Planning module in Epic (and remote client) has been postponed and will not occur with the Epic upgrade on Nov. 17 as previously shared. Details on a new date will be shared when they are available.
Code status policy: Work is underway on a new policy for discussing, entering, documenting, communicating, and reviewing code status orders to ensure we have a safe, consistent approach across the care continuum. The new policy is planned to go live in early 2022. Register for the in-patient focused webinar on Nov. 16 or 17 to learn more. Ambulatory/outpatient-focused webinar to be announced soon. Sessions will be recorded for on-demand viewing.
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Nov. 17 Epic upgrade; virtual support available: We are pleased to again provide virtual support using Epic’s Secure Chat platform for our Nov. 17 upgrade. Support teams will use Epic’s Secure Chat platform to provide expert resources at your fingertips to assist with questions related to upgrade changes. Reminders: Education/training resources. Upgrade start time will be 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 17.
You spoke. we listened: Streamlining your Epic In-Basket: Changes were recently made to streamline lab and radiology notifications following feedback from physicians and APCs on unnecessary notifications in the In-Basket impacting Epic, Epic Connect and EpicCare Link users. Learn more.
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Prepare now for 2021 PI and quality submission
Practices in our MSSP ACO are required to submit 90 days of PI data from 2021 by March 31, 2022. It’s important to start pulling this information now from your EMR. You can begin to submit data to the Quality Payment Program (QPP) on Jan. 4, 2022, through our preferred vendor Azara Healthcare. You will need to provide your data to the APP EMR Operations team. Learn more on APP Pro.
In transition to meet the future MSSP quality measure changes that require all-payer reporting from your EMR, we are also requesting you to submit full year of 2021 Quality data. Beginning January 2022, the Quality measures we will be collecting data on are listed below.
Quality Objectives
1. QID: 001: Diabetes: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Poor Control (>9%)
2. QID: 134: Preventive Care and Screening: Screening for Depression and Follow-Up Plan
3. QID: 236: Controlling High Blood Pressure
or call 847-298-6000 Option # 1 for English, Option # 2 for Provider and Option # 6 for EMR Operations.
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Medicare Annual Enrollment
How does Medicare Advantage benefit patients?
Open through Dec. 7, Medicare Annual Enrollment is a time for eligible individuals to join or change Medicare coverage – including Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Learn more about our partnership with Devoted Health to offer MA HMO plans and how MA plans benefit patients.
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Advocate Aurora Health Increases Minimum Wage
We’re proud to share that Advocate Aurora is once again increasing minimum wage, a testament to our organization's long standing commitment to be the best place for people to work. Establishing industry-leading compensation also creates opportunities for economic mobility for our team members and communities. Effective in December, Advocate Aurora's minimum wage will increase by 20% to $18/hour. For more information, read this message from President and CEO Jim Skogsbergh.
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Supporting Your Practice
Compliance survey: coming week of Nov. 15: As a provider in APP Medicare Advantage and Commercial contract networks, your practice is required to adhere to all CMS and plan compliance requirements. We will be sending a short survey for your practice to attest that you adhere to these requirements – to be completed no later than Dec. 1. The survey will be emailed the week of Nov. 15 to the EpicCare Link designated signee that we have on file.
PAMA delayed; continue to use Appropriate Use Criteria: Due to COVID-19 considerations, CMS is delaying the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA) until Jan. 1, 2023, which was originally slated to go into effect in 2022. Despite the delay, it’s important to continue consulting Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) prior to ordering Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Services (CT, MRI, NM, PET) to keep patients safe by avoiding unnecessary radiation from inappropriate or redundant procedures. Read more on PAMA and AUC.
Pharmacy and Therapeutics system and ambulatory updates: The Advocate Aurora Health Pharmacy and Therapeutics committee endorsed Epic decision support for long-acting opioid inpatient prescribing and expanded the use of Tenecteplase for treatment of ischemic stroke. Read about these and other decisions.
Please “Read more” for additional important updates:
- Population health patient outreach
- Chicago Children’s Health Alliance (CCHA) update
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William Spear, MD, electrophysiologist, is the principal investigator for Advocate Christ Medical Center’s participation in the international clinical trial, CHAMPION-AF. This clinical trial is evaluating the WATCHMAN FLX™ heart device to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. Read article | Research Institute Update
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Continuing Medical Education |
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Connecting and reconnecting to your "why" (Part ll) - Reigniting and keeping the flame alive at different career stages
Friday, Nov. 19 | noon – 1 p.m.
This webinar series offers an hour away from your responsibilities to reflect and summarize your purpose and strengths for entering the medical profession.
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CME Website: Webinars & Recordings |
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