Category: Resources

Patient and Provider Featured Telehealth Resources

October 17, 2023

Patient and Provider Featured Telehealth Resources

Want to learn more about telehealth? Need resources to guide your organization towards telehealth? Telehealth.HHS.gov shares trusted telehealth resources for patients and providers.

Resources for Providers Include:

  • Getting started with telehealth
    • How to evaluate telehealth vendors and begin offering care through telemedicine
  • Planning your telehealth workflow
    • How to set up and manage a workflow for virtual visits
  • Health equity in telehealth
    • How health care providers can improve access to telehealth for all populations
  • Preparing patients for telehealth
    • From scheduling to privacy, learn how to prepare your patients for virtual appointments to ensure their comfort and high quality care
  • Telehealth policy
    • Telehealth policy resources for health care providers and organizations
  • Billing for telehealth
    • Reimbursements for telehealth continue to evolve. Find resources on billing and reimbursement for Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers
  • Licensure
    • Telehealth licensure requirements vary at the federal, state, and cross-state levels for health care providers
  • Legal considerations
    • Read about the legal considerations for providing care through telehealth, including information on privacy and security, informed consent, and liability and malpractice
  • Best practice guides
    • Learn how to incorporate telehealth into your practice. Get resources and tips focused on different specialties and delivery models including telebehavioral health, telehealth for direct-to-consumer care, and telehealth for emergency departments.

Resources for Patients Include:

Prescribing Controlled Medications via Telehealth

October 17, 2023

Prescribing Controlled Medications via Telehealth

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), jointly with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has extended the full set of telemedicine flexibilities regarding the prescribing of controlled medications as were in place during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), through December 31, 2024.

Authorized providers are able to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth if they meet certain criteria.

Telemedicine flexibilities regarding prescription of controlled medications as were in place during the COVID-19 public health emergency include:

  • A practitioner can prescribe a controlled substance to a patient using telemedicine, even if the patient isn’t at a hospital or clinic registered with the DEA.
  • Qualifying practitioners can prescribe buprenorphine to new and existing patients with opioid use disorder based on a telephone evaluation.

For more information, see:

Prescribing Controlled Substances via Telehealth

Second Temporary Extension of COVID-19 Telemedicine Flexibilities for Prescription of Controlled Medications – from the Federal Register

Interstate licensure resources for health care providers, states, and health care organizations

Telehealth Policy Updates

AHRQ Free Health Literacy Toolkits and Guides

October 17, 2023

AHRQ Free Health Literacy Toolkits and Guides

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers Free information to promote organizational policies and procedures which can foster the inclusion of patients and family while creating collaborative partnerships with other providers.

Free Tools

Health Literacy Toolkits, GIFS and Educational Resources

October 17, 2023

Health Literacy Toolkits, GIFS and Educational Resources

October is Health Literacy Month – Join the American Institute of Healthcare Compliance (AIHC), a non-profit training organization, for this international observance when hospitals, health centers, literacy programs, libraries, social service agencies, businesses, professional associations, government agencies, consumer alliances, and many other groups work together to integrate and expand the mission of health literacy.

Often patients don’t comply because they either don’t understand what is communicated or they are subject to Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) issues.

Check out these AIHC courses to support your organization:

NOTICE: IQR-Eligible Hospitals to Submit 2Q 2023 Survey Data by October 4, 2023

September 19, 2023

NOTICE: IQR-Eligible Hospitals to Submit 2Q 2023 Survey Data by October 4, 2023

The submission deadline for the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) patient perspectives on care survey data for second quarter (2Q) 2023 discharges (April 1-June 30, 2023) is October 4, 2023. 

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) strongly encourages all hospitals, whether they self-administer the HCAHPS Survey* or use a survey vendor, to submit data well before the deadline to allow time to address any submission issues.

  • Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) hospitals participating in the Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program must collect and submit HCAHPS data to qualify to receive their full Annual Payment Update. Please see the Q2 2023 Hospital IQR Checklist for further information.
  • Non-IPPS hospitals must meet the same submission deadline for their data to be published on public reporting website.

