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NCHN eNews
May 15, 2012
This issue's highlights:
  • NCHN News: 2012 Network Leaders Salary & Benefit Survey closes May 25th
  • Member News: RWHC's Eye on Health - June 2012 issue - is online
  • National News: HHS finalizes new rules to cut regulations for hospitals and health care providers, saving more than $5 billion
  • National News: Nominations Sought for HIT Policy Committee

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NCHN NEWS

MEMBER BLURBS

PARTNER BLURBS

UPCOMING EVENTS

NATIONAL NEWS

FUNDING

NCHN NEWS FacebookTwitterLinkedIn

Coffee/Tea Chats with Dr. Chess

The first Coffee/Tea Chat of the 2012 Series will be on Wednesday, May 16 at 12:00 PM ET.   Members should watch their email boxes for a Save the Date with the call-in details. 

2012 NCHN Network Leaders Salary & Benefit Survey

2012 NCHN Network Leaders Salary & Benefit Survey is open until May 25, if you haven’t completed the survey, please do so today.  If you did not receive the email with the details and link to the survey, please let Rebecca know.

2012 NCHN Committees

2012 NCHN Committees are forming and a meeting schedule is being developed.  Each member should have received an email with a listing of committees and members.  If you did not receive the email, please let Rebecca know.  Also, if you are interested in serving on a committee and have not signed up, please contact Rebecca and do so today! Committees will begin meeting in June. 

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      from BrainBoggled.com

Two American coins add up to thirty cents, but one of them is not a nickel. What coins are they?

» VIEW THE ANSWER

Upcoming NCHN Calls & Events

Coffee/Tea Chat with Dr. Mary Kay Chess
Wednesday, May 16 at 12:00 PM ET

2012 Network Leader Salary & Benefit Survey
closes on Friday, May 25, 2012 - if you have not received the link to the survey, contact Rebecca

RHNR Consulting Task Force Call
Wednesday, May 30 @ 12:00 PM ET

Program Development Committee Call
Tuesday, June 19 @ 12:00 PM ET

» VIEW THE NCHN CALENDAR

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MEMBER BLURBS  

Member Newsletters

  • Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative's Eye on Health (June 2012 issue), "Review & Commentary on Health Policy Issues for a Rural Perspective," is available online (pdf)

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PARTNER BLURBS  

White House Highlights VCOM Graduate Dr. John Casey as Affordable Care Act “Champion of Change”

March 21, 2012 - March 21st, the White House will honor Dr. John Casey as one of ten Champions of Change who are dedicated to improving access to health care. These individuals are helping others in their community understand the impact and opportunities from the health care law, the Affordable Care Act.

“The President's health law gives hard working, middle-class families the security they deserve.  The Affordable Care Act forces insurance companies to play by the rules, prohibiting them from dropping your coverage if you get sick, billing you into bankruptcy through annual or lifetime limits, and, soon, discriminating against anyone with a pre-existing condition,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Thanks to the people attending today’s event, Americans across the country are learning more about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act and getting the health care they need.”  

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UPCOMING EVENTS  

Hospital & Hospital Quality Open Door Forum
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Conference Call: May 16, 2012 @ 2:00 PM ET
Dial: 800.837.1935
Conference ID: 52256597

» MORE INFORMATION

Measuring the Success of the Patient-Centered Medical Home
The Commonwealth Fund

Webinar: May 16, 2012 @ 3:00 PM ET

Purpose: To promote shared learning from the large number of medical home pilots and evaluations under way, The Commonwealth Fund established the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Evaluators’ Collaborative in 2009.

» MORE INFORMATION

Implementing Care Coordination within the PCMH Model

Webinar: May 17, 2012 | 1:30 - 3:00 PM EDT

Improved care coordination is a critical success factor for medical homes. In this webinar, we’ll review models and effective implementation practices. In addition, we’ll take a close look at Geisinger’s team approach to achieving improved care across the continuum and how it’s program, established in 2006, improves quality and reduces total cost of care.

» MORE INFORMATION

Telehealth in Beacon Communities
Telehealth Resource Centers

Webinar: May 17, 2012 @ 2:00 PM ET

The TRC Webinar Series provides timely information and demonstrations to support and guide the development of your telehealth program by experienced telehealth professionals from the HRSA-designated Telehealth Resource Centers (TRCs).

