Braintree Office Move

By Lorraine Potter, Director of Facilities

Although the snow won't quit, we are still scheduled to move the Braintree Office at the end of the month!

The move date is set for Friday, February 27th. The new Quincy and Weymouth locations are on track for construction and I'm asking that the office be packed up by noon on the 27th.

There is a Move Committee that has met the past couple of Tuesdays and we are now cleaning the office from items that will not be making the move. Packing crates from Tobin and Son's Movers have arrived and can be retrieved from David James along with labels that will ensure they are transported to the correct new location.

I'm asking that all clinicians to clean out their assigned draws by Thursday, February 19th, so I can have them removed on the 20th. Please take all personal items home so they will not be mistakenly thrown away.

Building FOBs are also being collected from now until February 28. Please turn them in to Lorraine Potter or David James.

Thank you for your cooperation and please let me know if you have any questions at 508-751-6826 or lpotter@vnab.org. 

Best Practice Committee Monthly Update

By Joan Roth, Manager of Special Initiatives & Best Practice Committee Member

The VNAB is committed to the goal of reducing our rehospitalization rate. The agency's goal is to have all patients admitted by nursing to have their 2nd nursing visit within 48 hours of start of care.  We will now be measuring this rate monthly for patients at high risk for hospitalizations.

For the month of January 2015, the agency's rate for having the second nursing visit within 48 hours of start of care for high risk patients was 63%. This is lower than our rate for December which was 69%.

We are also promoting two additional interventions that are best practices for keeping patient's from being rehospitalized.

• The first best practice intervention is that continuity of care with  providers improves patient outcomes. To support this practice we will be reporting on the percentage of patients who received their 2nd nursing visit by the nurse case manager. The rate for the month of January was 54% which is slightly lower than the rate for December which was 55%.
• The second best practice intervention is that the patient have a physician follow up visit within 7-14 days after a discharge from an acute care hospital. The rate for January was 75% which is the same as the rate in December was which was 75%.

Thanks for your continued efforts to keep patients out of the hospital particularly during the four  weeks after they first come home from the hospital. The next report will be for the month of February.

Please remember that a great way to help keep our patient's out of the hospital is to provide telemonitoring for the high risk for rehospitalization patients. We now can provide monitoring for our COPD patients in addition to our Heart Failure patients.

Please see your manager with any questions.

Anthem Data Breach Update

We have been in close contact with our representatives from BCBS regarding the recent data breach at Anthem. They have assured us that the impact to Massachusetts enrollees is limited to those who have received care in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, or Wisconsin within the past 10 years.

Anthem is offering free credit monitoring to those who have been affected. More information can be found at www.AnthemFacts.com. Additional information has been provided below from both BCBS of MA and Anthem.

From Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is aware that Anthem, Inc. was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber-attack, currently under FBI investigation. They are diligently working with Anthem and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to gather more information about the scope of this issue and how it might impact their members.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association consists of 37 independently operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield member companies. Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts are separate and distinct companies.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts regards the protection of their members' privacy and personal information as their top priority. They are making every effort to ensure that all personal information they maintain is secure and safe.

In the coming weeks, should the investigation find that any of their members are affected, they will formally notify you and communicate with accounts and members in writing and take appropriate, timely action. Free credit monitoring and identity protection services will be provided if it is determined that any of their members have been affected.

This is a complex investigation, and they are committed to keeping you informed. Please see the message below from Anthem, Inc. that contains more information about the breach and ways to find out more information.

From Anthem, Inc.

This update is intended for all employees that have been insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts in the last 10 years. As you may know, last week, Anthem® announced that it was the target of a very sophisticated external cyber-attack and will continue to work closely with federal authorities throughout their investigation. They have reported that member names, member health ID numbers, dates of birth, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and employment information, including income data, were accessed, as well as, some members' Social Security Numbers. Since then, Anthem has been analyzing their data to understand the impact to members and has secured a best-in-class vendor to provide identity protection services to members as quickly as possible.

We are sharing this information with you because Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (who, along with Anthem, utilizes the national Blue Card PPO network of providers) has informed us that their members who received care in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, or Wisconsin within the past 10 years may be impacted. Anthem is also assessing the potential impact to members of Blue MedicareRxSM, a Medicare Part D plan that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts offers jointly with Anthem.

Whether you currently have an Anthem or Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts health plan or have been enrolled in such a plan over the past 10 years, we highly recommend you review the information shared in the link below so that you are fully informed about the potential impact and what resources are available to you.

Concerned members can visit www.AnthemFacts.com to learn how to enroll in two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft repair services provided by a leading and trusted identity protection vendor. Members do not have to wait to receive a notification letter to access these services starting February 13, 2015. In the coming weeks, Anthem will mail letters to any impacted Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts members.

Additionally, Anthem has created a hotline, 1-877-263-7995, along with the website listed above, that has more information, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to further explain the cyber-attack and the steps Anthem is taking to address the matter. Among other helpful information, these FAQs identify the brands and plans impacted. We encourage you to review these resources and monitor events as they unfold.

TO VNAB/MRI FSA Participants

Claims for 2014 must be in to Sue Schroepfer at the Braintree office no later than Friday, February 20 to be included in paycheck of 02/26/15.

You have until March 31, 2015 to submit claims for 2014.

Questions? Contact Sue Schroepfer at (781) 535-5341 (X5341) or sschroepfer@vnab.org.