Nov 29, 2021
DECEMBER 2, 2021 – Kentucky REC Annual Conference
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Lexington Kentucky, Malone’s Prime Events Center
FEATURED PRESENTATION – HIPAA SECURITY: Proper Safeguards are the Key to Passing an Audit
The HIPAA Security Rule is made up of administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that all covered entities are required to implement. If ever audited by OCR, a covered entity would need to prove that these safeguards are in place. Kentucky REC expert advisor Amy Daley will cover the safeguards required in detail, with examples for each.
During our day together, we’ll have guest speakers, along with presentations on quality initiatives, HIPAA, Telehealth, and more to ensure that clinicians, hospital administrators, and clinic staff are well prepared for the challenges of modern healthcare. Our valued partners at KHIE, the Kentucky Health Information Exchange, will be presenting along with us.
We are pleased to be hosting our first ever HYBRID event to give our attendees the option to attend either in person* or virtually. All registrants will receive links to session recordings after the event.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
*Masks are required during our in person event based on UK HealthCare COVID guidelines.
Nov 17, 2021
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has extended two deadlines affecting eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) participating in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and/or the Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program.
The deadline for the submission of electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for the calendar year (CY) 2021 reporting period, pertaining to the fiscal year (FY) 2023 payment determination, has been changed from Monday, February 28, 2022, to Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time (PT).
The Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program attestation deadline for eligible hospitals and CAHs has been changed from Monday, February 28, 2022, to Thursday, March 31, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. PT.
For CY 2021 reporting, all other aspects of program requirements remain the same.
Questions? Contact the experts at Kentucky REC for all of your Medicare Promoting Interoperability questions. We’re here to help: 859-323-3090.
Nov 15, 2021
DECEMBER 2, 2021 – Kentucky REC Annual Conference
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Lexington Kentucky, Malone’s Prime Events Center
FEATURED SPEAKER – JESSICA SASS, UK HEALTHCARE Deputy Executive Director
Implementing Population Health Management at UK Healthcare
As the leading academic-based medical center in the state and one of the largest referral centers in the nation, UK Healthcare has a mission to improve the overall health and well-being of Kentuckians across the Commonwealth and beyond. This presentation will encompass a case study of the strategic goals and implementation processes in developing a robust Population Health Management program within an Academic Medical Center and will identify elements critical for scaling and implementation across multiple care settings.
Jessica Sass is Director of Ambulatory Population Health at UKHC as well as a Nurse Practitioner for Family & Community Medicine. The focus of Sass’s work has been on transformative care, population health, care transitions and quality improvement.
She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at the University of Kentucky. Prior to this, she earned a Master of Science degree in nursing from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Missouri Western State College. Licensed as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse since 2004, she has worked in various care settings which include a critical access hospital in rural Northeast Kansas, providing care in the primary care clinic, emergency department and inpatient setting; the county health department in the Women’s Health Program, an Urgent Care facility and a Level 1 trauma emergency department.
In addition, Sass completed a fellowship with the Duke-Johnson & Johnson Nurse Leadership Program focused on leadership and management skills, the Chief Quality Officer Professional Development Program through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the Agile Implementation Bootcamp through the Center for Health Innovation and Implementation Science (IU). She is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners and the Kentucky Association of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives.
During our day together, we’ll have guest speakers, along with presentations on quality initiatives, HIPAA, Telehealth, and more to ensure that clinicians, hospital administrators, and clinic staff are well prepared for the challenges of modern healthcare. Our valued partners at KHIE, the Kentucky Health Information Exchange, will be presenting along with us.
We are pleased to be hosting our first ever HYBRID event to give our attendees the option to attend either in person* or virtually. All registrants will receive links to session recordings after the event.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
*Masks are required during our in person event based on UK HealthCare COVID guidelines.
Nov 8, 2021
DECEMBER 2, 2021 – Kentucky REC Annual Conference
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Lexington Kentucky, Malone’s Prime Events Center
FEATURED SPEAKER – ANDREW BLEDSOE, KHIE Deputy Executive Director
Bridges to Coordinating Care: The New KHIE!
KHIE is an interoperable electronic network that supports the exchange of patient health information among healthcare providers across the Commonwealth and beyond. KHIE’s goal is to aid and assist in patient care delivery. Currently, KHIE has over 8000 connections within Kentucky where patient information is exchanged and provided back to healthcare agencies.
Andrew Bledsoe, KY State HIT Director and KHIE Deputy Executive Director, will provide a deep dive into the multitude of KHIE Services and how they can assist with both clinical care coordination and COVID reporting. Exciting KHIE enhancements include a connection to the National eHealth Exchange allowing access to important data from healthcare providers from across the country including the VA, DOD, and the SSA, further broadening the scope of care coordination. In addition, KHIE has recently finished functionality on an Image Exchange Program allowing images to be shared both from hospital PAC systems and displayed to users via the KHIE ePartnerViewer Provider Portal. Starting initially with KY hospitals, KHIE’s goal is to broaden the scope to include diagnostic centers and other healthcare disciplines that rely on imaging. Andrew will also describe improvements to the KHIE Provider Portal allowing users to automatically or manually add COVID-19 Lab Results, Vaccine Reporting, in addition to allowing users to upload notes designed to share patient data.
