Resource Search Results

Health Center Resilience in the Face of Cyber Adversity: A Case Study of the Family Health Center of Worcester’s Ransomware Incident, February 2024 (2024). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The use of ransomware -- malicious software that restricts access to computer systems with financial demands -- has escalated, targeting health centers and putting countless lives at risk. This dire reality came to the forefront during the alarming ransomware attack on the Family Health Center of Worcester, Inc. (FHCW), where the personal health information and care continuity for thousands of patients were compromised. This resource uses FHCW's experience as a case study to demonstrate the imperative of preparedness and the strength of a community-centered response in ensuring the continuity of healthcare services amidst the ever-growing tide of cyber vulnerabilities. More Details...

How EHRs Can Be Leveraged to Streamline Social Needs Screening (2024). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: Learn how screening for housing status and other Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) measures can be introduced or better integrated into health center clinical workflows. Presenters share guidance on implementing and systematizing social needs data collection in Electronic Health Records (EHRs), followed by a panel of expert health center representatives who that speak about their programs’ journeys with social needs screening programs. While this webinar will focus on health care for the homeless (HCH) health centers, anyone involved directly in social needs screening or interested in improving screening processes are welcome. Learning Objectives After this webinar, attendees will… ○ Describe the importance of capturing social needs screening data and how they relate to overall health center services. ○ Appraise their organization’s social needs screening workflow based on promising practices and examples of peer health center examples. ○ Describe strategies that could be applied to their health center to improve or streamline social needs screening process. ○ Identify which strategies demonstrated in the webinar can be introduced at their health center. More Details...

HITEQ Highlights: What to Do About Health IT Hazards Associated with Copy and Paste in the EHR: HITEQ Highlights Webinar (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: Copy and paste functionality can support efficiency during clinical documentation, but may promote inaccurate documentation with risks for patient safety. This webinar discussed three key areas where health centers can consider implementing safe practice recommendations: Define copy and paste as a health IT safety issue by identifying the potential patient safety risks Review safe practice recommendations and implementation strategies to mitigate health IT-related hazards and safety issues Disseminate evidence, tools and practices for implementation More Details...

Improving Health Center Cybersecurity: Risk Assessment, Breach Defense, Mitigation and Response - Session 4: Virtual Learning Collaborative (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: It\'s time to reconsider your strategy if you still treat cyber risk as an annual project or initiative. Having a thorough ongoing program in place means that even in the worst-case scenario, you\'ll be ready to demonstrate that you did what was reasonable and appropriate to protect your systems and patient data. Nothing can guarantee that a cyberattack won\'t become a breach. Health Centers are a domain with a high potential for data breaches, and the risk continues to grow as health centers use new tools and the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, it is crucial for health center leadership to adopt breach prevention strategies across their entire organization, as opposed to relegating it to the IT department. To support health centers in their cybersecurity strategy and implementation, the HITEQ Center is offering a free learning collaborative -- Improving Health Center Cybersecurity: Risk Assessment, Breach Defense, Mitigation, and Response. This learning collaborative will involve four structured virtual learning sessions. During the series participants engaged with subject matter experts and their colleagues in peer-to-peer learning and discussion. Topics included: health center breach mitigation tactics, operationalizing cybersecurity to better mitigate risks, cybersecurity implications of generative artificial intelligence in health centers, and incident response planning from a cybersecurity perspective. More Details...

HITEQ Highlights: Enabling a Cyber-Resilient Health Center: HITEQ Highlights Webinar (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: This HITEQ Highlight aimed to strengthen Health Centers\' capacity to build their cyber-resiliency. We covered risk management tools, methods for guarding against cybersecurity assaults, operationalizing cybersecurity to mitigate risks, and breach mitigation tactics. Participants focus on safeguarding data across the entire enterprise and examined approaches to implementing cybersecurity infrastructure through risk management frameworks and strategic risk assessment. More Details...

HITEQ Highlights: Health Centers as Actors (in Information Blocking)!: HITEQ Highlights Webinar (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: The HITEQ Center discussed approaches to balance patient confidentiality, sensitive situations, vulnerable populations, and meeting the provisions in CURES act and information blocking. How health centers should best prepare themselves and their staff to meet the information blocking provisions and better serve the patient population was also discussed. More Details...

Successful Steps for Holistic Integration of Mental and Behavioral Health in Primary Care Learning Collaborative: Part Four (2023). Resource Type: In-Person Training. Description: Session 4 or 4 delves into various quality improvement techniques. Participants learned how to apply the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle effectively to bring about meaningful change within their healthcare settings. Practical tools and real-world examples guided participants in identifying areas for improvement and implementing evidence-based strategies. More Details...

Successful Steps for Holistic Integration of Mental and Behavioral Health in Primary Care Learning Collaborative: Part Three (2023). Resource Type: Online Self-Paced Learning Modules. Description: Integrating behavioral health services into primary care requires effective financial planning and re-conceptualization of determining ROI. Session 3 of 4 focuses on enhanced billing practices tailored to integrated healthcare models and on determining the contribution of integrated BH to the finances of the primary care setting or the health system as a whole. More Details...

Enhancing Healthcare Access for Special Populations Through Telehealth and Home Visitation Services: Part Two (2023). Resource Type: In-Person Training. Description: Hosted by the National Nurse-led Care Consortium and the National Center for Health in Public Housing, this 2-part webinar series discussed promising practices in home visitation and telehealth as ways to support improved access to comprehensive primary care for communities with high levels of disability and isolation, lack of adequate transportation, and other social drivers of health that contribute to health inequities, particularly residents of public housing. More Details...

