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WVPCA Weekly Outlook Newsletter
A Newsletter on Community Centered Healthcare
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We offer this publication as a member service of the West Virginia Primary Care Association (WVPCA).
If you have questions regarding our organization, WVPCA membership, or if you have content to suggest for this newsletter, please contact
Pam Moore
, Member Relations Coordinator, by email or by phone at (304) 346-0032.
Sincerely,
West Virginia Primary Care Association
1700 MacCorkle Avenue
Charleston, WV 25314-1518
304-346-0032
1-877-WVA-HLTH
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Quick Links: In This Issue.....
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News
Flash!
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New CDC data: Drug overdose deaths decline in WV, still outpace the rest of the nation
Read the entire article, originally from the WV News
here.
Medicaid block grants would allow states not to cover some drugs
Read the entire article, originally from Modern Healthcare
here.
Read the entire article, originally from Modern Healthcare
here.
WV grapples with shift to poly-substance abuse
Read the entire article, originally from
WVNews
here.
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WVPCA News
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We are excited to announce that we have partnered with Jennifer Calohan, and the team at CURIS Consulting, to offer our members a highly interactive learning collaborative focused on using LEAN/Six Sigma principles and practices to improve health outcomes. The collaborative will be a combination of onsite training workshops, supported peer-to-peer networking, remote trainings, webinars, and individualized coaching sessions. Improving diabetes outcomes will be used as the case study for the learning collaborative. However, the principles learned can be applied to improve processes and outcomes throughout your health center.
Please join the WVPCA & CURIS Consulting for an in depth Webinar and Q&A about this learning collaborative discussing topics such as:
- Purpose & ROI
- Who Should Participate
- Commitment
- Participant Investment
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National Wear Go
Red for Women Day
February 7th!
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The WVPCA would like to encourage members to participate together with The American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, with its Go Red for Women movement, to 'wear red' to support Go Red for Women on National Wear Red Day: Friday, February 7, 2020.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, taking more lives than all forms of cancer combined. Someone you know and love may be affected - at any age. Heart disease and stroke claim the lives of 1 in 3 women - a third of our mothers, sisters and friends. It's time to change this fact.
The WVPCA encourages each of our members to show your support by wearing
red on
Friday, February 7th to help raise awareness and save lives from heart disease. Please email your photos to
paula.beasley@wvpca.org to be shared in our Weekly Update.
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State News
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French Creek Freddie & Punxsutawney Phil Agree Spring is Dead Ahead
Groundhog Day is a popular tradition where people await the sunrise and the groundhog's exit from his winter den. If the groundhog sees his shadow he regards it as an omen of six more weeks of bad weather and returns to his den. Early spring arrives if he does not see his shadow.
Punxsutawney Phil proclaimed an early Spring for the second consecutive year on Groundhog Dog.
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- WVHAMP is a combined in-person and tele-mentorship training program designed to support primary care providers to diagnose, evaluate and manage their patients with chronic hepatitis C developed in consultation with West Virginia Medicaid
- WVHAMP provides a mentorship platform accessible for primary care providers caring for high-risk individuals throughout West Virginia, especially in rural settings
- This is crucial as West Virginia has the highest rate of new acute hepatitis C infections in the nation!
GOAL:
to improve the health of individuals in underserved communities by building a primary care workforce trained by experts to screen, diagnose, offer curative treatment, and follow persons with chronic hepatitis C.
Participating WVHAMP primary care providers will receive training on hepatitis C epidemiology, diagnosis, management, curative treatment, follow-up and prevention. Thus, primary care providers throughout the state will be equipped with the skills needed to treat and cure patients with hepatitis C in their local communities. This will increase the number of individuals who are cured and help to reduce the number of West Virginians who can transmit hepatitis C to another person.
