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. 

January 21, 2020 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

 

Please join the West Virginia Primary Care Association (WVPCA), along with Julie Jackson from the WV Dept. of Oral Health to learn more about the seriousness of vaping and it's impact on our adolescents. Vaping is becoming an increasing epidemic among teens. In 2018, e-cigarette use nearly doubled in high school students. 

 

Vaping is the act of inhaling and exhaling the aerosol, often referred to as vapor, which is produced by an e-cigarette or similar device. The term is used because e-cigarettes do not produce tobacco smoke, but rather an aerosol, often mistaken for water vapor, that actually consists of fine particles. Many of these particles contain varying amounts of toxic chemicals, which have been linked to heart and respiratory diseases and cancer.  Many teens have dangerous misconceptions that lead them to believe that vaping is harmless.

 

Join us for an hour long webinar that will provide a clear understanding of the challenges, dangers and information needed for support our students in making good choices.  Registration for this webinar can be found  here.

 

CEUs available for nursing, social work and dental.

 

After this webinar, participants will:

 

Target Audience: Medical providers, Nurses, Behavioral Health providers, Dental Hygienists

Supervision Training

Peer recovery is an individualized journey that offers a unique perspective and understanding of the difficulties associated with substance use disorder and its impact. Peer Recovery Support Specialists (PRSS) are an essential component to the Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) Continuum of Care. This training is on Best Practices of Peer Supervision and will benefit treatment and other facilities who employ Peer Recovery Support Specialists.

 

This event is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration State Opioid Response Grant and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Behavioral Health.

 

There is no cost to attend. Space is limited so be sure to register early!

The WVHAMP program is based on the KHAMP program to train and educate rural physicians on treating Hep-C patients without a specialist. We met with WV Medicaid representatives and the Fibrosis level has been reduced to 0, so that Medicaid will now pay for the treatment of these patients by a local physician. The training will go through treatment, medications, billing and how to access cheaper medications from the pharmaceutical companies. We also know that Hep-C is becoming an epidemic in WV and is spreading quickest in young rural males ages 19-39 and pregnant women.

 

The training's are free and we will provide the physician with a room if they want. Additionally, we encourage clinics, practices', and hospitals to send a team to the training consisting of physicians, pharmacists and nurse practitioners, if possible. 

 

We have tentatively schedule the next WVHAMP training on May 5, 2020 in Huntington, then October 13, 2020 in Morgantown and December 3, 2020 in Flatwoods. We are also hosting a 1/2 day Hep-C training on July 28, 2020 in Beckley and February 16, 2021 in Flatwoods.

Updated Annual Reporting Requirements

Please be aware that NCQA updated the Annual Reporting Requirements on December 16, 2019.

The updated 2020 Annual Reporting requirements can be found on the WVPCA PCMH webpage at here.

Please note: There are no new requirements. Modifications were based on feedback and questions to help clarify guidance, provide resources and refine criteria expectations.

See below for an overview of the updates:

• Clarified language in the Manual Reporting Option method for practices that cannot run automated reports, adding an example. Added information in the notes to clarify expectations.
• Clarified expectations for assessing current access methods in the notes to help distinguish between AR-AC 1 and PCMH QI 04A and ensure that practices prioritize assessing appointments. 
• Modified language for each question. Added a note to question 1 regarding attestation. Clarified the question 2 note to state that practices only need to select 1 or 2 options. 
• Revised the title from "Additional Quality Measures" to "Resource Stewardship Measures."
• Revised the language in Item F to require 1 measure rather than 2 measures. 

  If you have any questions, please contact Shannon Parker at shannon.parker@wvpca.org or Emma White at emma.white@wvpca.org .

Updated Fact Sheeet:  Safer Use of Opioid Pain Medication

Here is an updated CMS fact sheet that educated Medicare participants about pharmacy processes relating to opioid prescriptions  and drug management programs.  Other resources are available  on CMS' Reducing Opioid Misuse site.

Financial News:   USF-425 and FFR Reporting Consolidated into PMS

C urrently, many HHS grant recipients report expenditure information using multiple systems. To make things easier for you, and us, PMS will combine SF-425 and FFR reporting.

To ensure a smooth transition, in the coming months we will provide more information about this change in reporting, including future training dates. Stay tuned for more information.

American Diabetes Association Releases the 2020 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes 

Updated annually to provide the up-to-date, evidence-based guidelines for the prevention and management of diabetes, the 2020 Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes is the go-to resource for diabetes screening, prevention, and management. A version of the standards, Abridged for Primary Care Providers, offers criteria for diabetes screening and guidelines for treatment of special populations that include older adults, pediatric patients, and pregnant and post-partum women. The standards are now also available in an app in the Google Play and Apple iOS stores.

The "2019 Update to: Management of Hyperglycemia in Type 2 Diabetes, 2018. A Consensus Report by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD)" serves as a companion to the standards. It incorporates updates on the management of hyperglycemia based on the findings of a trial that looked at atherosclerotic related comorbidities.

"Nutrition Therapy for Adults with Diabetes or Prediabetes: A Consensus Report" provides recommendations for the utilization of nutrition to modify diabetes risk and improve diabetes control.

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