In this issue
Hospital
spotlight: RARE Campaign prevents 6,211 avoidable hospital readmissions
A broad-based coalition of hospitals and care providers
participating in the RARE Campaign—Reducing Avoidable Readmissions
Effectively—have prevented 6,211 avoidable readmissions through second quarter
2013. The RARE Campaign involves 83 hospitals and 93 community partners across
Minnesota and is one of the largest coordinated improvement initiatives
undertaken by the Minnesota health care community. These results are attributed
to participants in the campaign honing their work on five key areas that, if
not managed well, are known to be main contributors to avoidable hospital
readmissions:
- Comprehensive discharge planning
- Medication management
- Patient and family engagement
- Transition care support
- Transition communications
The RARE Campaign was recently honored with a Gold Award of
Excellence, the top prize in its category, from the Minnesota Health Strategies
and Communications Network (MHSCN). The MHSCN Awards of Excellence recognize
excellence in health care marketing, communications, web-based strategies and
public relations. return to top
Gov.
Dayton proclaims Nov. 21 National Rural Health Day
Thursday, Nov. 21 is
National Rural Health Day, a day to highlight the unique health care challenges
and opportunities in rural areas. In his proclamation, Gov. Dayton recognized
that rural hospitals and health systems are often the largest employers and the
core economic foundation of rural communities. For ideas on celebrating
National Rural Health Day, visit the Minnesota Department of Health Office of Rural Health and Primary Care website. You’ll also find recognition and celebration
examples from last year.
Free webinars will be offered throughout the day. Topics include “The
Affordable Care Act in Rural America” and “Rural 101 — The Basics of Rural
Health.” Find the full schedule on the National Rural Health Day webinars page. return to top
Raise
awareness of preventing pressure ulcers on Nov. 21
Hospitals are invited to join the National Pressure Ulcer
Advisory Panel (NPUAP) in promoting World Wide Pressure Ulcer Prevention Day on
Thursday, Nov. 21. NPUAP encourages health care providers, patients, families,
businesses, public and private agencies, media and educational institutions to
increase awareness of pressure ulcers and to participate in pressure ulcer
awareness activities throughout the week. Learn more about safe skin practices
with MHA’s Road Map to a Comprehensive Skin Safety Program.
return to top
MHA
applauds Congressional interest in pay-for-value
A bipartisan group of congressional leaders from key committees
in both the House and Senate issued a “discussion draft” outlining the framework for
legislation to repeal the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) cuts to Medicare
physician payments. The discussion draft included a proposal to move Medicare’s
physician payment system away from its current fee-for-service (FFS) design and
toward methodologies that reimburse providers based on the value of services
they deliver as measured by quality, patient satisfaction and cost.
MHA’s comment letter commended the
policymakers for heeding the association’s long-standing call for Medicare
payment reforms that reward high-quality, low-cost care delivery systems, like
those in Minnesota. While expressing strong support for permanently repealing
the SGR cuts to physician payments, MHA withheld its “unfettered support
pending further information about how the costs associated with SGR repeal will
be addressed.” In particular, MHA emphasized its opposition to additional cuts
to hospitals, rural health or the critical access hospital programs, graduate
medical education or Medicaid as mechanisms for financing the SGR repeal.
Lawrence Massa, MHA president and CEO, said that the discussion draft is
“encouraging on multiple levels. It’s bipartisan and bi-cameral, so it might
have a real chance of getting enacted. It shifts away from Congress’s
historical approach of just kicking the SGR deadline down the road rather than
facing the fact that SGR is a failed policy. And,” Massa continued, “it offers
the promise of a dramatic step toward one of our highest priorities for federal
health reform: moving away from pay-for-volume and toward paying for value in
health care.”