Interested providers will:
- Attend an initial daylong in-person training (WVHAMP #1)- see registration form at the West Virginia Rural Health Association website
- Make a commitment to participate in WVHAMP training for at least 12 months
- Receive both a hard copy of WVHAMP training materials/toolkit and online access at the West Virginia Rural Health Association website via a designated link
- Utilizing WVHAMP training, diagnose and evaluate patient for potential treatment/cure
- Fax the Consultation Form to a secure, HIPAA-compliant site in the Cloud for specialist review and approval
- Have access to WVHAMP mentors for consultation and backup for complicated cases
- Participate in bimonthly WVHAMP educational webinars with access to special topic presentations and discussion of cases
- Attend an in-person half-day (WVHAMP #2) approximately 6 months later to receive updated hepatitis C treatment information. Providers will present challenges and patient cases to their peers and the WVHAMP Mentoring Team for feedback and guidance
- Receive a free annual membership to the West Virginia Rural Health Association
- Receive free CME credits for participation
- Be awarded a WVHAMP Scholar Certificate at the completion of WVHAMP
- Continue to have access in the future to the Mentoring Team for guidance on specific cases as needed
- Provide primary care providers with the satisfaction of having cured a chronic disease that can be fatal!
- Ultimately, receive a designation as a recognized hepatitis specialist by West Virginia Medicaid after they have managed and cured a sufficient number of patients according to Medicaid
THE INITIAL DAYLONG TRAINING WILL BE HELD IN BLUEFIELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 5.
FREE HOTEL ROOMS ARE AVAILABLE FOR MARCH 4.
WVHAMP TRAINING DATES 2020
Full-day trainings:
March 5, 2020 - Quality Hotel, Bluefield
May 5, 2020 - Double Tree Hotel, Huntington
October 13, 2020 - Waterfront Place Hotel, Morgantown
December 3, 2020 - Days Inn Hotel, Flatwoods
Half-day trainings:
July 28, 2020 - Holiday Inn, Beckley
February 16, 2021 - Days Inn, Flatwoods
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The 2020 United States Census is just around the corner, and a statewide coalition of community-based, professional, service and advocacy organizations is launching a grassroots campaign to ensure that every West Virginia is counted.
The CountMeInWV Coalition, currently 25+ organizations which includes the WVPCA and growing, is launching a campaign to increase outreach, education and awareness. CountMeInWV Coalition was formed to reach West Virginia's hardest-to-count populations such as rural communities, seniors, college students and families with children under five years old. Data from the US Census determines the allocation of over $6 billion of federal investment in West Virginia every year, and getting a complete and accurate count of the population is vital to ensure these funds go to those who need them.
The 2020 Census is easy, safe and vitally important to West Virginians. The Census will consist of 10 questions, and take an average of 10 minutes to complete and that information is protected and not given to any other entity. The Census is very important to West Virginia because it receives $2,755 in federal funding per capita based on Census information and determines funding for healthcare, education, food, and roads for the citizens.
The 2020 Census is accessible to everyone. Click here to find the ways to access the census.
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National Children's Dental Health Month
February is National Children's Dental Health Month, and oral health during pregnancy and infancy is important for a lifetime of good health. The American Academy of Pediatrics has created a toolkit on conversation tactics for providers sharing healthy tips to patients.
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Annual Reporting for PCMH 2014 Level 3 Recognized Practices - For Reporting Year 2020:
As a PCMH 2014 level 3 Recognized practice, you can maintain your Recognition through an Annual Reporting process. You have already shown that the structure and processes of a medical home are in place, so demonstrating that you have maintained supporting activities should not be difficult or require a lot of additional work.
If you have done a good job of maintaining your PCMH concepts and meet the Annual Reporting requirements, it should take you 25-40 hours or less to complete the Annual Reporting process.
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ANNUAL REPORTING VS. EARNING PCMH 2014 RECOGNITION
Below is a comparison of the steps required to earn initial PCMH Recognition and how it compares to Annual Reporting:
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STEP EARNING INITIAL RECOGNITION
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EARNING INITIAL RECOGNITION
PCMH 2014
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PCMH ANNUAL REPORTING
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Number of requirements
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Report on 27 elements
(6 must-pass elements).
100 possible points.
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Attest to current PCMH Standards and Guidelines.
Report on 15 requirements.
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What NCQA wants to see
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Minimum of 6 must-pass elements, plus
optional elements (35-59 points for
Level 1 Recognition; 60-84 points for
Level 2; 85-100 points for Level 3
Recognition).
Documented processes, data, reports, screenshots, examples.
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Answer questions about how your practice is maintaining PCMH activities associated with each concept.