Review and Correction Period 

  • The Review and Correction Period is October 5-11, 2023.
    • Immediately following the October 4, 2023 data-submission deadline, participating hospitals and survey vendors have a seven-day opportunity, October 5-11, 2023, to access and review the HCAHPS Data Review and Correction Report.
    • The report contains a summary of the data accepted into the HCAHPS Data Warehouse for the quarter. Errors in data accepted into the warehouse by the October 4, 2023 deadline can be corrected. During this seven-day period, corrected data can be submitted to the warehouse to replace incorrect data. New data are not accepted into the warehouse during the Review and Correction Period.

Extraordinary circumstances exceptions (ece)

In the event that your hospital is unable to submit data or meet requirements due to an extraordinary circumstance, you may request an individual exception.

  • For the submission of the HCAHPS data, for the Hospital IQR Program, the ECE must be submitted within 90 calendar days from when you determined that the extraordinary event occurred. The event may occur during the measurement period through the submission or reporting deadline.
  • For events adversely impacting your HCAHPS performance, for the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (HVBP) Program, the ECE must be submitted within 90 days of the date of the extraordinary circumstance. At the latest, ECEs should be submitted no later than 90 days from the last date of the quarter requested.
    • For example, the last day of Q2 2023 is June 30, 2023. The ECE should be submitted no later than 90 days after the end of Q2, which will be September 28, 2023.

Please refer to the HVBP and IQR resources on QualityNet for further information.

Hospital Contact Information: To ensure your hospital receives critical communications about meeting the requirements of the IQR Program (and other CMS quality reporting programs), including submission-deadline reminders and program updates, it is important that we have the complete contact information for the key roles at your hospital. Updates to your contact information can be submitted, if needed, using the Hospital Contact Form. This document is available on the Quality Reporting Center website (www.qualityreportingcenter.com > Inpatient > Hospital IQR Program > Resources and Tools > Forms).

HCAHPS Contact Information

  • For general questions regarding the HCAHPS Survey, contact CMS at Hospitalcahps@cms.hhs.gov.
  • For questions regarding HCAHPS Survey administration, contact the HCAHPS Project Team at (888) 884-4007 or at hcahps@hsag.com.
  • For questions regarding HCAHPS data submission information, contact the CCSQ Service Center at (866) 288-8912 or at qnetsupport@cms.hhs.gov.
  • For questions regarding information on the HCAHPS initiative, file specifications, and data-submission protocols, use the contact information on the HCAHPS website at hcahpsonline.org.
  • For questions regarding the IQR Program, use the Inpatient Questions & Answers tool at https://cmsqualitysupport.servicenowservices.com/qnet_qa?id=ask_a_question or call the Inpatient Value, Incentives, and Quality Reporting Outreach and Education Support Team at (844) 472-4477.

*The HCAHPS Survey is also known as the CAHPS® Hospital Survey. CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a U.S. Government agency.

Reminder! MBQIP Data Reporting Reminders – September 2023

September 1, 2023

Reminder! MBQIP Data Reporting Reminders – September 2023

Important Notice: Dates for measure submission and Specification Manual/CART versions are based on currently available information and may be subject to change.

October 31, 2023

Emergency Department Transfer Communication (EDTC)

  • Patients seen Q3 2023 (July, August, September)
  • Submission process directed by state Flex Program

November 1, 2023

CMS Population and Sampling (optional)*

  • Patients seen Q2 2023 (April, May, June)
  • Inpatient** and outpatient
  • Entered via the Hospital Quality Reporting (HQR) HARP account

November 1, 2023

CMS Outpatient Measures:

  • Patients seen Q2 2023 (April, May, June)
  • CMS Hospital Outpatient Reporting Specifications Manual version 0a
  • Submitted to HQR via CART or by vendor.
  • CART version – 22.0

November 15, 2023

CMS Inpatient Measures**:

  • Patients seen Q2 2023 (April, May, June)
  • CMS Hospital Inpatient Reporting Specifications Manual version 13 
  • Submitted to HQR via CART or by vendor
  • CART version – 30.1

*Population and sampling refers to the recording of the number of cases that meet the initial measure set population requirement and the number of cases the hospital is submitting to Hospital Quality Reporting thru a HARP account for the quarter.

