| Special Announcement |
 Physician office practices can now apply to receive a HealthInsight Quality Award. Practices must submit their applications by Wednesday, October 31, 2012. Click here for more information. To download the physician office application, please click here.
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| Upcoming Events | |
Diabetes 101 Training
Friday, November 9, 2012
7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Register here (click on "Update Conference) *This event is sponsored by the Utah Department of Health and the American Association of Diabetes Educators Utah Chapter* |
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Utah Mammography Action Summit
November 8, 2012
8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The Utah Department of Health is hosting the first ever Utah Mammography Action Summit. Please save the date to join us for this event to discuss strategies to increase low mammography screening rates in Utah. View the
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| Feedback | |
Please let us know if you found this month's edition useful, or if you have suggestions for the focus of future articles.
We are sending you this monthly publication to spread the news on information relevant to your clinic and to inspire you to keep up the good work. Please feel free to forward this newsletter by using the "Forward this email" button at the bottom of the email. Each edition will also be archived on our website. You may unsubscribe at any time.
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Greetings!
 Welcome to the first issue of the Clinically Speaking eNewsletter. We hope you find this monthly newsletter a valuable resource as we keep you updated on healthcare specific issues, such as; diabetes care, health information technology, cardiac care, and upcoming events that are relevant to your work.
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Is Your Practice on Track to Meet Meaningful Use for 2012? 
October 3rd is your last chance to begin a 90-day reporting period to qualify for the full $18,000 initial incentive payment. Meet with your HealthInsight Project Coordinator today to make sure that you are ready for attestation.
The Medicare Meaningful Use EHR incentive program allows eligible providers to receive $44,000 over the course of five years. Eligible providers may begin attesting to Meaningful Use at any time between now and 2016, but the financial incentive decreases substantially for first year Meaningful Use attestations after January 1, 2013. Read more...
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Community and Volunteer-Driven: The People's Health Clinic
The newest member of the IC3 Beacon Community of Practice is the People's Health Clinic (PHC) in Park City. This non-profit, community supported clinic utilizes volunteers to provide high-quality medical services to the uninsured individuals and families in Utah's Summit and Wasatch Counties. Read more...
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Million Hearts Pledge
 Heart disease and stroke are the first and fourth leading causes of death in the United States. Heart disease is responsible for 1 of every 3 deaths in the country. Million Hearts™ is a national initiative that has set an ambitious goal to prevention 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017. The impact will be even greater over time.
According to Million Hearts™, preventing 1 million heart attacks and strokes in five years will require the work and commitment to change from all of us. There are steps that each of us can take to reach this goal as a nation. Be one in a Million Hearts™ and see how your actions can make a positive difference. To learn more and to increase the pledge for Million Hearts in Utah, please go to http://millionhearts.hhs.gov/individuals.html. |
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Clinical Practice: Diagnosis of Diabetes
The identification of patients with diabetes or prediabetes by screening allows for earlier intervention, with potential reductions in future complication rates.
A 42-year-old asymptomatic man with hypertension presents for his annual physical examination. His medications include atenolol combined with chlorthalidone (at doses of 50 mg and 25 mg, respectively, per day). Both parents had type 2 diabetes mellitus later in life. He does not smoke cigarettes. His body-mass index (BMI, the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) is 32.3, and his blood pressure
is 130/80 mm Hg. Would you screen the patient for diabetes, and if so, how? Read more...
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Providers Partnered with the Regional Extension Center Twice as Likely to Meet Meaningful Use  On July 26th, the Government Accountability Office released a report that confirmed our experience: Providers who work with Regional Extension Centers are twice as likely to receive Medicare electronic health record (EHR) Incentive Payments as those who don't. In 2011, over 56,000 providers nationwide made the commitment to health IT and received $967 million in incentive payments. Read more...
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CMS Starts Auditing Recipients of Meaningful Use Bonuses 
Some physicians who have received a Meaningful Use incentive check for adopting electronic health records (EHR) may have received another piece of mail recently from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The gist of that letter: You are being audited.
Figliozzi and Co., an accounting firm based in Garden City, N.Y., is the company contracted by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct post-payment auditing of hospitals and eligible professionals who successfully claimed meaningful use under the Medicare incentive program. A doctor or hospital found ineligible for an EHR incentive after an audit would be asked to return the bonus payment. Read more...
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Immunization Rate Survey
Utah is creating a five year strategic plan to improve immunization rates. The Greater Salt Lake Immunization Council (GSLIC) is requesting that anyone involved in immunizations
(MDs, RNs, MAs, etc.) take a survey to help them gain community insight and provide feedback.
Please take a moment to fill out the survey before the October 31st deadline.
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About Our Work
This information is provided by HealthInsight, a private, non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to improving health and health care. HealthInsight serves as the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization, Beacon Community, and Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center in Utah. HealthInsight leads an initiative to improve diabetes care, cardiac care, population-based care, and improve the use of health information technology.
To learn more about us, visit our website at:
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