Kentucky REC Annual Conference Oct 26: Andrew Bledsoe on KHIE and SDOH
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Oct. 26 2023, Lexington Kentucky, Harper Hall
KHIE Featured Speaker: Andrew Bledsoe
Navigating Social Determinants of Health with KHIE
In this presentation, Andrew Bledsoe, Executive Director of the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE), will showcase the pivotal role that KHIE has in improving population health. With a focus on the strategic use of Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) capabilities, this session delves into the profound impact KHIE has on healthcare in Kentucky.
Gain valuable insights into KHIE’s cross-cabinet collaboration with kynect resources, exemplifying a strategic alliance dedicated to advancing the well-being of Kentuckians, including the essential steps that healthcare organizations can take to seamlessly integrate with KHIE and unlock the expansive array of resources accessible through kynect resources.
There will be dedicated time for attendees to provide feedback and suggestions, fostering a collaborative environment where your insights can contribute to the ongoing enhancement of SDoH and, in turn, elevate Kentucky’s overall population health.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
Suicide Prevention Resources
Visit the links below to access helpful resources and be prepared when someone is facing a mental health crisis.
Kentucky REC Annual Conference Oct 26: Trudi Matthews on SDOH
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Oct. 26 2023, Lexington Kentucky, Harper Hall
UK HealthCare Featured Speaker: Trudi Matthews
Social Drivers of Health – Strategies and Best Practices
for Implementation, Screening, and Follow-up
Trudi Matthews serves as Senior Director of Quality and Value Strategy in the Office of the Executive Vice President for Health Affairs at UK HealthCare, the health system of the University of Kentucky (UK). In this role, Trudi works with UK HealthCare’s executive team and ambulatory leadership to ensure success in value-based programs for Medicare Medicaid, and commercial insurers. Trudi also serves as government affairs and policy lead for UK HealthCare overseeing a team responsible for reviewing and analyzing state and federal government policy initiatives.
Trudi is also Executive Director of the Kentucky Regional Extension Center (REC) at UK. Trudi oversees this state-wide center charged with assisting health care leaders, practices, and hospitals across Kentucky with using technology, connectivity, process improvement and value-based care models to improve the quality and value of health care. From 2015-2019, she was Managing Director of the Kentucky REC, leading and supporting multiple externally sponsored projects such as Kentucky’s Practice Transformation Network Grant, Medicaid Meaningful Use/Promoting Interoperability Support and several CDC-funded projects with the Kentucky Department for Public Health.
Trudi formerly served as Director of Policy and Business Development with the Health Collaborative/HealthBridge. Between 2008-2014, Trudi served in leadership roles on a variety of grant-funded technology and quality improvement initiatives including Cincinnati’s Beacon Community Program, the Tri-State Regional Extension Center, RWJF-funded Aligning Forces for Quality, the Kentucky and Indiana State Health Information Exchange Programs, and the Nationwide Health Information Network, among other initiatives.
From 2005-2007, Trudi was Senior Policy Advisor with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, where she served as coordinator for Kentucky’s statewide e-Health efforts and worked on Medicaid transformation initiatives. Trudi worked for the Council for State Governments from 1999-2005, where she was lead staff for its national health policy task force and oversaw a portfolio of health policy grants and programs for state legislators and executive branch officials. She began her career working for the Iowa Board of Medical Examiners.
Over her career, Trudi has managed more than $50 Million in grants and contracts aimed at improving health and health care through policy, technology and quality improvement.
In her presentation, Trudi will share useful resources and takeaways for healthcare practices small and large as they work to incorporate SDOH screening effectively in their patient care.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
QPP Webinar Oct 13: Interpreting QPP Feedback Reports
CMS has released the Quality Payment Program (QPP) Final Score & Performance Feedback Reports for the 2022 Performance Year, along with the MIPS Payment Adjustments for Payment Year 2024. Understanding your feedback reports, and using them to identify areas of improvement is key to optimizing your performance in this program year to year.
Our Kentucky REC expert advisors will guide you through the Feedback Report and explain how you can use this information to help you finish 2023 successfully and strategize for a strong start in 2024!
We will discuss how to navigate your feedback reports, help you understand payment adjustments, and provide you with insights to aid in identifying your opportunities and strengths across the four performance categories. We’ll also share how you can leverage that information to help you plan for continued success with this program in the future.
QPP Year 7: Interpreting QPP Feedback Reports*
Tuesday Oct 10, 2023 @ 12PM ET
*This webinar is for Kentucky REC contracted QPP clients only. If you are interested in this topic and would like to learn more about becoming a client, please contact us at (859) 323-3090 or email us at KYRec@uky.edu. We aim to be your trusted healthcare advisor!
Kentucky REC Annual Conference Oct 26: Quality Presentation
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Oct. 26 2023, Lexington Kentucky, Harper Hall
Kentucky REC Quality Team Speakers: Jessica Elliott & Vance Drakeford
Balancing Cost & Quality: Strategies for Providing Safe and Efficient Care
Providing high quality care at low cost often seems impossible to achieve. However, research studies indicate that higher per beneficiary spending is NOT a predictor of improved long-term patient outcomes.
Through the Quality Payment Program, CMS has established Value in Healthcare as the sum of quality care and patient outcomes proportional to the total cost of care. Regardless of which track you elect to participate in as an eligible clinician or group in the Quality Payment Program, maximizing performance in the Quality and Cost Performance categories is vital for success.