For more information, contact Matt Anderson, MHA vice president of
regulatory and strategic affairs, 651-659-1421. return to top
MHA
provides members with direct supervision tool kit
MHA released a new tool for its members seeking to better
understand and adapt to Medicare’s new policy requiring direct supervision of
outpatient therapeutic services delivered in a hospital. Although the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) claims that the new policy is merely a
clarification of long-standing requirements, the agency has agreed to a
moratorium on enforcing the policy through 2013. Although CMS has not issued
its final outpatient payment rule for 2014, its 2013 final rule and its
proposed rule for 2014 both stated that CMS intends to end the moratorium.
The whitepaper provides a detailed flow chart to
help hospital staff walk through the various elements of the direct supervision
standard to determine if it applies to a particular service and, if so, what
kind of staffing is required by Medicare.
MHA and the American Hospital Association continue to seek congressional and
regulatory interventions to change the direct supervision standard to a more
practical, real-world approach that protects patient safety while recognizing the
need for hospitals to innovate how care teams provide services to patients, or
in the alternative, to extend the moratorium on enforcement that has been in
place for several years.
In the meantime, MHA believes the whitepaper will help Minnesota hospitals
adapt to the new standard if necessary.
For more information, contact Matt Anderson, MHA vice president of
regulatory and strategic affairs, 651-659-1421. return to top
MNsure’s
lowest premiums paired with nation’s highest deductibles
As state and federal health insurance exchanges released the
premium rates for their qualified health plans in September, Minnesota claimed
bragging rights for having the lowest average premium costs in the country. A recent report from the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Breakaway Policy Strategies looked
beyond premium rates and compared health plans’ deductibles. According to the
report, Minnesota’s low premium rates for consumers come with the highest
average deductibles in the country.
Higher deductibles present a challenge for providers when patients cannot
afford their out-of-pocket costs for needed care. Minnesota’s hospitals and
health systems have seen a greater portion of their uncompensated care expenses
coming from insured patients with high deductibles.
At this time, MNsure has not provided detailed statistics about the plans
consumers are selecting, the size of their deductibles, or other information
that will allow providers to assess the impacts that the state’s new health
insurance exchange will have on residents’ medical and financial health.
For more information about MNsure, contact Matt Anderson, MHA vice president of regulatory and strategic affairs,
651-659-1421. return to top
Applicants
sought for Minnesota EHR Revolving Loan Program
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is seeking applications
for the Minnesota Electronic Health Record (EHR) Revolving Loan Program to support expanded adoption and
effective use of interoperable EHR systems and electronic health information
exchange (HIE).
Eligible applicants include federally qualified health centers, community
clinics, nonprofit or local units of government hospitals, individual or small
group physician practices focused on primary care, nursing facilities and local
public health departments. In addition, other providers of health or health
care services where interoperable EHR capability would improve quality of care,
patient safety or community health may be eligible. Priority applicants include
critical access hospitals; federally qualified health centers; entities that
serve uninsured, underinsured and medically underserved individuals (urban or
rural); individual or small group practices that are focused on primary care;
nursing facilities and elderly waiver facilities.
The total EHR Loan Program funding is estimated at $2.5 million. The
no-interest loan is for a six-year period beginning after loan fund
disbursement, with the first year deferred. Between five and 15 loans will be
approved with an estimated award range between $100,000 and $500,000.
More information on the program and the full application is available here. Applications
are due Dec. 19. Contact Anne Schloegel, 651-201-3850, with any
questions. return to top
2014
Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) factors released
The Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the factors that impact Medicare payment for
Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals on Nov. 14. These factors are used
to adjusted PPS hospital payments beginning with Oct. 1, 2013 claims. The VBP
program is in its second year. The program is funded by an upfront
reduction to hospital payments of 1.25 percent and distributed back to
hospitals based on their consolidated VBP score.
