Resource Search Results

Collecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SO/GI) Data In Electronic Health Records (2020). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: Alex S. Keuroghlian, MD, MPH and Chris Grasso, MPH present the most up-to-date information and strategies for collecting sexual orientation and gender identity information. More Details...

EHR-Related Resources for 330 and RWHAP Dually Funded Health Centers: Resources curated from TargetHIV.org and other sites in October 2019 (2019). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Health centers funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) must submit the Ryan White Services Report (RSR) annually and often maintain separate databases from their EHR to do so, which is less than ideal in many situations. This document summarizes resources related to integrating RWHAP data reporting requirements into EHRs, including specific vendors, as well as those related to improving HIV service delivery using technology. More Details...

Nurse Closer Process: Using Nonclinician Staff to Make Patient Visits More Efficient (2019). Resource Type: Other. Description: The Nurse Closer process was designed and implemented to use non clinician staff to make patient visits more efficient. The model drives quality by combining team-based care with technology and allows all team members to work at the maximum capacity of their license. The goal of the process is to achieve higher value care with out increasing clinical expenses or provider burn out. More Details...

Health Center EHR Transition: Tips for everything from selection to contract negotiation to implementation (2019). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The HITEQ Center has a number of EHR transition tools that may be helpful for health centers that are considering a transition from one EHR to another. This resource brings together all these tools for easy access. More Details...

HITEQ Highlights: Addressing Childhood Obesity in Health Centers (2019). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: This webinar focused on how to improve child weight screening, nutrition and physical activity counselling, and design appropriate and meaningful interventions according to health center peers. A number of tools that support this quality improvement around addressing child weight and potential for obesity were discussed, including Bright Futures guidance and data validation tools from HITEQ. More Details...

HITEQ Highlights: Using Health Information Technology to Enhance Opioid Use Disorder Treatment (2019). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: The Health Information Technology, Evaluation, and Quality Center (HITEQ) hosted this webinar on promising and innovative practices for the use of health information technologies (IT) to enhance opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. The webinar also featured the experiences and practices of health centers which are currently using health IT to enhance OUD services. More Details...

EHR Vendors Most Frequently Used by Health Centers: 2014 through 2017, according to information reported in the UDS. (2019). Resource Type: Publication. Description: These graphs and tables use health center reported UDS data from 2014 through 2017 to identify the 10 EHRs most frequently used among health center programs, and shows the change between years. Updated in late 2018 with 2017 data, these graphs and tables use health center reported UDS data from 2014 through 2017 to identify the 10 EHRs most frequently used among health center programs, and shows the change between years. Download the PDFs below for all the information. 2014 and 2015 information was taken from the EHR Form in the UDS, and 2016 and 2017 information was retrieved from the Health IT Form in the UDS. 2018 information will be added when available. Each of these forms can be seen in the UDS manual for the given year here.  Efforts have been taken to normalize data for aggregation purposes such as to combine those that reported "Next Gen" and those that reported "NextGen"; otherwise, all information is used as reported by health centers without further verification.   More Details...

Health Center Data Validation Tool: Tool to Validate Adult BMI UDS Clinical Measure Reporting from EHR (2019). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This Excel-based tool is designed to support validation of EHR reporting for the Adult BMI clinical measure by comparing results from EHR to results from chart reviews or examination of underlying data. This assists in identifying specific data elements that are not being captured appropriately, either as a result of workflow or EHR report logic, and thereby effecting compliance rates. More Details...

Health Center Security & Compliance System Implementation Guide: 1/1/2019 (2019). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This toolkit provides a framework for Health Centers to evaluate compliance and security concerns as they purchase, adopt, and implement technology solutions. There are ever-increasing cybersecurity guidelines and protection measures that Health Centers must navigate and digest. Newer and rurally located Health Centers can especially benefit from guidance and decision support that assists them in determining how to implement systems in a manner that meets compliance requirements and doesn’t expose information to undue security risk. Identifying and managing these types of risk can be especially important when procuring new Health IT e.g. EHRs, Medical Devices, Data Warehouses for the Health Center. This toolkit provides a framework for Health Centers to evaluate compliance and security concerns as they purchase, adopt, and implement technology solutions. Every time a Health Center adopts and implements newly procured technology, they could be exposing themselves to compliance gaps and security risks. Often these topics are addressed after the solution is implemented and are an after-thought. Unfortunately, the later in the adoption process that security is considered, the costlier it becomes to address as it may require redesign or reconfiguration of software, systems, and processes. Especially important for covered entities, like Health Centers, is for this process to meet the regulations outlined within HIPAA. Throughout this document, the related HIPAA requirements are highlighted within each section so as to better understand where this process sits within broader security risk assessment SRA practices. In the Appendix of this guide is an EHR/Health IT Systems checklist that can be used as an implementation interview guide when procuring new resources. This guide can help organizations identify security concerns and design the appropriate solution starting at the design and vendor-selection phase, thereby increasing the likelihood that security will be considered fully throughout the implementation process. Download the full toolkit below, which includes the following sections: System overview Information classification and inventory Business Associate Agreements and Contracts Risk Analysis Identity management Encryption Auditing and logging Contingency planning Workstation requirements Patching Security testing Vendor and developer access Physical security Network segmentation More Details...

