Author: dianawinder

AHRQ Safety Program for Telemedicine: Improving Antibiotic Use – June 2024

January 19, 2024

AHRQ Safety Program for Telemedicine: Improving Antibiotic Use – June 2024

The federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) seeks participants for a free, 18-month program beginning in June 2024 to promote appropriate antibiotic use for patients seen via telemedicine.

Two million infections per year are caused by antibiotic resistant organisms, leading to 35,000 deaths per year in the Untied States. Meanwhile, one-third of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions and half of the prescriptions for acute respiratory infections are unnecessary.

AHRQ is recruiting clinics and providers that want to improve antibiotic prescribing. Clinics and providers wanting to improve antibiotic prescribing will receive training and one-on-one expert coaching in diagnosis and treatment via telemedicine.

Benefits of Participation:

  • Improve efficiency and patient satisfaction with antibiotic prescribing, using approaches such as scripting for live and patient portal interactions
  • Perform better on antibiotic-related quality measures
  • Receive continuing education credits (CEUs), continuing medical education credits (CMEs), and American Board of Internal Medicine Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points through live and/or self-paced materials

What You Will Learn:

  • Learn evidence-based strategies from nationally renowned experts in telemedicine diagnosis and antibiotic prescribing
  • Gain dedicated access to free expert consultation
  • Providers can receive CMEs, CEUs, and MOCs
  • Improve efficiency, using approaches such as scripting for live and patient portal interactions
  • Improve patient safety and reduce harm from antibiotic side effects
  • Improve patient satisfaction and communication with your patients and their families around appropriate antibiotic use
  • Improve performance on antibiotic-related quality measures such as Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures for bronchitis/bronchiolitis, upper respiratory infections, and pharyngitis, and meet Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) criteria from CMS

The deadline to enroll is May 23, 2024

Cost: There is no cost to participate. Participating practices will not receive any payment for participation

Learn More

Call for Grant Reviewers

January 19, 2024

Call for Grant Reviewers

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) relies on grant reviewers to select the best programs from a competitive group of applicants. Over the coming months, the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) will be competing a number of programs, i8ncluding among other things:

  • Substance use disorders and opioid use disorder
  • Rural workforce
  • Rural hospital

Having reviewers with expertise in rural health greatly benefits the review process and is also an opportunity to learn about the review process itself.

Reviews are typically held remotely over a period of a few days and reviewers who participate and complete their assigned duties receive an honorarium.

Registration is easy and does not commit you to serving as a reviewer.

Please consider lending your expertise to these important initiatives.

Compensation: non-federal participants are compensated

Read More here

How you can become a reviewer:

  • If you work or have experience in health care, register via Reviewer Recruitment Module (RRM)
    • Need people with expertise in the following areas:
      • Behavioral health
      • Health workforce training
      • HIV/AIDS
      • Maternal and child health
      • Primary care delivery
      • Rural health
      • Working with or a member of underserved communities

Additional experience considered:

  • Diversity, equity, inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA)
  • Lived experience
  • Health equity
  • Social determinants of health

Questions: Please send an email to RRMTechAssistance@hrsa.gov

CDC Details Downward Mortality Trend for Older Adults (Before COVID-19)

January 19, 2024

CDC Details Downward Mortality Trend for Older Adults (Before COVID-19)

The report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that, pre-pandemic, death rates were decreasing for both urban and rural U.S. adults aged 65 and older. Data from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics show that, though death rates from 2009 to 2019 were higher in rural areas than urban areas for both men and women and for all race and Hispanic-origin groups, they declined 15 percent in rural areas over that period.

CDC research from 2019 showed rural Americans are more likely to die from five leading causes than people living in urban areas. The research showed that rural residents are also more likely to die of preventable deaths – with higher rates of cigarette smoking, high blood pressure and obesity, higher rates of poverty, and less access to health care and health insurance.

Click here to read full article

Upcoming Webinar – HRSA’s Loan Guarantee Program: An Overview

January 19, 2024

Upcoming Webinar – HRSA’s Loan Guarantee Program: An Overview

If you are in need of additional financing for your upcoming capital project, join Capital Link, on February 6th for an overview of the benefits, eligibility and application process of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Facility Loan Guarantee Program (LGP).

A loan from the HRSA LGP can enhance your credit profile and cover up to 80% of the principal amount of loans made by non-federal lenders. The LGP also reduces lender risk and allows a lender to provide a loan under more favorable terms than otherwise possible.

LGP Benefits to Health Centers:

A loan guarantee can

  • Enhance the health center’s credit profile
  • Reduce the lender’s risk and allow them to lend to health centers under more favorable terms
  • For some centers a loan guarantee might mean the difference between getting a “yes” or “no” from a lender
  • For others a loan guarantee may allow the lender to offer a lower interest rate, longer fixed-rate term or a higher loan to value ratio

Interested or have questions? Join Capital Link’s webinar session which provides an overview of the benefits, eligibility and application process of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

When: February 6, 1:00 p.m. CT

Cost: No charge

Register Here

If you are unable to attend this webinar, a recording will be available here, along with all the recordings of past webinars.

Please contact Chloe Bahnan cbanan@caplink.org if you have any questions.

NRHA Webinar on ER Behavior Health

January 18, 2024

NRHA Webinar on ER Behavior Health

The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) partner HFG Architecture will host a webinar at 2 p.m. CST January 23 on ER designs to accommodate behavior issues.

Emergency rooms serve as a single-entry point for a variety of patients into a hospital. From sick children and expecting mothers to victims of violent crime and traumatic incidents, the ER has to accommodate a wide range of needs and increasingly this includes behavioral health patients. Intentional design is critical to the overall safety of hospital staff, patients and visitors.