The VBP program for 2014 is composed of three quality domains consisting of 13
process measures, eight consumer engagement (patient satisfaction) measures and
three outcome measures of mortality. The impact to Minnesota hospitals
is: half were positive, meaning they earned back their 1.25 percent or more;
half did not earn back their full contribution; and eight did not have adequate
measures counts to participate. For more information, contact Joe Schindler, MHA vice president of finance, 651-659-1415. return to top
MnSCU
begins drafting a statewide plan to increase number of mental health
professionals
The 2013 legislature required the Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities (MnSCU) system to convene a mental health summit and write a plan
to increase the number of mental health professionals working at all levels of
the mental health system (SF 1236). HealthForce, Minnesota’s Center of
Excellence focused on healthcare innovation, housed at MNSCU, is leading this
effort and convened the first steering committee meeting last week.
Specifically, HealthForce is charged with convening a summit involving the
Department of Human Services, MNSCU, University of Minnesota, private colleges,
mental health professionals, special education representatives, child and adult
mental health advocates and providers, and community mental health centers. The
purpose of the summit is to:
- Develop a comprehensive plan to
increase the number of qualified people working at all levels of our
mental health system;
- Ensure appropriate coursework
and training; and
- Create a more culturally
diverse mental health workforce.
Dr. Joel V. Oberstar, CEO & medical officer, PrairieCare,
Maple Grove and Kathe Dellacecca, LICSW, psychiatric service director, Lakewood
Health System, Staples are representing MHA on the steering committee.
The steering committee will meet once a month leading up to the summit in late
May 2014. The final plan is due to the Legislature by Jan. 15, 2015.
For more information, please contact Jennifer McNertney, MHA policy analyst, 651-659-1405. return to top
Trustee
Conference helps hospital trustees set goals and priorities to sustain high
performance
This year’s Winter Trustee Conference will feature a keynote
presentation from popular national speaker Quint Studer. In his presentation,
“The Role of a Trustee in Setting and Measuring Organizational Performance,”
Studer will focus on the trustee’s responsibility to assure patients receive
the highest quality of care; the medical staff is practicing in an environment
that is effective and efficient; and that the staff work in an organization
with a culture that promotes quality and safety. He will share information on
what metrics to follow and what excellence looks like. He will share the best
benchmarks to utilize as well as recommended steps in setting goals and
priorities to accelerate performance and sustain high performance.
Studer, is the founder of Studer Group, Inc. and a proponent of Evidence-Based
LeadershipSM (EBL). EBL creates a culture of execution that empowers
organizations to move quickly and effectively. He works with health care
organizations nationwide to implement EBL, many of which have won multiple
performance awards. Studer Group was the recipient of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award in
2010 and for six consecutive years—the last three being in the
top 10—was named one of the Best
Small and Medium Workplaces in the United States by Great Place to
Work®.
The Winter Trustee Conference takes place Jan. 10-12, 2014 at the Marriott
Northwest Minneapolis in Brooklyn Park. Click here to learn more about the conference sessions or to register. The cut-off date for accommodations
at the Marriott is Dec. 19 so be sure to make your reservations online at the Marriott website or by
calling 763-536-8300. Mention you are with the Minnesota Hospital Association
for the group rate. return to top
Honoring
Choices promotes advanced care planning this Thanksgiving
In its second annual
Thanksgiving campaign,
Honoring Choices Minnesota is promoting "Have the
Conversation." This campaign encourages all Minnesotans age 18 and
over to begin an end-of-life care planning conversation with their loved ones
during this Thanksgiving holiday season. For ideas on how your organization can
help encourage individuals and families to “Have the Conversation,” visit www.honoringchoices.org. return to top
Continuing
education opportunity for progressive care nurses
Winona State University is offering an online
preparation course for registered nurses working in progressive care nursing
units (telemetry, step-down, trauma) who are seeking PCCN certification, CNEs
or credit toward a RN-BSN degree. Please share this opportunity with your nurse
managers and ask them to share it with their staff. Learning activities will
address clinical hematology/immunology, neurology, gastrointestinal, renal,
multisystem and psychosocial/behavioral. The course explores concepts of
professional caring and ethical practice in nursing. The online class begins in
January 2014. For course and registration information, click here. return to top