When applicable, provide evidence and reports.
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Reporting process
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Manual upload of all supporting evidence in ISS.
Renewing practices are required to show they have met the requirements for designated elements for at least two years.
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Checklist or data entry in Q-PASS.
Minimal documentation upload.
Flexibility with types of evidence.
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Document
review process
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Extensive review by NCQA.
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No review
unless selected for audit).
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Funding Opportunities
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The Take Your Best Shot project was developed to address the problems associated with low vaccination rates among adolescents throughout West Virginia. Adolescent immunization rates for Tdap and meningococcal vaccination have surpassed Healthy People 2020 goals; however, influenza and HPV vaccination rates are still lagging and a recommendation for meningococcal B vaccination was added to the adolescent vaccination schedule in the last few years. Thus,
TYBS projects are focused on improving HPV, meningococcal B, and influenza vaccination rates among adolescents 11-21 years of age
, in accordance with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations.
The Take Your Best Shot: WV Adolescent Immunization Project is now a Pay for Success (PFS) project, linking payment to performance in increasing immunization rates for influenza, HPV, and MenB. The PFS strategy will ensure that high-quality, effective immunization services are resulting in increased adolescent vaccination rates in West Virginia for the targeted vaccine-preventable diseases.
Eligible lead agency applicants include public and private entities, such as local health departments, community health centers, hospitals, school-based health clinics, private clinics or other organizations.
Up to 10 lead agencies will be selected to take part in the PFS project. Lead agencies will enroll in the project by submitting a workplan that describes the strategies the applicant plans to implement, stating how it will improve HPV, influenza, and Men B vaccination rates. Lead agencies are expected to include evidence-based and/or novel strategies in their workplan that focus on improving HPV, meningococcal B, and influenza vaccination rates among adolescents ages 11-21 years of age. The Take Your Best Shot review committee, an ad hoc subcommittee of the WIN Steering Committee, will then review applications and select lead agencies to be included in the project based on the (1) anticipated impact and (2) the sustainability and replicability, of the strategies described in their application.
For application information about Take Your Best Shot: WV Adolescent Immunization Project, please contact Barb Thaxton, WIN Program Manager at
barbara.thaxton@wvruralhealth.org.
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National News
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The Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration can begin implementing its new Public Charge rule. The rule was originally scheduled to go into effect on Oct. 15, 2019, but implementation had been blocked by the lower courts.
This rule makes it highly unlikely that a legal immigrant can become a Legal Permanent Resident (aka "get a Green Card") if they have used non-emergency Medicaid, SNAP, or federal housing benefits in the past three years, or are considered likely to use them in the future. Visit the NACHC webpage for resources to assist you and your patients in understanding and responding to the Public Charge rule. Read more here.
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Please join WVPCA in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, March 18 during the NACHC Policy & Issues Forum (P&I) as we meet with the West Virginia congressional delegation to advocate for health centers and the people who count on you for access to care. We will need to again secure federal appropriations in the upcoming federal fiscal year to avoid an interruption in 330-grant funding. It is critical for health center needs to be heard in Washington and heard early so we don't get overlooked. We need to educate our Members of Congress on the value primary care centers offer and the need to protect this federal investment in access to quality affordable primary health care. "Hill Day" for health center legislative visits will be on Wednesday, March 18. The full schedule, registration and other information can be found on the
NACHC 2020 P&I Website.
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CDC: Flu Has Killed 10,000 This Season
Flu activity continued to rise in the week ending Jan. 25, according to the CDC's most recent FluView
report
.
Three things to know:
1. The CDC estimates flu has caused 19 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths this season.
2. Forty-one states experienced high flu-like illness activity, up from 35 states a week prior. Seven states experienced moderate activity, and Delaware and Idaho had insufficient data to calculate activity.
3. The CDC confirmed 14 additional pediatric flu deaths, bringing the total to 68 for the 2019-2020 season.
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2020 Poverty Guidelines Now Available
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The Federal Register notice for the 2020 Poverty Guidelines was published last week. These guidelines are used to determine financial eligibility for certain federal programs. Programs using the guideslines include: Head Starts, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the National School Lunch Program, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP), and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
View the updated Federal Poverty Level (FPL) guideline here. Make sure to update your sliding fee scales with the current federal poverty guidelines.