When designing emergency rooms for behavioral health patients, preserving security for patients and staff security should be the number one priority. Crucial security considerations during design include:

  • Direct linking of the ED to the behavioral health ward
  • Controlling access to all spaces
  • Anti-ligature and tamper-proof features
  • Limiting or enhancing patient privacy with clear sight lines, depending on patient acuity
  • Administration of bathroom access
  • Designing nurse stations close by the ED holding rooms

These elements and more will be discussed in this lecture by two subject matter experts.

When: January 23, 2 p.m. EST

Cost: No charge

Register Here

NRHA Webinar – Medicare Advantage’s Rapid Rise in Rural Communities: Understanding – and Addressing – this Unique Challenge to Rural Hospitals

January 18, 2024

NRHA Webinar – Medicare Advantage’s Rapid Rise in Rural Communities: Understanding – and Addressing – this Unique Challenge to Rural Hospitals

For rural hospitals, Medicare Advantage plans present unique challenges.

  • Reimbursement rates are lower,
  • Denials are frequent,
  • Administering multiple plans stretches resources that are already thin

New Chartis data reveals that Medicare Advantage plans now account for 38 percent of all Medicare-eligible patients across rural America. In some states, it already exceeds 50 percent.

Join the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) for the Leading Rural Health Series as they examine how Medicare Advantage is reshaping rural hospital operations including input from NRHA COO Brock Slabach and many other rural health leaders.

When: Wednesday, January 24, 2:00 p.m. CST

Register Now

Rural Hospitals Caught in Aging Infrastructure Conundrum

January 18, 2024

Rural Hospitals Caught in Aging Infrastructure Conundrum

An increase in costs amid lower payments from insurance plans makes it harder for small hospitals to fund large capital improvement projects that would better serve their community.

Additionally, a KFF report shows 9 percent of hospitals had “vulnerable” cash-on-hand levels in 2022, and Western Pennsylvania hospitals are facing pushback over bed capacity. Finally, NRHA Partner TruBridge discusses how to empower effective rural health care revenue cycles.

Act by 11:59 p.m. CST January 20 to save on registration for NRHA’s 35th Rural Health Policy Institute, where hundreds of advocates will educate Congress on keeping rural facilities open and up to date, February 13-15 in Washington D.C.

See Articles for Full details

Learn More about NRHA’s 35th Rural Policy Institute

Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) (HRSA-24-015) Top 5 FAQs

January 18, 2024

Nurse Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) (HRSA-24-015) Top 5 FAQs

Q1: Who is eligible to apply for the NFLP grant? Are individuals eligible to apply?

  1. Applicants must be domestic accredited schools of nursing with advanced nursing education programs. Individuals are not eligible to apply for this grant.

Q2: We are a current NFLP grantee and still have remaining NFLP funds. Can we apply for more funding during the 2024 application cycle?

  1. You can apply for additional funding if you anticipate needing more funds to support current or prospective student borrowers for the 2024 academic year.

Note: The NFLP is a formula-based program. NFLP funds will be distributed among applicants as formula-payment based awards according to data provided in the application.

Q3: What are some examples of nurse educator development activities that can be supported by the NFLP fund award?

  1. Examples of nurse educator development activities are (not limited to):
  • Mentorship teaching practicum
  • Teaching assistantships
  • Nurse education focused workshop
  • Nurse educator certification preparation
  • Nurse educator certification fees

Nurse educator development activities should be incorporated as part of the curriculum/courses. NFLP loan funds can be used to cover the cost of student nurse educator development activities within the course of study, as a reasonable educational expense.

Q4: Can part-time advanced nursing education students receive NFLP loan support? How is enrollment status determined?

  1. Both part-time and full-time students in advanced nursing education programs can receive NFLP loan support. The determination of part-time or full-time enrollment status is based on institutional policies; the school makes the decision about what constitutes part-time or full-time enrollment status, including semester sequence.

Q5: Can we allocate a part of the NFLP award for personnel, specifically for document processing and managing NFLP program requirements, or is it exclusively for personnel costs related to collections?

  1. NFLP funds may only be used for students’ loan support except for covering the costs of collection of loaned principals, accrued interest and/or penalty, and cost of student nurse educator development activities as reasonable expenses.

Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. ET on February 5, 2024

More Questions?

Check out the full list of FAQs and the Technical Assistance Webinar recording

Read more about this funding opportunity HRSA-24-015

Upcoming Webinar – Secrets of the 5 Star Physician with Dr. Michael Klein

January 17, 2024

Upcoming Webinar – Secrets of the 5 Star Physician with Dr. Michael Klein

Join Michael Klein and Brian Lee as they share their exciting new breakthrough in Physician and Advanced Care Practitioner engagement model to improve their patient experience.

Who Should Attend:

  • Physicians
  • Physician leaders
  • Advanced care practitioners
  • Practice leaders
  • CEOs
  • CNOs
  • Quality professionals & Patient Experience Champions
  • Anyone engaged with provider services and support

You will learn how to:

  • Educate providers to become actively engaged improving the patient experience
  • Gain a buy-in and adopt the 5 Star HABITS model of creating TRUST through kindness and communication
  • Embrace new patient driven best practices and processes that lead to a consistent 5 star patient and family experience
  • Phase in the 5 Star Physician HABIT Checklist as the model for current and future providers to deliver a 5 Star patient experience every time
  • Gain a buy-in for Ten Patient Focused Policies

Cost: No Charge

When:

  • February
    • 8:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
    • 9:00 a.m. Mountain Standard Time
    • 10:00 a.m. Central Standard Time
    • 11:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time

Click here to Register