Quality team lead Jessica Elliott, and colleague Vance Drakeford will explore the relationship between clinical quality performance and related cost measures. They will share how to navigate cost measure feedback from prior evaluation and apply QI principles to impact performance across categories.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
Kentucky REC Annual Conference Oct 26: Guest Speaker Michael Meit – Rural Resilience
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Oct. 26 2023, Lexington Kentucky, Harper Hall
Guest Speaker: MICHAEL MEIT 
Health Equity, Poverty, and Rural Resilience
Michael Meit, MA, MPH, Director, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, will describe health inequities, and share what is known about them, including how they vary by geographic region.
He will present measures of rural prosperity that can help us to understand factors of risk and resilience in our rural communities. Michael will highlight rural strengths and assets that can be leveraged to improve community health and well-being.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
PILL Podcast: Andrew Bledsoe – An Introduction to the Kentucky Health Information Exchange (KHIE)
Cohosts Brent McKune and Stephen Williams of Kentucky REC introduce Episode 10 of Kentucky REC’s PILL Podcast. This episode, with KY State HIT Director and KHIE Deputy Executive Director Andrew Bledsoe, explores how the Kentucky Health Information Exchange is leading the HIE marketplace with innovative services, as well as advancing interoperability in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Learn more about KHIE at their website, KHIE.ky.gov
Andrew Bledsoe is currently KY State HIT Director and KHIE Deputy Executive Director.
The intersection of health information technology with quality care delivery has provided Andrew with a unique perspective over his nearly 20 years in healthcare. Starting his career in a regional hospital, he quickly learned the challenges in healthcare, especially rural medicine, and began investing in the concept of leveraging health information technology to improve outcomes for patients. His current appointment within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services primarily focuses on implementing the KHIE Strategic and Operational Plan, promoting the statewide exchange of patient health information, spearheading a number of new services designed to improve care coordination, and offer new avenues to reduce reporting burdens and foster inter-agency collaboration.
Listen to our podcast on Buzzsprout, or Spotify and Apple Podcasts. All previous episodes are available.
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If you need assistance with health information technology, contact the Kentucky REC at 859-323-3090 or by email.
Webinar Aug 15 – QPP NPRM 2024 Overview
CMS released the Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program CY 2024 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) on July 13. This proposed rule will impact and shape the Quality Payment Program for calendar year 2024 and beyond. CMS is proposing changes related to both MIPS and APM Tracks of the program, including pertinent updates to performance thresholds and reporting periods. Our expert advisors will share a review of the major proposed updates and potential impacts to eligible clinicians and practices in program year 2024 and beyond.
QPP YEAR 7 WEBINAR: 2024 NPRM OVERVIEW
TUESDAY AUGUST 15th 12:00 – 1:00 PM ET
Submit any questions you have prior to the webinar, or feel free to contact us in advance HERE.
The CMS 2024 NPRM Proposed Rule, Rule Overview Fact Sheet, PFS fact sheet, and MSSP Fact Sheets are available through these links:
2024 Proposed Rule: Federal Register 2024 Proposed Rule
PFS Fact Sheet: Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule | CMS
QPP Fact Sheet: 2024 Quality Payment Program Proposed Rule Fact Sheet and Policy Comparison Table
MVP Fact Sheet: 2024 Proposed and Modified MVPs Guide
MSSP Fact Sheet: Calendar Year (CY) 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule — Medicare Shared Savings Program Proposals | CMS
Contact YOUR experts at Kentucky REC with all your QPP, MIPS/MVP Track, and APM Track questions. We’re here to help: 859-323-3090.
Register Today! Oct 26 – Kentucky REC Annual Conference
Lexington, Kentucky – Join Us in Person or Online
During our day together we’ll discuss quality initiatives, HIPAA, Social Drivers of Health, and more to ensure that clinicians, hospital and ambulatory administrators, and clinic staff are well prepared for the challenges of modern healthcare. Guest speakers will be joining us to present on relevant topics.
Keynote Speaker: Astronaut and UK College of Medicine Alum Story Musgrave!
About Story Musgrave
Attend the 2023 Annual Conference
About Story Musgrave
Attend the 2023 Annual Conference
Questions? Contact the Kentucky REC Annual Conference Team at Kentucky REC. 859-323-3090.
Annual Conference Oct 26 – Keynote Speaker Story Musgrave
Hybrid Event with Special Guest Speakers – In Person and Virtual
Oct. 26 2023, Lexington Kentucky, Harper Hall
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: STORY MUSGRAVE
We are pleased to host NASA Space Shuttle Astronaut, Surgeon, Artist, Educator, Walt Disney Consultant, and University of Kentucky Medical School Alum, Story Musgrave.
Story Musgrave is the only NASA astronaut to have flown on all five space shuttles, a feat he achieved over the course of his 30-year career at NASA, during which he completed six space shuttle flights in total, all the while working as a part-time trauma surgeon. Although best known for his career as an astronaut, Musgrave has worked in many different fields and has received six academic degrees. Throughout his time spent in the Marines, at NASA, and as a physician, scientist, and educator, he has always maintained a healthy appetite for knowledge, achievement, and service.
Story has been a leader much of his life. The lessons learned from Story’s leadership roles and unique experiences reflect expertise in a multitude of areas relevant to achievement in today’s dynamic business environment.
Questions? Contact us at Kentucky REC or call us at 859-323-3090.