Successful Steps for Holistic Integration of Mental and Behavioral Health in Primary Care Learning Collaborative: Part Two (2023). Resource Type: Online Self-Paced Learning Modules. Description: Session two focused on enhancing understanding of integrated care models and aspects of gaining leadership support for successful implementation. Leadership endorsement is critical for the successful implementation of integrated care methods. Participants engaged in discussions centered around strategies to gain leadership buy-in. Case analyses and group exercises empowered attendees to identify key motivators for leaders and tailor their approach to effectively communicate the benefits of integrated care, thereby securing the necessary support. More Details...

Successful Steps for Holistic Integration of Mental and Behavioral Health in Primary Care Learning Collaborative: Part One (2023). Resource Type: In-Person Training. Description: Integrated healthcare is a unique way to detect and address the broad spectrum of psychological, biological, and social needs among primary care patients. In part one of this learning collaborative, participants explored different levels of engagement and examined this framework of collaboration and the different levels of integration; we also learned about key strategies for successfully implementing integrated health care in your healthcare setting. Participants were introduced to the framework for patient and family engagement and reviewed an organizational assessment to gauge where action can be taken. More Details...

Navigating Compliance Challenges with the Information Blocking Rule: A Collection of Case Studies: HITEQ Center and Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP, September 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) 21st Century Cures Act Information Blocking Rule (Info Blocking Rule) prohibits covered actors – including health care providers, health IT developers of certified health IT, and health information exchanges/health information networks– from engaging in practices likely to interfere with, prevent, or materially discourage access, exchange, or use of electronic health information (EHI). The Info Blocking Rule includes eight exceptions that provide actors with certainty that, when their practice interferes with the access, exchange, or use of EHI and meets the conditions of one or more exception, such practice will not be considered information blocking.1 More Details...

Health Center Guidelines for Implementing FHIR and the Information Blocking Rule: HITEQ Center, September 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: The 21st Century Cures Act and the ONC Health IT Certification Program include rules for technical configuration and use of Health Level 7® (HL7) Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources® (FHIR) for health data exchange and accessibility. Health centers are directed to enable and publish their healthcare data locations, known as FHIR endpoints,* to and from their electronic health record (EHR). Part of the Cures Act, known as the Information Blocking Rule, mandates that patients have “easy” access to their digital medical information, costs and claims associated with their health record, and whom the data can be shared with. More Details...

FAQ: How can health centers comply with both 42 CFR Part 2 and the Information Blocking Rule?: July 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: What are the HIPAA guidelines related to PHI and PII? What is 42 CFR Part 2? What is the Information Blocking Rule? How can my health center comply with both 42 CFR Part 2 and the Information Blocking Rule? How can my health center safeguard EHI on the patient portal following 42 CFR Part 2? How can I find out if 42 CFR Part 2 applies to my health center? Where can I find sample Information Blocking policies, procedures, and templates? More Details...

Interoperability Readiness Scorecard: HITEQ Center, July 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Template. Description: Many health centers struggle to reap the benefits of technological advancement and investments in health information technology (health IT), while others embrace them and reap rewards. Interoperability is one such example; requiring health centers assess systems, relationships, and implementation. There are keys to successful interoperability implementation for which health centers must develop processes, stand up infrastructure (within the system, internally and externally, and organization), and then take action. Process refers to structured processes, policies, and procedures within the health center. Infrastructure refers to structural capacity and ability within the health center’s technology and staffing structure. Action refers to full implementation to the point of active and ongoing use and engagement. This scorecard encourages health centers to consider their processes, infrastructure, and action in a number of key areas. Each area key to interoperability are to be self-graded on a scale of 1 through 5, where 1 is poorly or not yet developed and 5 is well developed. Health centers can also use this to guide discussions and monitor progress over time. evaluate once steps have been completed. More Details...

The HITEQ Center Podcast: Sharing Virtual Care Success Stories and Lessons Learned in 2022 and 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Podcast. Description: HITEQ is highlighting stories of leveraging the EHR, health IT, digital health tools, and other virtual care supports for health center recovery and stabilization during the COVID-19 pandemic and thereafter in this series of podcasts. We are lifting up stories that demonstrate the promise of digital and health IT tools to address the timely needs of health centers and their patients, emphasizing those that support high value, equitable care for all health center patients and that reduce provider burden. More Details...

Promoting Cybersecurity Awareness for Patients: Protecting yourself when using patient portals, health apps, and online medical devices, June 2023. (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: This training guide provides patients with knowledge and awareness about cybersecurity threats to protect their personal health data and to minimize risks from computer viruses and malware. More Details...

Health IT Optimization for Effective PrEP Services: HITEQ Center, June 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: Health centers are increasingly interested in embedding oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) programs into primary care, which calls for the embedding of PrEP care processes into electronic health record (EHR) systems. Health centers have had success with automation in HIV testing, and are looking to apply automated algorithms, order sets, and templates to the development of PrEP programs. This resource outlines EHR and health information technology (IT) configurations and tools that support PrEP care processes and provides examples of successful implementation from health centers and primary care settings. More Details...

Sensitive Information and the Electronic Patient Record: HITEQ Center, June 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: With nearly 100% of community health centers utilizing electronic health records (EHR) to care for patients, focus has pivoted from implementation and new workflow development to enhancement in order to drive value and reflect patient needs and population trends. EHR technology presents potential opportunities and significant constraints. Providers frequently document and share potentially sensitive information in the EHR, such as risk for intimate partner violence (IPV), consistent offers of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or patient sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). More Details...

Addressing IPV/HT with New OCHIN Smartform (2023). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Developed in partnership with OCHIN, this Health Information Technology (HIT) Memo discusses how health centers (HCs) can partner with HIT platforms to improve patient quality of care and privacy. This resource explains the lessons learned from our recent development of the OCHIN EHR Smartform and publicizes its availability to OCHIN members and others. More Details...