• MHA Health Summit Registration Open!   MT Flex/PIN has support available for CAH QIC/DON to attend.
• Funding Opportunity for EMR data abstraction assistance
• 2015 CAH Coding Series dates set.  The topic this year is the cardiovascular system
• Hacking Rural Medicine Event set in Missoula

 What is trending on the PIN ListServ?

• MT Rural Health IT Education Support
• Montana HealthCARE project
• Dr. Frank Newman Award Application Open
   

In December 2014 we were hit with an unexpected challenge when we finally became sure that we were required to participate in PQRS. We were as surprised as most CAHs to have this project brought to the fore, and like most CAHs, we have found it to be a confusing and difficult journey. Here's what we've done so far:

Due to issues with the group reporting website, we were unable to register in time to submit as a GPRO. Instead we chose in December 2014 to go with American Health IT as our registry. We have been pleasantly surprised with the level of consultative services AHIT provides, since we are on a very limited schedule. At the same time we gathered educational resources from MPQHF and CMS for staff involved with the project, and developed a strategy for moving forward.

Digging in to the project, we started with submission of a data file including all of our Medicare claims. AHIT analyzed the file and provided us a list of our eligible providers along with which measure groups and individual measures they were eligible for. We brought several options of different measures and groups to our medical staff, although due to the limited time we were not able to dialogue with the providers as much as we wanted to; instead we focused mainly on what is fastest to abstract.

After talking with the providers we began the abstraction process. AHIT provided lists of patient IDs for each provider and measure. We moved these into Excel spreadsheets where the results of the abstraction could be documented, and as each spreadsheet (one per provider) was completed we entered it into the registry's website. By the time we are finished, we estimate that we will have spent no less than 120 hours on the project, and we anticipate approximately half of the 24 eligible providers will earn an incentive payment, while the rest will simply avoid the penalty in CY 2016.

We are also beginning a Lean improvement project around the PQRS process in order to simplify it for coming years. We have also been offered the option of Providence (who hosts our electronic records) providing data files to eliminate abstraction. This approach has many positive aspects but it would remove the autonomy from our providers as far as which measures to participate in. There are many options moving forward but we are glad to finally be pulling this project to a close for the year.

Community Hospital of Anaconda continues to provide basic life support courses not only to employees but to the community as well. Community Hospital of Anaconda has 3 certified BLS instructors.

Community Hospital of Anaconda hopes to train at least 250 citizens of Anaconda on what to do when a person has a heart attack and/or cardiopulmonary arrest. The training program was greatly enhanced when the National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation and the Montana Dealers Association presented 4 Little Junior CPR manikins to Community Hospital of Anaconda.

In accepting the CPR training unit, Jamie Johnson RN, DON and Jo Oberweiser, RN, Asst. DON, said the organization had set a goal to train as many individuals as possible in the next year.

The CPR unit gives signals telling when the trainee is applying the right pressure in the right spot or breathing correctly into the victim's mouth. With the training, the students learn the "feel" of giving quick, lifesaving emergency treatment.

CHA CEO Steve McNeece stated "CHA appreciates the four Junior CPR training manikins from the NADA, MADA and Dee Motors.  CHA provides Basic and Pediatric Life Support classes not only to our employees, but to the local Fire/Emergency Response Team, the Anaconda High School Health Occupation Student Association as well as local dentist offices and financial institutions.  This will allow us to expand our training and improve efficiency." 

The National Automobile Dealers Charitable Foundation is part of the National Automobile Dealers Association with headquarters in McLean, Virginia. Its membership includes over 19,000 franchised new car and truck dealers in the U.S.