A bi-weekly newsletter from your physician organization
Friday, Sept. 24, 2021
Free resources to prepare your flu vaccine campaign
As the cold weather months approach, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), Michigan Department Health & Human Services (MDHHS) and local health departments are encouraging all eligible patients receive a flu shot.

The vaccine helps lower the risk of getting the flu and minimizes complication risks. There is also concern over the availability of medical resources due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The CDC offers great, free resources for physician practices to promote the flu vaccine and tips to prevent the flu. There are posters to download focused on pediatric and adult populations, sample messages for patient portals, emails and social media, infographics and more. Many of the resources are also available in multiple languages.

Practices offering the flu vaccine to patients should alert them when the vaccine is available. Here are some communication ideas to promote the flu vaccine availability and remind patients to schedule appointments:

  • Post flyers in waiting areas and exam rooms
  • Mail letters
  • Send text messages
  • Share on social media
  • Send messages and/or post reminders in the patient portal
  • Add a message about flu vaccine availability to your answering system
Remind patients to schedule important gaps in care
The end of the year is approaching but there's still time to close gaps in care. Outreach to patients can help ensure important screenings and health visits are completed.

The Covid pandemic continues to create a backlog in scheduling some appointments, making it more important than ever for patients to at least call to schedule a screening. Getting it on the calendar will ensure the patient more than likely will complete the visit.

Closing gaps in care helps improve patient care and quality scores.
The Physician Alliance practices are reporting low clinical quality initiative (CLQI) scores for several measures, including:
  • child and adolescent well-care visit
  • controlling blood pressure
  • diabetes retinal eye exam

TPA practices are reporting lower than usual scores for:
  • breast cancer screening
  • colorectal cancer screening

Here are some tips to help close gaps in care:
  • During a patient visit, make certain the medical assistant, physician and/or other health care provider talk to the patient about the importance of being proactive with their health and completing needed health checks. If possible, schedule the patient for their gaps while in the office.
  • Send reminder letters to patients listing the screenings and/or health visits needed.
  • Add reminders to schedule appointments to the patient portal, answering system greeting/messages and practice website.
  • Post educational information and reminders to practice's social media sites.

For additional tips and resources, check out The Physician Alliance's gaps in care toolkit.
Ask Us First materials available for non-emergency care
As more hospitals continue to experience a surge in emergency room visits, pushing these facilities close to or into capacity, practices can talk to patients about who to contact and where to go for non-emergency care.

If a patient's symptoms do not require immediate care, encourage patients to first contact their primary care physician. This can be especially helpful if the practice offers after-hours care or an on-call doctor. Educate patients on when to visit an urgent care and recommend urgent care centers if appropriate. Remind patients to share primary care physician contact information with the urgent care center so the PCP is aware of the visit.

The Physician Alliance created patient education materials related to urgent care use:

  • This poster highlights why calling their PCP practice or going to urgent care for non-emergency care is helpful.
  • This handout can be customized to include practice contact information and recommended urgent care facilities.
  • Social media graphics promote calling the practice first and telehealth visits. Use on a practice's website, patient portal, social media sites and more.
Webinar offers insight into managing risk from care transitions
Healthcare in the U.S. is complex and fragmented. Patients are often assessed, treated, and monitored by multiple clinicians in multiple facilities, causing possible gaps that can increase vulnerabilities.

Coverys, one of TPA's Affiliate Partners, is hosting a free webinar, Care Transitions: Through the Lens of Malpractice Claims, on Thursday, Sept. 30 from 2-3pm. The webinar will cover an in-depth review of care-transition vulnerabilities. Coverys data analytics and risk management experts will provide insight into the root causes of claims as well as actions practices can take to mitigate risk. Some topics covered include:

  • What are the specific types of care transitions that pose the greatest vulnerabilities?
  • What are the top specialties to trigger claims?
  • How do poorly executed care transitions result in patient harm and financial impact?
  • What are the general principles for managing risk and improving safety for patients who visit multiple healthcare providers and facilities during their episode of care?

Register here for this educational webinar.
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Ways you can save
Featured Affiliate Partner: VACCINE PURCHASING PROGRAM: Atlantic Health Partners provides best pricing on top vaccines (excludes Covid vaccine). TPA members are eligible for annual rebates on all program vaccine purchases.

Learn more about this partner.