Born of a crisis and recognized today as a national leader in patient safety and risk management, COPIC is one of Colorado's proudest health care achievements. The physician-governed organization was founded in 1981 by CMS to address the upward spiral on the cost of medical liability insurance that was adversely affecting access to care. For over 30 years, CMS and COPIC have united on legislation, education and advocacy.

At the same time, COPIC's connection to CMS has helped the company develop patient safety programs that address on-the-ground realities for physicians. CMS endorses COPIC as its number one strategic partner and the preferred medical professional liability company for all Colorado physicians, particularly for these top seven COPIC perks:  

1. Patient safety and risk management resources that support better medicine
2. Direct access to medical and legal experts
3. 3Rs program
4. Unparalleled defense
5. Strong partner in legislative advocacy
6. COPIC Financial Service Group (FSG)
7. Commitment to improving health care in Colorado

Access the full 7 Reasons document here.

The deadline to apply for a Meaningful Use (MU) hardship exemption has been extended to July 1, 2016 from its original deadline of March 15. The AMA is encouraging ALL physicians who participated in the 2015 Medicare MU program to apply for the hardship.

The application and additional instructions are available on the federal CMS EHR Incentive Programs website. Submission of a hardship exception application does not prevent providers from attesting and receiving an incentive payment if meaningful use requirements are met. In essence, the hardship exemption will act as a safety net. Therefore, physicians who believe that they met the MU requirements for the 2015 reporting period should still apply for the hardship protection.

Note that the program operates on a two-year look-back period, meaning that physicians who are granted an exception for the 2015 program will avoid a financial penalty for 2017. The federal CMS has stated that it will broadly accept hardship exemptions.

The Weitzman Institute is working with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing to offer free telehealth education and training sessions to healthcare providers on evidence-based strategies for better management of complex pain and medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction.

Providers may participate in one or two HIPAA-compliant teleconferencing programs, which are available at no cost to their practices.

• Project ECHO Pain connects primary care providers with chronic pain specialists to learn more holistic, multi-disciplinary approaches to treating chronic pain and to reduce the need for prescribing opioids. The sessions are provided twice monthly for one year. Participants and staff members from participating sites also receive access to PainNET, an online resource where staff can access pain care tools, news, and blogs, and collaborate with experts and peers.
• Project ECHO Buprenorphine links providers with specialists on buprenorphine treatment and counseling, providing them with the support and expert advice that they need to gain confidence in their management of opioid dependence with buprenorphine. The sessions are provided once a month for one year.

The Colorado SIM Office has announced the first cohort of primary care practices selected to participate in practice transformation activities through the SIM initiative. These practices will play an integral role in achieving Colorado SIM's goal of providing access to integrated physical and behavioral health care services in coordinated systems, with value-based payment structures, for 80 percent of Colorado residents by 2019. By participating in SIM, practices will receive a comprehensive practice transformation support package as well as the opportunity to participate in alternative payment models, the goals of which are to simultaneously improve patient outcomes while promoting greater return on investment. View the list of practices here.

Starting May 2016, Colorado Medicaid will change its name to "Health First Colorado". The new name and logo aims to better represent Colorado's fresh approach to public health care coverage.

Beginning as early as March 20, cards printed from Colorado.gov/PEAK will have the Health First Colorado name and logo. In June 2016, all hard copy cards sent to newly enrolled members will reflect the Health First Colorado name and logo. Current cards are still valid; members do not need to request new cards. As a reminder, members are only required by the department to furnish their photo ID at appointments; Health First Colorado cards are not required to receive services. Providers should verify a member's identity and eligibility at each appointment. Please ensure that all front desk and billing staff are aware of this change. Learn more about Health First Colorado at Colorado.gov/hcpf/hfc.

The Colorado Medical Society's CME program requests all members complete the CME Needs Assessment Survey. This electronic survey aims to identify professional development needs of physicians and their practice teams and will allow us to focus our efforts toward those areas that will be most beneficial to physicians, practices and patients. It takes less than five minutes to complete and all responses will be kept confidential. Complete the survey online today.

Peer Assistance Services has teamed up with the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) to provide no-cost training and technical assistance for Colorado Medicaid providers on screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT). SBIRT is an effective preventive health service to identify, reduce and prevent problematic substance use. The Medicaid project goals are to increase the statewide adoption of SBIRT to help prevent substance use disorder, to detect risky use and offer support, and to refer patients to substance use treatment who need it.

View the remaining dates through June 14 and access the registration link on CMS.org.

A promotional toolkit for the April 30, 2016 National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is now available on the take-back webpage of dea.gov. The toolkit features graphics, flyers, posters, brochures, etc. that can be used to help publicize the day. Consider using the materials in your office or on your practice website to alert your patients of this opportunity.