January 26, 2024
RQITA Monthly Edition, January 2024
Included in this issue:
- Questions from the Field
- Resources and Tools
- Upcoming Deadlines and Reporting Reminders
- Upcoming Events
Click Here to view January Edition
Category: Resources
National Maternal Health Awareness Day
January 23, 2024
National Maternal Health Awareness Day
Today is National Maternal Health Awareness Day and January is National Birth Defects Prevention Month. Learn best practices for providing maternal health services through telehealth, including developing a strategy, billing practices and more.
Telehealth Community Stories
January 23, 2024
Telehealth Community Stories
Telehealth.HHS.gov released a new section highlighting how providers and patients can use virtual visits to improve access to health care. Learn more about how telehealth is being used in various settings.
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
Warming Center Sites in Missouri
January 17, 2024
Warming Center Sites in Missouri
Winter weather is upon us and can be potentially hazardous as Missouri typically experiences periods of extreme cold during the winter. It is important to be prepared!
It is important to remember that the extreme cold can affect everyone, but can be especially dangerous to small children, the elderly and the chronically ill.
Warming centers provide a warm, safe place for people to go during cold weather. If you know of a senior or an adult with a disability who needs assistance due to cold weather, Make a Difference.
Make the call: 1 800 392-0210
Click here for interactive map of warming center sites in Missouri
More cold weather resources can be found on the DHSS Hypothermia webpage
New Pricing Transparency Tool for Hospitals
January 2, 2024
New Pricing Transparency Tool for Hospitals
To empower decision-making for patients, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made new requirements and provided tools for making standard charges for all items and services available to the public. Beginning January 1, 2024, institutions that are licensed as hospitals will be required to update their websites with a link labeled “Price Transparency” that goes directly to a machine-readable digital file.
CMS provides resources and tools to support these new requirements and provides details on enforcement measures for hospitals that do not comply.
HHS/DoD National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network
January 2, 2024
HHS/DoD National Emergency Tele-Critical Care Network
A joint program of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) is available at no cost to hospitals caring for COVID-19 patients. Teams of critical care clinicians critical care physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other specialized clinical experts are available to deliver virtual care through telemedicine platforms, such as an app on a mobile device.
Hear from participating clinicians
Email matthew.t.quinn3.civ@mail.mil to learn more and sign up
New Information for Rural Emergency Hospitals
January 2, 2024
New Information for Rural Emergency Hospitals
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) updated their fact sheet on the new provider-type designation that allows hospitals at risk of closure to remain in operation with Emergency Department services, observation care and a limited number of outpatient services. CMS recently added details for:
- Indian Health Service and other tribal-operated hospitals making the change to Rural Emergency Hospital (REH);
- Changes to monthly payment amounts to REHs and how they’re reported
- The HRSA supported REH Technical Assistance Center that is helping hospitals meet the requirements for converting to this new provider type.
Click Here to View Fact Sheet
Upcoming MBQIP Deadlines and Reporting Reminders
December 28, 2023
Upcoming MBQIP Deadlines and Reporting Reminders
Please see the schedule below for upcoming MBQIP deadlines and reporting:
- January 3, 2024 – HCAHPS Q3 encounters (7/1/23 – 9/30/23)
- Submission is through the HQR Secure Portal-Vendor
- January 31, 2024 – EDTC Q4 2023 encounters (10/1/23 – 12/31/23
- February 1, 2024 – OP-18 Q3 encounters
- Submission is through the HQR Secure Portal-Outpatient
- February 29, 2024 – Safe Use of Opioids – Concurrent Prescribing measure for CY 2023 encounters (1/1/23 – 12/31/23)
- This measure is not currently being submitted for MBQIP but is available for reporting to CMS
MBQIP Data Submission deadlines can be found in the Technical Assistance & Services Center (TASC) MBQIP Toolkit
Resources for Billing for Telehealth
December 28, 2023
Resources for Billing for Telehealth
Reimbursements for telehealth continue to evolve. Find resources on billing and reimbursement for:
- Medicare
- Medicaid
- Private insurers
Additional Resources