November 10, 2022

In this issue

• Leadership Announcements
• Supporting your practice: Clinical Integration, COVID testing update, Feedback wanted
• Epic updates: Dec upgrade
• CME



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Leadership Announcements

Alvia Siddiqi, MD, FAAFP has been named System Vice President - Chief Medical Officer of Enterprise Population Health, effective immediately. Dr. Siddiqi formerly served as interim for this role.

Changes have also been made to our Field Operations leadership structure allowing us to advance our focus on value-based care:

• Nichia McDowald was appointed in August to VP, Value Based Care Performance. She most recently served as Administrator, PHO for APP.

• Danielle Dillon who has served as Christ PHO Director, has been appointed Executive Director, Population Health Operations within Enterprise Population Health (EPH).

• South Illinois
• Franchella Jennett has been appointed as Value Based Care Performance Director, South. Franchella currently serves as IMMC PHO Director.

• Central Illinois
• Ben Armstrong has been appointed as Value Based Care Performance Director, Central. Ben currently serves as Good Shepherd PHO Director.

• North Illinois
• Reginal Cantave has been appointed as Value Based Care Performance Director, North. Regy currently serves as Sherman PHO Director.

• Wisconsin
• Kourtney Witten has been appointed as Value Based Care Performance Director, Wisconsin. Kourtney currently serves as Condell PHO Director.

• We would also like to thank Hemal Parikh for her leadership as Good Samaritan PHO Director for the past three years.

Clinical Integration weekly update: View the latest program update. 

Patient health outreach: We are conducting the following patient outreach on your behalf to support quality outcomes and close quality care gaps. Learn more.

COVID testing update: In aligning COVID with our respiratory illness protocols, effective immediately, routine retesting of asymptomatic cohorted patients is no longer required. The Epic BPA alert for q72 hr. testing was turned off on Nov. 9. Review this SBAR and see this screenshot for details.

Reducing cost of care variation: medication impact: We continue to look at ways to reduce variation to improve outcomes while ultimately reducing costs. An audit was conducted to identify opportunities to decrease utilization of high-cost medications, when clinically appropriate, and use less costly options that support the same patient outcomes. View the impact effective Jan. 1, 2023 for use of the following:

• Liposomal bupivacaine (Exparel®)

• Indomethacin suppositories

• onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox®)

• Sugammadex (Bridion®)

Health Management Resources closure: Health Management Resources (HMR), Advocate Aurora’s partner for a weight loss management program, has officially provided notice of the decision to end its operations over the next 90 days.

At this time, Advocate Aurora will stop inducting new patients into the program, while continuing to provide treatment to our current patients, team members and community members through health coaching with use of HMR meal replacements, for as long as they are available.

Pharmacy & Therapeutics Oct. updates: Review the Advocate Aurora Pharmacy and Therapeutics ambulatory and system committees decisions. View summary.

Feedback wanted! We’re interested in your perspectives on a variety of services offered by Advocate Aurora Health. Please take this 2-minute survey.

Epic upgrade on track for Dec. 14: Please see this overview for additional safety and efficiency enhancements slated for this upgrade.

Epic Update: Ambulatory Epic Connect: Routing care concerns, therapy plan updates and more.

Epic Update: Hospital edition for Physicians and APCs: Clinical Decision Support (CDS) for renally dose-adjusted medications, Clinimix E multi chambered bags for standard TPN formulations, inpatient lab order frequencies update and more.

Advancing Research

Live Well intramural grant awardees: Advocate Aurora Research Institute recently announced four research proposals selected for fall intramural funding. View the recipients. 

Continuing Medical Education

13th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

Fri. Nov. 18, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.



Hear updates in the field of advanced heart failure, cardiac transplantation and left ventricular assist device therapy, plus insights into cardiogenic shock diagnosis and management as well as medical therapy for chronic heart failure.

Upcoming CME



Nov. 11: Blinded by Bias

Nov. 17: MEDtalks: South Asian cardiovascular disease & center

Nov. 18: 13th Annual Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium

Nov. 30: Project ECHO Memory Care

Dec. 3: 34th Annual Cardiology Update