Did you know that cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the United States? Over 928,741 deaths occurred from cardiovascular disease in 2020, according to an American Heart Association update. This health issue also impacts the U.S. economy - direct and indirect costs of cardiovascular disease were $407.3 billion between 2018-2019 ($251.4 billion in direct costs and $155.9 billion in lost productivity/mortality).

February is National Heart Healthy Month, providing an opportunity for providers to talk to patients about heart-related diseases and healthy lifestyles. Raising awareness about various heart conditions is important as patients being proactive about their health can improve and prevent conditions such as cardiovascular disease.

The Physician Alliance created some patient education materials related to heart health and healthy lifestyles. Practices can download, print and distribute to patients as needed.

• Accurately measuring blood pressure (for practices) poster
• Patient healthy lifestyle self management form (18 years and older)
• Patient heart failure self management goals form
• Tips for lowering & taking blood pressure (with patient tracking sheet) handout

Find more patient education materials here.

Tired of payors bothering you for information?

Closing diagnosis gaps for risk-based payor contracts and closing HEDIS or quality measures can be daunting tasks for many doctors and their staff. Getting the correct diagnosis codes on claims at the beginning of the year is a great way to complete these tasks before they become a chore at the end of the year. 

Register today for The Physician Alliance's Lunch with the Coder webinar to learn about proper diagnosis coding techniques. Participants will better understand:

• HCC/risk coding
• How exclusion codes, when properly billed, can substantially reduce physician and administrative burden

This TPA member-only education program is March 29, 2023 from 12-1pm. Click here for more details and to register.

Helping patients get comfortable managing long-term health conditions is critical to better quality of life and being compliant. The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan offers Personal Action Toward Health (PATH) workshops to help patients and caregivers better self-manage chronic disease.

PATH workshops are led by two trained leaders, with at least one having a long-term health condition. Participants learn strategies to deal with pain, fatigue, and difficult emotions, and create personal action plans to achieve practical goals.  

PATH programs are open to adults with chronic or ongoing health conditions, including:



• arthritis
• heart disease
• diabetes
• emphysema
• asthma
• kidney disease
• obesity
• depression

Family members, friends, and caregivers of someone with a chronic condition are also encouraged to attend.

A list of upcoming PATH workshops in Michigan is available here. Providers or patients can also complete an inquiry form to be contacted about a PATH workshop (scroll to bottom of webpage). Pre-registration for all workshops is required.

A new year is a great time to promote quality measures to patients to begin closing gaps in care. The Physician Alliance launched a campaign this week to raise awareness of several important health topics and encourage people to contact their doctors for appointments.

Target quality measures:

• Diabetes management
• Breast cancer and colorectcal cancer screenings
• Wellness exams

The campaign runs Feb. 13-March 17 and includes radio spots on WOMC 104.3FM and WWJ 950AM, plus digital streaming spots on Audacy.com channels (almost 2 million impressions total). All calls to action direct listeners to contact their doctor for appointment/learn more/schedule a screening (based on the spot).

Practices can also take advantage of complimentary patient education materials and quality measure toolkits to begin closing gaps in care.

The dangers of fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl, WDIV Ch. 4

COVID test kits, treatments and vaccines won't be free to many consumers much longer, NPR

Montana considers allowing physician assistants to practice independently, Kaiser Health News

40 million would lose abortion access if court blocks pill, study shows, Axios

A technicality could keep RSV shots from kids in need, Kaiser Health News

Study probes awareness of alcohol’s link to cancer, National Cancer Institute

Doctors are disappearing from emergency rooms as hospitals look to cut costs, NPR

Teen girls and LGBTQ+ youth plagued by violence and trauma, survey says, NPR