For more information, contact Andrew and his team at www.khie.ky.gov
During our day together, we’ll have guest speakers, along with presentations on quality initiatives, HIPAA, Telehealth, and more to ensure that clinicians, hospital administrators, and clinic staff are well prepared for the challenges of modern healthcare. Our valued partners at KHIE, the Kentucky Health Information Exchange, will be presenting along with us.
We are pleased to be hosting our first ever HYBRID event to give our attendees the option to attend either in person* or virtually. All registrants will receive links to session recordings after the event.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
*Masks are required during our in person event based on UK HealthCare COVID guidelines.
Nov 4, 2021
CMS Publishes 2022 PFS Final Rule for the Quality Payment Program
Excerpted From the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published the CY 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) Final Rule, which includes the final policies for the 2022 performance year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP). The rule affects traditional MIPS, MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs), the APM Performance Pathway (APP), Advanced APMs, and the Medicare Shared Savings Program (Shared Savings Program).
2022: QPP Final Rule Highlights
Key QPP policies in the 2022 performance year include:
- Revising the definition of a MIPS eligible clinician to include social workers and certified nurse mid-wives.
- Setting the MIPS performance threshold at 75 points and the exceptional performance threshold at 89 points.
- Weighting the cost and quality performance categories equally (as statutorily required) at 30%.
- Extending the CMS Web Interface as a collection type and submission type in traditional MIPS for registered groups, virtual groups, and APM Entities for the 2022 performance year only.
- Finalizing a longer transition for electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs)/MIPS clinical quality measures (CQMs) measure reporting for Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) by extending the CMS Web Interface as an option for 3 years (through the 2024 performance year).
2023 and Beyond: QPP Final Rule Highlights – Additional Finalized Policies
The following updates were also included in the PFS Final Rule and affect future years of the QPP:
- Finalizing 7 MVPs that will be available, beginning with the 2023 performance year.
- Providing a description of the registration process and timeline for MVP and subgroup registration, beginning with the 2023 performance year.
QPP Final Rule Overview Webinar Details
CMS will host a webinar on November 10 to provide an overview of the final policies for the 2022 performance year of the QPP. During this webinar, CMS will answer questions from attendees, as time permits.
Title: 2022 Quality Payment Program Final Rule Overview
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Time: 12:00-1:30 pm ET
Registration Link: https://app.webinar.net/JV1KbW8n7ve
For More Information
To learn more about the CY2022 PFS Final Rule and all of the 2022 QPP finalized policies, please review the following resources:
- Press Release: Provides additional details regarding today’s announcement.
- QPP 2022 Final Rule Resources Zip File Contains the following:
- Overview Fact Sheet: Offers an overview of the QPP Final Rule policies for the 2022 performance year.
- Policies Comparison Table: Compares the final 2022 performance year policies to the requirements for the 2021 performance year.
- MVP Policies Table: Provides an overview of the policies for implementation of MVPs beginning in the 2023 performance year.
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): Addresses the FAQs for the 2022 QPP Final Rule policies.
Questions
Contact the Quality Payment Program at 1-866-288-8292 (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. ET) or by e-mail at: QPP@cms.hhs.gov. To receive assistance more quickly, consider calling during non-peak hours—before 10 a.m. and after 2 p.m. ET.
Customers who are hearing impaired can dial 711 to be connected to a TRS Communications Assistant.
Contact the experts at Kentucky REC for all your QPP, MIPS, and APM questions. We’re here to help: 859-323-3090.
Nov 1, 2021
DECEMBER 2, 2021 – Kentucky REC Annual Conference
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Lexington Kentucky, Malone’s Prime Events Center
FEATURED PRESENTATION – Quality Improvement Mindset: Hardwiring Adaptability and High Reliability in Healthcare
Kentucky REC Quality & Value Team Lead Jessica Elliot and Team Member Vance Drakeford will discuss sustaining Quality Improvement initiatives through the adoption and implementation of improvement science methodology. They will share ways to foster a culture of continuous quality improvement in the healthcare setting and how to leverage technology and innovation to drive patient-centered care outcomes in a clinical setting.
During our day together, we’ll have guest speakers, along with presentations on quality initiatives, HIPAA, Telehealth, and more to ensure that clinicians, hospital administrators, and clinic staff are well prepared for the challenges of modern healthcare. Our valued partners at KHIE, the Kentucky Health Information Exchange, will be presenting along with us.
We are pleased to be hosting our first ever HYBRID event to give our attendees the option to attend either in person* or virtually. All registrants will receive links to session recordings after the event.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
*Masks are required during our in person event based on UK HealthCare COVID guidelines.
