Looking to the future of patient-centered cancer research and treatment

Over the past 40 years, cancer research has seen revolutionary discoveries — about genes, targeted drugs, and immune therapies — that have already had dramatic effects for some patients.

But to speed progress toward better therapies, we need another kind of revolution: We need to enable cancer patients to become active partners in research.

The full article from Reed Jobs and Eric S. Lander can be found at this link.  

Slides from September 26, 2018 eHealth Initiative Prior Authorization Workshop by Mark Thompson, Executive Director, Medical Society of Delaware.

Presentation reviews a new approach to prior authorization - The Smart Prior Authorization (SPA) Solution developed in partnership of the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN) and is partnering with HIEs across the country.

Slides from September 26, 2018 eHealth Initiative Prior Authorization Workshop by Heather McComas, Director of Administrative Simplification Initiatives, American Medical Association (AMA).

The presentation reviews the current state of prior authorization, overview of recent AMA prior authorization research, grassroots prior authorization stories, and AMA's prior authorization and utilization management reform principles.

This podcast Meditech discusses the unique challenges and opportunities that rural healthcare organizations are facing as we shift to value-based care models. Tune into this podcast to hear a discussion about the evolving role of the healthcare CIO and how he sees it continuing to change in the future. 

U.S. National Health IT Week (NHIT Week) is a nationwide awareness week focused on catalyzing actionable change within the U.S. health system through the application of information and technology. Founded by HIMSS and the Institute for e-Policy in 2006, the week-long celebration is comprised of partner-driven activities and events led by the efforts of national health stakeholders. Participants range from the Administration, congressional, federal and state agencies, providers, non-profit organizations and more. Virtually, in Washington DC and beyond, National Health IT Week stakeholders collaborate towards actionable outcomes which demonstrate the power information and technology has to transform health in the U.S., and its wide-reaching global impact.

EPCS Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances

What is e-prescribing?

E-prescribing (electronic prescribing) is a technological framework that allows medical practitioners to electronically write, then send prescriptions to a pharmacy. E-prescribing replaces handwritten prescription pads, faxes, and calling in prescriptions via phone. According to Surescripts data from their 2017 National Progress Report:

• 77% of ALL prescriptions are e-prescribed
• 90% of prescriptions for non-controlled substances are e-prescribed
• Only 21% of prescriptions for controlled substances (opioids, narcotics, etc.) are e-prescribed

Why is Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances (EPCS) important?

• EPCS allows for the security of electronic records, a reduction in fraud and abuse, and an improvement in patient safety
• EPCS positions pharmacies and providers to better share patient information by tracking the frequency, length of time, and dosages of patients using opioids
• The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revised regulations to allow EPCS on a federal level in 2010. All states adopted the practice by 2015, but most did not have a mandate in place

Does EPCS help address prescription abuse? YES and New York is a model.

• In March 2016, EPCS was mandated for most doctors in the state of New York
• 97.8% of pharmacies are e-prescribing and 93.8% are EPCS enabled
• There was a 98% reduction in doctor shopping in the state
• There was a 70% reduction in prescription pad theft and loss

What are Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) and why are they important?

• PDMPs are electronic databases that track controlled substance prescriptions in each state
• PDMPs can provide health authorities with real time information about prescribing and patient behaviors to facilitate nimble and targeted responses to the opioid crisis

What opioid legislations are pending as of 10/2/2018?

• H.R. 6, Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, draws on sixty-six bills that address opioid use prevention, recovery, and treatment and can affect electronic prescribing, prescription drug monitoring programs, and HIPAA laws, and include HR 5009, HR 3528, and HR 5801
• H.R. 6 sister legislation, S. 2680 The Opioid Crisis Response Act (OCRA)
• H.R. 5009. S581. Jesse’s Law requires drug addiction status to be added to all medical records
• H.R. 3528. Every Prescription Conveyed Securely Act requires all controlled substances prescribed by clinicians under Medicaid Part D to be electronically prescribed
• H.R. 5801. Providers Are Required To Note Experiences in Record Systems to Help In-need Patients (PARTNERSHIP) Act requires all states to establish prescription drug monitoring programs and healthcare providers to check the PDMP for the Medicaid patient’s prescription

Presentation slides and recording of 10/2/18 webinar.

Risk-based reimbursement contracts are the vehicle some health systems are using to move to value-based care, prompting health systems and plans to partner and share analytic tools.

On this webinar, speakers from Marshfield Clinic Health System and Milliman MedInsight discuss the top five tools they believe drive the success of their 6-year analytic partnership, which has helped mitigate risks and improve patient care.

By attending the webinar you will learn to: 

-Leverage predictive algorithms, benchmarks, and grouper technology
-Quantify cost reduction opportunities and utilization rates on potentially low value services 
-Use a cohort approach to fine tune care coordination programs for Population Health

Speakers:
-Michael Sautebin, Chief Actuary, Security Health Plan 
-Meghan Fetherston, Principal and Healthcare Analytics Consultant, Milliman

Financial incentives to encourage value-based health care

This paper reviews the literature on the use of financial incentives to improve the provision of value-based health care. Eighty studies of 44 schemes from 10 countries were reviewed. The proportion of positive and statistically significant outcomes was close to 0.5. Stronger study designs were associated with a lower proportion of positive effects. There were no differences between studies conducted in the United States compared to other countries; between schemes that targeted hospitals or primary care; or between schemes combining pay for performance with rewards for reducing costs, relative to pay for performance schemes alone. Paying for performance improvement is less likely to be effective. Allowing payments to be used for specific purposes, such as quality improvement, had a higher likelihood of a positive effect, compared to using funding for physician income. Finally, the size of incentive payments relative to revenue was not associated with the proportion of positive outcomes.

The full paper can be downloaded below.  

Connecting your medical data could be the next big payoff

An article focused on creating accessible and integrated patient data.  This holistic approach fulfills value-based care goals and helps promote overall patient health and wellness.  

The full article can be viewed at this link.  

Mayo Clinic Documentary

Take a timely look at how one institution has met the changing demands of healthcare for 150 years—and what it can teach us about facing the challenges of patient care today. 

The full documentary is available on PBS at this link until Oct. 9