COIPA July Advocate
7/01/2020
In this issue:


  • URGENT ALERT: HHS Expected to Extend COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
  • Welcome COIPA's Newest Members
  • Credentialing Is Continuing To Go Paperless
  • Election for the newest COIPA Board of Directors
  • May 2020 Hospital Cap
  • Central Oregon Health Quality Alliance Update
  • 2019 QIM Final Performance - 100% payout plus Challenge Pooll!
  • OHA COVID Updates and Resources
  • Immunization Project ECHO webinar
  • New Physician Assistant Joins The Center Sports Medicine Team
  • Clinics Open & Here To Help
  • Staying Informed On COVID-19
  • CORD (Central Oregon Resource Directory): Central Oregon Health Council
  • Washington State Department Of Health
  • Oregon Health Authority
  • First Interstate Bank
  • Pacific Office Automation

 
URGENT ALERT: HHS Expected to Extend COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
A message from APG
Dear APG Members,

In a tweet sent out yesterday evening, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Spokesman Michael Caputo announced that the agency expects to extend the public health emergency due to COVID-19 before its expiration on July 25. The PHE was previously extended for 90 days in advance of its expiration in late April. If the coming extension is for another 90-day period, that would extend the PHE into late October.
The extension will allow for the continuation of the recent flexibilities and regulations aimed at providing financial relief and stability for healthcare providers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic including:
  • Expanding the list of services conducted by audio-only telephone between beneficiaries, their doctors, and other clinicians that are eligible for payment to include many behavioral health and patient education services
  • Increasing payments for telephone visits to match payments for similar office and outpatient visits, retroactive to March 1, 2020
  • Waiving the video requirement for certain telephone evaluation and management services and adding them to the list of Medicare telehealth services
  • Payment for Medicare telehealth services provided by rural health clinics and federally qualified health clinics
APG will share the official announcement of the public health emergency's extension once more details are made available. As the response to the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take shape, we will monitor any changes and provide up-to-date information as it arises.
Sincerely,
Valinda Rutledge
Senior Vice President of Federal Affairs
America's Physician Groups
June Members
Tannis J Bolton, PA
Mary C Farnsworth, NP
Jerome M Guanciale, DO
Nathan W Lynch, PA
Cody R Manriquez, PA
Philippa H Newell, MD
Jennifer K Rossi, MD
Karly Jane Rudy, PA
Pamela L Tornay, MD
 
New Integrated Behavioral Health Participants
Danielle K Carter, MSW
Grace L Lee, LCSW
Jessica L Mercer, LCSW

Credentialing is continuing to go paperless!

With that we would like to update our system with photos of each of our providers. A request will be coming out soon and we would greatly appreciate your assistance. This will not be a public photo, but everyone has submitted one in the past for initial credentialing. Please help us get our credentialing software up to date with each provider.
 
As always, if you have any practice updates please send them to credentialing@coipa.org. We look forward to seeing all of your happy faces.
THANK YOU, COIPA MEMBERS!
We want to take a moment to express our appreciation to our members for taking time out of their busy schedules to cast their vote for incumbent and new Board of Director candidates. 
 
We benefit from strong leadership on the Board of Directors, and we are grateful for the leadership of our exiting Directors who have served for the last six years. We sincerely appreciate your thoughtful leadership as COIPA continues to navigate the challenging healthcare environment!
 
Thank you to our exiting Directors:
 
Dale Svendsen, MD
Linda Hatch, FNP
Ray Lansing, MD
May 2020 Hospital Cap 
Keep a look out for the May 2020 Hospital Cap. The checks for the May OHP Hospital Cap ( Central Oregon only ) distribution are going out next week and will be arriving via USPS.  

Central Oregon Health Quality Alliance
Central Oregon Health Quality Alliance’s mission is to promote health for the benefit of the community by identifying and supporting healthcare innovation and collaboration to achieve improved quality, reduced cost, and improved patient experience. Over the last 7 years, COHQA has awarded $1.3 million in grants to 49 projects. The following are the grants awarded for 2020. We are excited about the work they are doing to improve health in our community .
   


2019 QIM Final Performance - 100% payout plus Challenge Pooll!
We are delighted to announce that, thanks to a fantastic effort by COIPA clinics, St. Charles, PacificSource, and behavioral health and dental providers, the Central Oregon CCO met 13 out of 18 OHP Quality Incentive Measures measures, including all challenge pool measures (CP), and will see a 100% payout for the 2019 year. 
  • Measures met: Adolescent Well Care, Childhood Immunizations (CP), Dental Sealants, Developmental Screening (CP), DHS Assessments (CP), Effective Contraceptive Use, Oral Evaluation for Diabetics, PCPCH Enrollment, Colorectal Cancer Screening, Timely Postpartum Care (CP), Cigarette Smoking Prevalence, Diabetic A1c Control, and Weight Assessment & Counseling
  • Measures missed: ED Utilization, ED Utilization (Mental Illness), Controlling High Blood Pressure, CAHPS - Access to Care (Adults), and CAHPS - Access to Care (Children)
Thank you everyone for your hard work on these measures!