» MORE INFORMATION

HRSA Health IT and Quality Webinars

Using Health IT for Care Coordination Across Inpatient and Outpatient Settings
May 18, 2012 @ 2:00 PM

» MORE INFORMATION

Rural Health Open Door Forum
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Conference Call: June 12, 2012 @ 2:00 PM ET
Dial: 800.837.1935
Conference ID: 52260523

» MORE INFORMATION

National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services

June 18 - 20, 2012
Kansas City, MO

The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services provides counsel and recommendations to the Secretary with respect to the delivery, research, development, and administration of health and human services in rural areas.

Persons interested in attending any portion of the meeting should contact Aaron Wingad at the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) via telephone at (301) 443-0835 or by email at awingad@hrsa.gov. The Committee meeting agenda will be posted on ORHP's Web site http://www.hrsa.gov/advisorycommittees/rural/.

» MORE INFORMATION

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NATIONAL NEWS  

HHS finalizes new rules to cut regulations for hospitals and health care providers, saving more than $5 billion

May 10, 2012 (HHS News Release) - Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced significant steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and health care providers. These steps will help achieve the key goal of President Obama’s regulatory reform initiative to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and save nearly $1.1 billion across the health care system in the first year and more than $5 billion over five years.

“We are cutting red tape and improving health care for all Americans,” said Secretary Sebelius. “Now it will be easier for health care providers to do their jobs and deliver quality care.”

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ONC Seeks Public Comment on RFI on Governance of the Nationwide Health Information Network
by Jodi G. Daniel

May 11, 2012 (HealthIT Buzz Blog) - The release today of the Request for Information (RFI) on Governance of the Nationwide Health Information Network is a critical step toward enabling trusted and interoperable electronic health information exchange (electronic exchange) nationwide. A common set of “rules of the road” for privacy, security, business and technical requirements will help lay the necessary foundation to enable our nation’s electronic health information exchange capacity to grow. It can also help achieve the Administration’s vision for an electronically connected health system for the 21st Century that delivers efficient and quality health care for all Americans.

» CONTINUE READING

GAO Seeking Nominations to HIT Policy Committee

May 12, 2012 (ONC Health IT email) - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is now seeking nominations to fill a consumer/patient advocate vacancy on the Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee. Nominations must be submitted to GAO by May 25, 2012. Please refer to the Federal Register Notice for more details.

Background:
The HIT Policy Committee was established under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 (ARRA)(P.L. 111-5), section 13101, new Section 3002. It is charged with recommending to the National Coordinator for Health IT a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health IT infrastructure that enables the electronic exchange and use of health information as is consistent with the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, and that includes recommendations in the areas in which input is needed, such as standards, implementation, specifications, and certification criteria.

HIT Policy Committee members are appointed in the following manner: 3 individuals appointed by the Secretary of HHS, 4 members appointed by Congress, 13 members appointed by the Comptroller General of the United States, and other federal members appointed by the President. This vacancy is occurring under the Comptroller General’s appointing authority.

» MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES

Active Recruitment Pays Off for Small Town Clinics
by Candi Helseth

Spring 2012 (The Rural Monitor) - Like many other rural health care administrators nationwide, Nadine Boe and Jim Potvin really work two jobs—in addition to managing the day-to-day operations of their North Dakota clinics, Boe and Potvin spend an inordinate amount of work time engaged in “active recruitment” methods to fill primary care positions.

Active recruitment involves a multi-dimensional process that links providers and rural communities with a concerted effort going toward making a good, lasting match, according to Tom Morris, Associate Administrator at the Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP).

» CONTINUE READING

Vets Attracted to Rural Counties, Smaller Cities
by Bill Bishop

May 14, 2012 (The Daily Yonder) - Military veterans disproportionately live in rural and exurban communities. And vets who live in cities are much more likely to live in smaller urban areas, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census.

Military veterans are least likely to live in the centers of the nation’s financial, political and media power — New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. Those areas have among the lowest percentage of veterans in the population of any of the nation’s communities.

» CONTINUE READING

Research shows telemonitoring helps control blood pressure
by Bernie Monegain

May 10, 2012 (HealthcareIT News) -Patients receiving telemonitoring along with high blood pressure management support from a pharmacist were more likely to lower their blood pressure than those without the support, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2012.

» CONTINUE READING

Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Pilot Program Receives Positive Reviews
by David Lee

May 10, 2012 (Rural Health Voices) - The Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) released a study today outlining the positive accomplishments of the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic (FESC) Pilot Program.  A FESC facility is a “is a geographically isolated medical clinic designed to provide primary, emergency, and extended-stay care 24 hours per day when hospital services are not readily available.”  Pilot sights existed in isolated areas of Alaska and Washington.