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New Telehealth PAL Released
It also clarifies how to document telehealth within the scope of project. It does not establish new scope of project policy and is consistent with current scope policy as outlined in
Policy Information Notice 2008-01
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Upcoming National Training Opportunities
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Webinar:
Using Health IT to Facilitate the
Development and Administration
of a PrEP Program
Hear from Your Peers! The HITEQ Center is launching a new webinar series for health centers to learn how their health center peers are using health IT to improve HIV prevention and care. For the first webinar, Using Health IT to Facilitate the Development and Administration of a PrEP Program, Robert Harris from the Community Health Center of Buffalo, Inc. will describe their whole system approach to develop an IT-supported PrEP program. Robert will present how they developed a viable and sustainable PrEP program maximizing the use of IT resources. He will describe the IT components to support the program which consisted of structured field algorithms, custom reporting, and process automation through the use of a clinical rules engine as well as lessons learned for PrEP program implementation and sustainability.
Using Health IT to Facilitate the
Development and Administration
of a
PrEP Program
Tuesday, February 18|
3 - 4:00 PM ET
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Webinar: Special Enrollment
and Marketplace Appeals
Health Reform Beyond the Basics, sponsored by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, will host two important webinars for enrollment assisters. The Special Enrollment Periods webinar will cover the circumstances that trigger a special enrollment period and the timing of coverage effective dates for different triggering events. This webinar will be Thursday, Feb. 6, 2:00 pm. Presented in partnership with the National Health Law Program, the Marketplace Appeals Process webinar will provide information on Marketplace appeals, detailing what decisions can be appealed, how to file an appeal, and ways to expedite the appeal process.
Special Enrollment
and Marketplace Appeals
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 | 2:00 PM
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Community Health Center Resources
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Jackson Kelly attorneys provide limited consultation to all members of the WVPCA at no charge, as part of the WVPCA contract. There is no limit to the number of calls which any member may make. All inquiries within the scope of professional competence of firm attorneys will be addressed. Inquiries which require expertise not available through the firm will be promptly identified and, when requested, Jackson Kelly will assist in referring the matter to accounting firms, insurance agents, or others as circumstances warrant.
All inquiries, responses and consultation services provided by the firm lawyers will be provided without additional charge beyond the retainer amount, except for matters which require formal opinions, representation of record in litigation, transactional work, e.g. the purchase or sale of real property, or matters which require continued representation, research or consultation beyond a single inquiry or document review.
Justin M. Harrison is a labor & employment lawyer with Jackson Kelly PLLC. He is available for consultation through a special retainer relationship with the WVPCA.
Justin can be reached at 304.340.1358 and via email at justin.harrison@jacksonkelly.com.
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Risk Management Manual for Health Centers Now Available!
The
Risk Management Manual for Health Centers is now available on the ECRI Institute Clinical Risk Management Program website! Designed to support a proactive approach to risk management at health centers and free clinics, the Manual provides background, tips, and how-tos in a manageable format.
Specific areas that are covered include:
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Risk Management Programs & Plans
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Claims and Lawsuits
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Role of the Risk Manager
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Patient Grievances and Complaints
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Communication with Patients
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Credentialing and Privileging
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Communication among Providers, Staff, and Community Partners
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Tracking Systems for Diagnostic Tests, Referrals, and Hospitalizations
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ECRI Institute
The
ECRI Institute
offers numerous policy templates that can be used as guidance consistent with the needs of community health centers. To take a look at their library of policy templates, click
here
.
If you are not an ECRI member, creating a free account before accessing these materials is required. ECRI Institute resources are provided for free on behalf of HRSA.
To Access Policies:
- From the main page, click on the clinical risk management link on the left hand side of the page
- Click sample policies and tools listed under tool-kits on left side of page
Click on the + sign to access individual templates.
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WVPCA Staff
Debra Boyd | Chief Financial/Chief Operations Officer
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To sign up to receive the WVPCA Weekly Newsletter, click
HERE
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West Virginia Primary Care Association
1700 MacCorkle Ave. Charleston, WV 25314| (304) 346-0032 |
WWW.WVPCA.ORG
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