Resource Search Results

FAQ: How will the upcoming changes to the Information Blocking and EHR certification requirements impact health centers?: October 2022 (2023). Resource Type: Publication. Description: When will the new information blocking and EHR certification requirements be in effect? What are the upcoming changes? How will these changes impact health centers? How will the scope of Information Blocking requirements change? How should health centers expand their EHI scope? How will EHR certification requirements change? How should health centers leverage the new FHIR R4 capabilities? More Details...

Accessing Your Health Center's Digital Health Tools: HITEQ Team Tool Kit (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: Digital patient engagement investments is a broad category that includes all digital health tools your health center uses to reach and support patients. These include patient portals, messaging and outreach apps, remote patient monitoring tools, and mHealth apps. Despite the hopes and promises of new technologies, implementation of digital tools in health centers can be uneven and siloed, hindering progress on adoption, engagement, and transformation. 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...

Telehealth Advancement in Massachusetts 2020-2021: Celebrating successes and insights for sustainability. June 2022. (2023). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Health center utilization of telehealth advanced in leaps and bounds since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. In 2019, fewer than 500,000 visits in health centers nationwide were provided via telehealth, and in 2020, over 28 million visits were conducted virtually as reported in the Uniform Data System (UDS). More Details...

Managed Care Data Checklist: Companion Document to Video Module: Payer Data: The Managed Care Data. Prepared by Starling Advisors for the HITEQ Center in July 2022. (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: How to Use This Checklist: This is a supplement to our Module 2: The Managed Care Data Set, which uses the HCP-LAN APM Framework as its basis. Review both before using this checklist. There are terms used throughout that may be new to you or may benefit from detailed explanations—please visit our Value Based Payment Glossary for basic definitions for a host of key terms. More Details...

PrEP Process Map Example: HITEQ Center, September 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: This resource is an example of a Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Process Map. A process map is a picture of how a health center workflow moves from the start point to the end point. As you review the process map, make note of the design elements, such as use of colors, shapes, and icons, and the level of detail included in the map. You can download the process map in the Documents to Download section below. 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...

Cybersecurity: Ask Me Anything: HITEQ Highlights Webinar (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: This session sought to motivate and educate Health Center staff and leadership on current critical cybersecurity threats, concepts, and methods for the defense of health data. A panel of cybersecurity experts addressed questions on how to best protect the health center from both internal and external network leaks, through malware such as ransomware, and through physical means on-site. 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...

Resources for Expanding PrEP Services in your Health Center: Curated PrEP resources for health centers, compilation in 2022 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: Below is a database of helpful PrEP resources. Click View Larger Version in the bottom right corner to open in full screen. Click Open this Resource to open any individual resource for which you\'d like to see the full details. 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...

A Guide to Essential Cybersecurity Tasks for Health Centers: For health centers with limited resources, developed in June 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: In an increasingly connected healthcare landscape, health centers face a dual challenge: the rising tide of cyber threats and the need to comply with stringent data protection regulations, all while managing limited resources. The ever-evolving nature of cyberattacks and the complexity of compliance requirements make it essential for health centers to prioritize cybersecurity tasks effectively. More Details...

Assessing Provider Capabilities, Attitudes, and Preferences about Telehealth: HITEQ Center Question Bank, April 2023 (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: As health centers are charting their path forward with telehealth after the public health emergency ends, it will be critical to have methods in place to comprehensively assess the current experiences, capabilities, attitudes, and preferences of providers. Telehealth program improvements should be grounded in a real understanding of these factors to ensure readiness of all providers. More Details...

HITEQ Highlights: The Federal Telehealth Policy Landscape After the PHE: What's Staying (For Now) and What's Going: HITEQ Highlights Webinar (2023). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: Worried about what the end of the Public Health Emergency Act will mean for your telehealth services? This session covered what the status of the various temporary federal telehealth policies will be once the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) ended on May 11, 2023. As health services have increasingly been provided through virtual care, one important policy discussed was the proposed rules that impact the prescribing of controlled substances using telehealth. More Details...

The Managed Care Data Set - Video: Developed with Starling Advisors in 2022 (2023). Resource Type: E-Learning. Description: This is the second in a three module value based care basics series from the HITEQ Center. This module was developed by Starling Advisors in 2022. More Details...

Clinical Quality Measures for Eligible Professionals: 2023 Update: A crosswalk of Clinical Quality Measures for UDS and other reporting from The HITEQ Center (2023). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: This spreadsheet developed by the HITEQ Center provides a crosswalk of Clinical Quality Measures and their electronic specifications as defined in the 2023 update for Eligible Professionals (Clinicians). Fields include the crosswalk of measures with related information about CMS, NQF, and MIPS ID, and Telehealth Eligiblity, as well as inclusion in HRSA BPHC Uniform Data System (UDS) CY2023, Million Hearts, CMS Quality Payment Program (QPP) - APM Performance Pathway (APP) Measures, Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP)/ CMS ACO Shared Savings Program, CMS Core Set (Child Core Set Medicaid / CHIP): HEDIS Specified, CMS Core Set (Adult Core Set Medicaid): HEDIS Specified, Core Quality Measures Collaborative (ACO / Primary Care). Links are included throughout. More Details...