2020 QIM Update 

COIPA clinics have been doing great work to ensure that QIM efforts do not fall too far behind during the COVID-19 pandemic, while keeping the safety of patients and staff paramount. However, we have seen a significant reduction in year-over-year rates for preventive care such as immunizations and we expect that trend to continue. OHA had already suspended the QIM withhold (from which the quality pool is now formed) as of March. and we anticipate that OHA will eliminate improvement targets for 2020 and make the dollars accumulated in the first quarter of 2020 contingent on a pay-for-reporting basis only. However, this is not final and no decision will be made before mid-July. COIPA will ensure you are notified as soon as OHA makes its final decision, as well as communicate any changes to the quality portions of our contract with PacificSource.

OHA COVID Updates and Resources
[ Updated: June 29, 2020]

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has updated the schedule for weekly provider updates. Important topics include detailed updates on COVID-19 epidemiology, public health strategies including surveillance and contact tracing, guidelines and PPE requirements for resuming regular patient care and other health services, and a range of frequently asked questions from Oregon’s providers.

COIPA strongly encourages all of our members to visit the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) Coronavirus information page frequently for news and updates on the pandemic and response in Oregon. On the site, OHA provides slides and recordings from the weekly Provider Update webinars.

Resource 1: OHA Coronavirus Information Page for Healthcare Providers at  http://www.healthoregon.org/coronavirushcp
 
Resource 2: OHA COVID-19 Webinar Series for Healthcare Providers (New webinar schedule and registration information)
               - OHA webinar flyer (current June 9, 2020):
Immunization Project ECHO webinar
Please join our vaccine catch-up webinar!   The Oregon Immunization Program in partnership with the Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network presents a webinar in the COVID ECHO webinar series on Thursday, July 9, 2020 from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. The webinar will equip you with new ideas for maximizing immunizations and making for up missed opportunities even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
 
To register, create a Connect user account HERE .  And then register for COVID ECHO in advance  HERE . Registration is preferred, and CME credits are only available with registration at least 24 hours before the event.
 
Or you can join at the time of the event by clicking HERE .  CME credits are not available if you join at the time of the event without registering at least 24 hours in advance.
NEW PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT JOINS THE CENTER SPORTS MEDICINE TEAM
BEND, OR (June 16, 2020) — The Center Orthopedic & Neurosurgical Care & Research is pleased to announce the most recent addition to their orthopedic team, Cody Manriquez, PA-C . Cody is a 2019 graduate of Saint Louis University’s Physician Assistant program and completed his orthopedic elective rotation at The Center working alongside their upper and lower extremity orthopedic teams. Before entering physician assistant school, Cody gained valuable experience working for The Center as a medical assistant responsible for coordinating their ALS and concussion clinics .

Cody enjoys the unique challenges and opportunities that come with being a provider. His previous experience working in various healthcare roles has allowed him to develop a diverse skill set that will greatly benefit his patients. As a native of Central Oregon, Cody is looking forward to serving the community he grew up in. He and his family take full advantage of Central Oregon’s outdoor lifestyle and enjoy doing various activities together, including camping, snowboarding, hiking, and paddle boarding

Cody’s combination of education, skills, and experience make him an excellent fit for The Center’s orthopedic team. He will be working closely with their sports medicine surgeons and looks forward to playing an active role in helping patients navigate through difficult injuries, and helping them get back to the things they love.


Clinics spreading the word that they are open, offering telehealth, and here for you.

COIPA created a PSA that has been airing in our community for the last few months, feel free to share this on your site to help spread awareness on telemedicine.

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Staying informed on COVID-19
The Department of Health for Washington has created a web page dedicated to keeping our community up to date and informed on the current state of COVID-19. Click the link below for the most current information.

Central Oregon Health Council has created a web page dedicated to keeping our community up to date and informed on the most impactful COVID-19 communications. Below is link to the new site.

Oregon Health Association has a dedicated site to keep you update on the pressing COVID-19 impacts. Below is a quick link to the site.

Clinics Needing Additional Funding During This Time

For our clinics needing information regarding obtaining a loan from First Interstate to assist with operations during the COVID-19 outbreak please reach out to:

Dawn Cofer
541-330-7555


The team at Pacific Office Automation can help with setting up at home workstations to help keep your office and staff going.

Sean Walsh
Doug Judish
541-388-1276

Mission
COIPA is committed to our members' success by:
  • Providing sustainable support services
  • Incentivizing quality care
  • Engaging individuals for improvement
  • Partnering with the community
We want to hear all of the exciting changes, new services, promotions, and events that our members have scheduled in 2020 and share it monthly in the Advocate.

To submit your announcements call or email Autumn Wilson