Public Health in Indian Country Capacity Scan
Oct 19, 2018 - The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) announced the Public Health in Indian Country Capacity Scan (PHICCS), an effort to increase the knowledge of Tribal and federal health leaders and advocates through the creation and dissemination of a national-level, comprehensive profile of the public health system and infrastructure in Indian Country. To support this work, NIHB is requesting 261 Tribal health directors from Tribal health departments/entities representing 573 federally-recognized tribes from 35 states to participate. To learn more and to receive instructions on completing the well-based scan, join the pre-launch webinar on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.
Source: National Indian Health Board
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The Drive To Quality And Access In Rural Health
Oct 17, 2018 - Focuses on the role quality measurement plays for rural participation in quality improvement initiatives and the relationship between access to care and quality in rural areas. Features the efforts of the National Quality Forum's Measure Applications Partnership Rural Health Workgroup, which recently identified a core set of quality measures to help address the unique needs of rural providers.
Source: Health Affairs Blog
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CMS Announces Participants in New Value-Based Bundled Payment Model
Oct 9, 2018 - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announcement of healthcare organizations that are participating in the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement - Advanced (BPCI Advanced) Model. The model focuses on providing high quality care with less cost and allows participating entities to earn additional payments if all expenses for an individual beneficiary's care are less than a predetermined spending target. If the cost of care exceeds the target, the entity must repay money to Medicare. Also includes the evaluation report for Models 2-4 of the original BPCI model.
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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CMS Accelerates Innovation and Promotes Patient Access to Medical Technology
Oct 5, 2018 - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a revision to Medicare's Program Integrity Manual which changes the way contractors decide which technologies are covered. This change is in response to the 21st Century Cures Act's requirement for more transparency around local coverage determinations and aims to simplify the process so patients have access to therapies and devices more quickly.
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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AHRQ: Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request Federal Register
Oct 4, 2018 - Announcement from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) allowing for an additional 30 day comment period on an information collection related to the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Clinician and Group Survey Database. The Database contains data from AHRQ's standardized surveys which measure patient experiences with physicians and staff in healthcare practices. The first comment period, opened on July 16, 2018, did not receive any substantive comments. New comments are due by November 5, 2018.
Source: Federal Register
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A Conversation with Ray Rogers
Oct 2, 2018 - Radio interview with Ray Rogers, the CEO for the National Center for Health Care Informatics (NCHCI) and the Praxis Center for Innovative Learning in Montana. Discussion includes the creation and the work of the NCHCI and the development of the Praxis Center, which is intended to provide simulation training opportunities to rural providers, among other things.
Source: Rural Health Leadership Radio
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Better Data Will Serve as the Foundation in Modernizing the Medicaid Program
Oct 2, 2018 - Blog post for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) by CMS Administrator Seema Verma. Discusses how improved collection and use of data on Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will allow CMS to improve health outcomes as well as program integrity.
Source: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Blog
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Medicare Eases Up On Readmissions Penalties For Hospitals Serving The Poor
Sep 26, 2018 - Discusses changes to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) readmission penalties for hospitals serving large populations of low-income patients. Under this change, the penalties for these hospitals are expected to decrease, while readmission penalties for hospitals serving wealthier populations are expected to increase.
Source: NPR
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2019 Eligible Hospital eCQM Flows are Available Now
Sep 25, 2018 - Discusses the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) 2019 electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) flows for eligible hospitals, which have been published to the eCQI Resource Center. This includes a guide to help users understand the flows.
Source: eCQI Resource Center
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State Snapshots Provide a Fresh Look at State-Specific Health Care Quality Trends
Sep 24, 2018 - Blog post from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on its release of its 2017 State Snapshots, which provide detailed analyses of how each state and the District of Columbia is performing in areas of healthcare quality. Also touches on the 2017 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR) which was also released today and from which the data in the State Snapshots is taken.
Source: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
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