** Currently there are no inpatient chart abstracted core MBQIP measures required.

Report Outlines Quality Improvement Strategies for CAHs

August 25, 2023

Report Outlines Quality Improvement Strategies for CAHs

A new report offers practical, rural-relevant strategies that critical access hospital (CAH) leaders and staff can adopt to more fully incorporate quality improvement efforts into their organization’s culture and develop a shared sense of responsibility for quality patient care.  Based on discussions among rural health quality leaders from across the country who attended the Critical Access Hospital Infrastructure Summit earlier this year, the report is the work of the National Rural Health Resource Center, in partnership with the Flex Monitoring Team and Stratis Health.

Read Report

Updated Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Leadership Competencies

August 25, 2023

Updated Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Leadership Competencies

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) Division of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Workforce Development released updates to the Maternal and Child Health Leadership Competencies. The MCH Leadership Competencies support current and future MCH leaders by defining the knowledge and skills necessary to lead in this field.

The MCH Leadership Competencies describe the necessary knowledge, skills (foundational and advanced), and values within a framework designed to support and promote MCH leadership. Therefore, the Competencies can be used in a variety of ways, including:

  • As a framework for training objectives for MCH training programs. It is the responsibility of MCH training programs to ensure that graduates have the foundation necessary to work within a variety of professional settings to contribute to the health and well-being of mothers, children, and families – and to inspire others to do likewise.
  • To measure and evaluate MCH leadership training. The MCH Leadership Competencies can be used to guide measurement and evaluation of the impact of leadership training.
  • To cultivate, sustain, grow, and measure leadership within the current MCH workforce. The MCH Leadership Competencies can be used as a tool to strengthen the leadership abilities of current MCH professionals in national, state, and local health agencies, academia, and other MCH organizations. In particular, the framework can assist in orienting those new to the field to the goals and methods of MCH, assess and promote leadership capacity, and guide continuing education efforts.

Also important is the understanding that leadership (1) can be developed through learning and experience; (2) can be exerted at various levels within an organization and at the national, state, or local levels; and (3) opportunities change over time.

The document is intended to be a resource for MCH interdisciplinary training programs, national, state, and local health agencies, and other MCH organizations.

Click Here to Learn More

Large Health Care System Suffers Rhysida Attack

August 21, 2023

Large Health Care System Suffers Rhysida Attack

Rhysida is an emerging threat group, targeting many critical infrastructure sectors including the Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) sector. It is a ransomware-as-a-service group which deceitfully describes itself as a “cybersecurity team” projecting themselves as helping victims highlight potential security issues and secure their networks. While not much is known about the group’s origins or country affiliations, Rhysida ransomware is deployed in multiple ways.

On August 3, 2023 Rhysida attacked a health care system which operates 16 hospitals and more than 165 clinics and outpatient centers in four states.

According to reports, the attack resulted in “emergency departments to close, ambulances to be diverted, and other medical services to cease operations” in what appeared to be a ransomware attack.

The attack required the hospitals to take their systems offline to protect their patient data and to revert to using paper records. In some states, the health system’s blood draw stations and medical imaging locations were also impacted. Areas saw emergency departments, as well as some primary and specialty locations closed until further notice. As a result, impacted entities were contacting patients individually due to the various effects to patient care.

Read the 2-page August 16, 2023 Brief released by the HHS 405(d) Task Group which also recommends that your IT department implement the following best practices found in their FREE resources, such as the Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP) Technical Volumes 1&2 and Knowledge on Demand to protect your valuable health information from such threats.

Low-cost resources offered by the American Institute of Healthcare Compliance (AIHC) – a non-profit organization:

 

 

Telehealth Resources

August 9, 2023

Telehealth Resources

Telehealth.HHS.gov provides trusted telehealth resources that cover a wide range of topics including workflow and staff training, reimbursement, and behavioral health. Easily access various topics and areas of interest for providers and patients.

Telehealth topics:

  • Behavioral Health
  • Chronic conditions
  • Health equity
  • Internet Access
  • Maternal health and pediatrics
  • Reimbursement and policy
  • Training
  • General

Learn more about telehealth resources