» CONTINUE READING

Hospitals join forces to manage medical records
by Melissa Miller

May 14, 2012 (Southeast Missourian) - Two hospitals that once viewed each other as competition have come together to meet new federal mandates for electronic medical records.

SoutheastHEALTH and Missouri Delta Medical Center in Sikeston, Mo., formed a new company, Servir, to build and manage a common networking and data storage center for both organizations. They're currently seeking other medical providers to partner with them for data storage as well.

» CONTINUE READING

White House Rural Council: Rural Stakeholders Meeting
by Doug McKalip

May 11, 2012 (whitehouse.gov) - On Tuesday, May 1st, the White House Rural Council, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, hosted a group of 24 rural health care providers and experts to discuss issues around access to care and improving health outcomes in rural communities.

Rural physicians, nurses, mental hospital administrators, and rural health associations from across the country gathered to discuss a range of rural health issues--from the need to expand broadband to support telehealth services in California, to ways to improve health outcomes by focusing on nutrition and healthy living choices in Ohio.

» CONTINUE READING

CMS releases final CoP, regulatory burden reduction rules

May 10, 2012 (AHANewsNow) - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today released a final regulation to revise the existing Conditions of Participation for hospitals and critical access hospitals, as well as a final rule that addresses more than two dozen regulatory requirements for a broader range of providers, including hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, end-stage renal disease facilities and durable medical equipment suppliers. Together, CMS says the rules aim to promote efficiency and transparency, and to reduce health care providers' overall regulatory burden

» CONTINUE READING

Health Care Law Increases Payments to Doctors for Primary Care

May 10, 2012 (RAConline.org) - Primary Care Providers Received Additional Medicare Payments in 2011; Will Receive Boost in Medicaid Funding in 2013 and 2014

Primary care physicians serving Medicaid patients would see their Medicaid payments rise under a proposed rule announced today by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  Through the Affordable Care Act, the increase would bring Medicaid primary care service fees in line with those paid by Medicare. The boost would be in effect for calendar years (CY) 2013 and 2014. States would receive a total of more than $11 billion in new funds to bolster their Medicaid primary care delivery systems.

» CONTINUE READING

Height, weight — BMI? Doctors urged to treat body mass index as a vital sign
by Judith Graham

May 12, 2012 (The Washington Post) - Doctors assess patients’ breathing, heart rate and blood pressure routinely at office visits. Soon, they may be adding body mass index to that list.

Tracking this measure — an indicator of whether someone is obese or overweight — at medical checkups as if it were a vital sign is among a new set of strategies recommended for battling obesity, which some experts predict will affect 42 percent of adults by 2030.

» CONTINUE READING

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FUNDING  

SAMHSA is Accepting Applications for Up to $35 Million in Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration Grants

May 7, 2012 (RAConline.org) - The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to $35.78 million in Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PBHCI) grants over the next four years. The purpose of this program is providing for the provision of coordinated and integrated services by co-locating primary and specialty care medical services in community-based mental and behavioral health settings. The goal is to improve the physical health status of adults with serious mental illnesses (SMI) who have or are at risk for co-occurring primary care conditions and chronic diseases. The objective of this program is to: improve the health of those with SMI, enhance the consumer’s experience of care (including quality, access, and reliability), and reduce and control the per capita cost of care.

Applications due: June 8, 2012

» CONTINUE READING

Rural Health Initiative Grants
OffSite Image Management Solutions

Applications accepted on an ongoing basis

OffSite Image Management Systems (OIMS), based out of Kansas City, is launching the Rural Health Initiative, in which select rural hospitals, across the nation, will receive the technology needed to safely store, transfer, and exchange critical patient information with other healthcare providers within the respected region.

Amount: $500,000 in technology, software and support

» MORE INFORMATION

Small Research Grant to Improve Health Care Quality through Health Information Technology
Agency for Health Care Research and Quality

Deadline: November 16, 2012

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support a wide variety of research designs in order to improve the quality, safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care through the implementation and use of health IT. These designs include: small pilot and feasibility or self-contained health IT research projects; secondary data analysis of health IT research; and economic (prospective or retrospective) analyses of health IT implementation and use. Through economic analyses estimates of health IT implementation and use costs and benefits will be generated.

» MORE INFORMATION

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