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In this Issue of REConnection
Welcome to the July issue of REConnection.
We have lots of great information to share with you.
Here are some of the highlights:
Best Regards,
The RI REC Team
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In the Spotlight
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Steps to Meaningful Use Event Recap
On Wednesday, June 4, 2014, we hosted an after-hours open house for RI physicians who have not yet reached Stage 1 Meaningful Use. The event gave attendees the ability to discuss barriers on a one-to-one basis with RI REC's Relationship Managers who were able to advise each attendee on how to select an EHR, how to start a security risk assessment, how to run reports from an EHR, and how to register on the CMS website. Each attendee had the opportunity to receive in-depth advice on how to chart a plan for their office to make Meaningful Use happen.
If you could not attend and still need help with Stage 1 Meaningful Use, please contact us at:
888-858-4815.
Stephanie A. Souza, RN, Office Manager, Barrington Pediatric Associates, Inc. (Left) with RI REC Relationship Manager, Sue Dettling (Right)
RI REC Project Coordinator,
Sasha Zapata provided information
about CurrentCare and how
to enroll in the REC.
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RI Regional Extension Center to Sponsor NCQA-PCMH Event
The RI Regional Extension Center (RI REC), a service of the Rhode Island Quality Institute, has partnered with The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to sponsor a networking event and presentation on patient engagement during a three-day educational event in Providence, July 22 -24. The RI REC will sponsor a networking reception on Tuesday July 23, and present on "How CurrentCare Can Help with Transitions of Care." The session on Wednesday morning will begin with a presentation by nationally known Dave deBronkart (epatient Dave), who is an activist for healthcare transformation through participatory medicine and personal health data rights.
The patient-centered medical home is a model of care that emphasizes care coordination and communication to transform primary care into "what patients want it to be." Patients in medical homes receive the right care, in the right amount, at the right time. This increasingly popular delivery system leads to safer and better care, empowers patients, and renews the patient-provider relationship.
NCQA is offering two courses at the July conference that focus on the Patient-Centered Medical Home and NCQA PCMH Recognition Standards. NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) Recognition is the most widely adopted model for transforming primary care practices into medical homes. In addition, NCQA is offering a one-day course on Patient-Centered Specialty Practice Recognition, a recognition that extends the medical home concept to specialists.
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CurrentCare Enrollments Top 400,000
Through the efforts of more than 400 enrollment partners, in June we will hit the 400,000 mark of individuals enrolled. As enrollment in CurrentCare continues to grow, we are also expanding services, adding new sources of data and increasing provider use. CurrentCare now has nearly 70 data-
sharing partners that provide more than 90% of all RI prescription data from retail pharmacies, 90% of all lab data, and data from 100% of Rhode Island's hospitals (not including the VA). We also have telehealth and radiology reports and, in 2013, became the first statewide health information exchange (HIE) in the nation to upload behavioral health and substance abuse data.
CurrentCare is helping to provide better care coordination - a request by both doctors and patients. Right now, we are tracking readmission rates and the effect of CurrentCare Hospital Alerts in reducing 30-day readmissions. Preliminary results of our analysis show fewer readmissions for enrolled patients whose providers subscribe to CurrentCare's Hospital Alerts service. CurrentCare Hospital Alerts provide you with consistent, secure, real-time notification of your patients' hospital and ED admissions/discharges/transfers (ADTs), as well as patient deaths. We encourage you to use CurrentCare Hospital Alerts to help you meet the requirements of the Medicare Transitional Care Management codes (99495 & 99496) or quality payment initiatives focused on reducing readmissions.
As part of our continued progress, we are making important improvements to the CurrentCare enrollment process. We will be transitioning away from paper-based enrollment forms to a more efficient online enrollment process. Online enrollment will enable you to easily enroll your patients in CurrentCare and will provide additional benefits to your practice.
The RI REC Relationship Managers are here to help you manage CurrentCare's wealth of information, including adjusting workflows to help get the most out of these free services for you and your patients.
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If you are an Eligible Professional (EP) who filed for the hardship exemption by July 1, 2014, you can still attest to Meaningful Use
if your circumstances change. CMS has specified: "A hardship
exception does not preclude an EP from attesting and obtaining
an incentive payment, if he or she is able to successfully meet Meaningful Use. If an EP has been granted a hardship exception,
he or she does not need to withdraw the hardship exception application, or notify CMS in order to attest to Meaningful Use.
For resources and more information on this topic, click here.
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Don't miss these upcoming events
REConnection Live!
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Presenters: Peggy Menna and Brian Miller, RI REC
This webinar is the live version of our newsletter where we will bring you up-to-date information about topics of interest to the Provider Community concerning Healthcare Technology and beyond. We'll discuss what's happening both nationally and locally with the meaningful use initiative. Hear a brief, live discussion about these topics and more! As always, we will open the floor for questions of current topics after the session.
REGISTER NOW
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Health IT Professional Certification
The RI Regional Extension Center offers free licenses to take online Health IT professional certification courses. Upon successful completion of a course, you can add the appropriate credential after your name. This offer is available to Rhode Island primary care providers and specialists, their office staff, and any Rhode Island-based college student enrolled in a health IT-related course of study.
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Rhode Island Medical Journal: June and July 2014 Editions
RIQI is pleased to share the June and the July 2014 editions of the Rhode Island Medical Journal,
the monthly publication of the Rhode Island Medical Society.
 
View the June Edition
View the July Edition
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The RI Regional Extension Center (RI REC) is a service of the Rhode Island Quality Institute, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and value of health care in Rhode Island. To learn more, visit www.DocEHRtalk.org.
RI REC and its services and materials are made possible through a grant from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology with US Department of Health and Human Services support. |
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REConnection is intended to provide the Rhode Island healthcare community and other interested stakeholders with timely news and information about RI REC's programs, resources, and educational activities that support the adoption of health information technology.
To learn more about participating in RI REC's EHR Adoption, HIE/CurrentCare, and Direct Adoption Programs, please call 888-924-4156 or write to rirec@riqi.org.
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