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From Our Experts
sunny-beach-girl.jpg We're Finally Talking about Behavioral Health
By Frank Cornelia, MS, LPC, Associate Director of Policy and Government Affairs, Colorado Behavioral Healthcare Council

Lately, it seems like everywhere you turn in health care people are talking about the importance of behavioral health. "We need to connect the head to the body", goes the oft repeated phrase. But it wasn't so long ago that conversations about behavioral health occurred separately from the rest of health care. Behavioral health and physical health professionals rarely interacted and delivery systems were fragmented. Payment was siloed and oversight occurred in separate government departments. In fact, about the only constant in all this was the patient, who was required to navigate these complex systems without much assistance or care coordination. 

Neighborhood Leaders in Change
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A Port in the Storm: The Aging Center's Aging Families and Caregiver Program

By: Stephanie Spriggs
Grant Writer and Report Specialist, CIVHC

In 2011, the first wave of the Baby Boom generation turned 65. By 2056, the population over 65 will outnumber those under 18. As parents, wives, husbands, and siblings move inexorably toward end-of-life care, the Aging Families and Caregiver Program at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs' Aging Center is providing much-needed support and counseling to those sitting at the bedsides of loved ones.

In The News
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How to Improve the Health of Patients with Complex Care Needs
By Institute for Healthcare Improvement, June 2015
To prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and ED visits for patients with complex care needs, San Francisco Health Network (SFHN) has established interdisciplinary complex care management teams, in which they embed nurse care managers, health coaches, social workers, and others in primary care health centers to provide additional "wraparound services" for patients.
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Sepsis, Major Driver of Readmissions, Mortality and Costs
By David Ferguson, July 2015
Sepsis, a leading cause of hospital readmissions and deaths, is difficult and expensive to treat. However unlike other leading causes of 30-day readmissions and patient deaths, the medical condition has not been singled out for special attention under provisions of the Affordable Care Act. A UCLA study has found that the condition costs hospitals more than heart attacks and heart failure combined.

Medicare Proposal to Pay for Advance Care Planning 

By Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, July 2015

The proposed rule also seeks comment on a proposal that, among other things, would allow physicians to be reimbursed for talking with  Medicare beneficiaries about important health care decisions that give them control over the type of care they receive and when they receive it.  

Full Article

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New Medicare Proposal for Hip and Knee Replacements

By Dori Zweig, July 2015

Medicare is proposing to pay providers who perform hip and knee replacement surgeries based on their ability to deliver high-quality, low-cost care under a five-year initiative. The Comprehensive Care of Joint Replacement payment model will target Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries as they transition from surgery through recovery.  

Full Article

Additional Article from HHS.gov

Proposed Rule

Let Your Voice Be Heard

Be our Expert:  Passionate about care transitions? Implementing innovative interventions? Share the work you're doing by writing a blog for our From the Experts section in the newsletter! Let others know what you've been doing and what kind of success you've had improving transitions of care. Please contact us for more information.

 

Share your stories:  Sharing stories can lead to positive change. Tell us about your experience as a provider, patient or caregiver and inspire others to make changes and help find new ways to improve care across Colorado. Submit stories here for inclusion on the HTC site.
In This Issue
Upcoming Events
8.6.15-National Quality Strategy Webinar: Best Practices to Improve Community Health


Nurse Patient
Healthy Transitions Webinars Available 

Recordings and slides of our monthly webinars are located on the Webinar Archive page of the Healthy Transitions Colorado Website. 

Webinar Archives 
Healthy Transitions Colorado is a collaborative effort, focused on aligning and accelerating existing efforts to improve transitions of care for Coloradans. Our guiding principles are simple - by working together to break down the silos of health care, we can foster true community care coordination across facilities, specialties, and practices. 
 
 

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