WVMI & Quality Insights - Practice Transformation  
Improving Hypertension and Diabetes Care & Prevention   
Register Now for this Free Community Health Worker Training
The Role of Community Health Workers in Completing the Care Puzzle 
 
FREE The University of Delaware School of Nursing, in partnership with the Delaware Medical Reserve Corps and Delaware Division of Public Health, announces a new training opportunity for healthcare providers, The Role of Community Health Workers in Completing the Care Puzzle.

 
This training will address the use of community health workers (CHWs), and will focus on clients with chronic disease in medical and healthcare practices. CHWs are front-line public health workers who have a close understanding of the community they serve. This trusting relationship enables them to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.

Dates & Locations
Friday, June 17, 2016
Christiana Care - John Ammon Center Auditorium, 4755 Ogletown-Stanton Rd, Newark, DE
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (Registration/Breakfast Buffet at 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.)
 
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
Bayhealth Milford Memorial Hospital, Board Room, 21 West Clarke Ave, Milford, DE 
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Registration/Dinner Buffet at 5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.)

For more details and registration information, please download the CHW Provider Training flyer.
 
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Download the New AMA List of Common ICD-9 & ICD-10 Codes for Prediabetes and Diabetes Screening  

The American Medical Association (AMA) recently posted a new resource in its online AMA/CDC Provider Toolkit that provides a list of commonly used ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes for prediabetes and diabetes screenings.

Download this new AMA resource now.
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Read More About Hypertension in Control's Top Performer - Delaware Primary Care   

When it comes to hypertension control, Delaware Primary Care in Dover, DE is getting it done. In a recent six month period, Delaware Primary Care reported that it met the National Quality Forum (NQF) measure 0018 (Controlling High Blood Pressure) for 90 percent of its patients. This measure includes the percentage of patients between the ages of 18 and 85 who had a diagnosis of hypertension and whose blood pressure (BP) was adequately controlled (defined as <140/90) during the measurement period. The national average for NQF 0018 is 47 percent.

The practice is a member of the Aledade ACO, with three physicians and one nurse practitioner.  "We have a high number of hypertensive patients, so our experienced physician staff is taking extra time with these patients during office visits toprovide them with patient education and ensure that they are complying with medications as directed," said Dr. Abimbola Osunkoya. The practice is proactive with identifying uncontrolled patients with hypertension. Patients can have their blood pressure checked in the practice without seeing a physician. "Patients look forward to seeing their blood pressure controlled," said Dr. Osunkoya.

Hypertension in the African American population is poorly controlled and is one of the top diagnosis that led to kidney failure. "Bringing patients in often is key in caring for and monitoring patients hypertension. We recommend patients bring in their home blood pressure logs and blood pressure machines during every visit," said Dr. Theodore Tan. "A patient that has a high blood pressure is considered a patient with uncontrolled blood pressure. These patients return to the office every two weeks for a blood pressure check.  If a patient is unable to afford a home blood pressure machine, the patient is provided a loaner blood pressure machine for a few weeks so the patient can monitor their blood pressure while they are at home."
 
Join Quality Insights in congratulating Delaware Primary Care for leading its patients towards improved blood pressure control.
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Find Out Which Physicians Were Named 2015 Hypertension Control Champions  
  
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Million Hearts� recently announced the 2015 Hypertension Control Champions. This year 18 Champions, ranging from small practices to large health systems, were selected from across the nation for their success in helping patients keep their blood pressure under control.
 
It is a proven fact that controlling blood pressure helps save lives. An astounding one in three Americans has high blood pressure, but many of them do not know it. Million Hearts� launched the Hypertension Control Challenge to motivate health care teams and practices across the country to identify and connect with patients in their practice who have uncontrolled high blood pressure. All of the 2015 Champions met, and many exceeded, the goal of blood pressure control for at least 70 percent of their adult patients with hypertension. They succeeded by making control a priority and by implementing evidence-based strategies such as guideline-based treatment protocols, patient communication, and health care team approaches.
 
You can see the full list of Champions on the Million Hearts� website.   
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Don't Miss This Webinar 
Medication Adherence: Improving Patient Outcomes 
Thursday, June 16, 2016 - 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Medication non-adherence has a significant impact on healthcare costs and patient outcomes. In order to manage this complex problem, especially in the community pharmacy setting, payers, employers and healthcare providers rely on the expertise of pharmacists to improve medication adherence rates.
 
Join Quality Insights and presenter Andrea Williams, RPh, MBA, RX CONSULTANTS, LLC, for this live webinar session as we take a deeper dive into improving medication adherence rates from a pharmacist's perspective. This webinar session will address the following:
  • Barriers to successful medication adherence,
  • Patient coaching and interviewing techniques
  • Best practices
  • Notable pharmacist interventions 
  • Medication adherence assessment tools
A case study of a diabetic patient with multiple co-morbidities will be presented during the webinar.
 
Registration is required to attend this session, so please REGISTER NOW. Once you have registered you will receive a confirmation e-mail which will include the login details. 
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Contacts:
1.877.987.4687, Ext. 137

1.877.987.4687, Ext. 127
 
  
This publication was supported by the Cooperative Agreement Number 1U58DP004799-01 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.