Addressing Childhood Obesity in Health Centers: Promising Practices and Lessons Learned: January 2019 (2019). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The HITEQ Center interviewed ten health centers and health center partners to identify solutions and promising practices for addressing childhood obesity across the health center program. The focus included how health centers are meeting the Uniform Data System UDS measure and how they are taking further steps to identify and intervene with those at risk of obesity leveraging health information technology, electronic health records, and the data they have. Seven key areas are identified in the resulting issue brief. In the Fall of 2018, the HITEQ Center interviewed ten health centers and health center partners to identify solutions and promising practices for addressing childhood obesity across the health center program. The focus included how health centers are meeting the Uniform Data System UDS measure, Weight Assessment and Counseling for Nutrition and Physical Activity for Children and Adolescents CMS155v6, and how they are taking further steps to identify and intervene with those at risk of obesity by leveraging health information technology, electronic health records, and resulting data. Seven key areas of improvement from interviews are identified in the resulting issue brief: Key 1. Embed Needed Data Capture in Workflow Key 2. Implement Successful Monitoring to Support Decision Making Key 3. Understand the Evidence Base Key 4. Identify Key Data and Metrics Key 5. Target Interventions Appropriately Key 6. Consider Alternative Appointment Types and Locations Key 7. Create Comprehensive, Accessible Interventions Download the issue brief below to see health center examples, related research, and health IT tools for each of these keys. More Details...

Behavioral Health Integration Compendium: Curated Guidance and Resources from Experienced Organizations, developed with Chiron Strategy Group (2018). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Many health centers collaborate with external behavioral health providers or provide co-located or integrated behavioral health services within their health center. Some of the most significant challenges are determining which data to share, how to store it within the Electronic Health Record, and how to use it within primary care. This compendium of literature and resources offers some guidance related to behavioral health data integration, complete with key health center considerations for each. Many health centers collaborate with external behavioral health providers or provide co-located or integrated behavioral health services within their health center. Some of the most significant challenges are determining which data to share, how to store it within the Electronic Health Record, and how to use it within primary care. This compendium of literature and resources offers some guidance related to behavioral health data integration, complete with key health center considerations for each. Click on each heading below to access the original pieces being profiled. Integrating Behavioral and Primary Care — Technology and Collaboration This article focuses on the challenges of integrating data between primary care and behavioral health. It discusses a number of concerns, and approaches that have been taken, including the benefits of developing structured data within the EHR. Health Center Takeaway: Patient consent for sharing sensitive health information can be integrated into the EHR, which will allow for greater information sharing while complying with Federal privacy expectations. Can technology shape the future of behavioral health? This article includes a number of different ways that technology plays a part in integrated behavioral health, highlighting: Adoption of telehealth as a means to augment care; Inclusion of behavioral health data in Health Information Exchanges, citing the experience of Arizona; and An example of an application being developed with NIH support that hopes to provide collaborative care tools to patients. Health Center Takeaway: Health centers are encouraged to investigate whether insurers will reimburse for telehealth and what is required to do so, to see if developing a telehealth program might augment the availability of behavioral health services for your patients. HITEQ has a number of resources related to telehealth. Integrated Behavioral Health Partners Three Case Studies on Behavioral Health Data Sharing Three California case studies where organizations shared behavioral health data.  The website includes details regarding mental health data, substance use data, consent, methods of sharing, and challenges. Health Center Takeaway: Use these examples of different approaches to consent and level of information sharing to foster conversation among your leadership on how to create greater data integration. Center for Health Care Strategies Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health Care in Medicaid Toolkit Section IV: Information Exchange CHCS has developed a rich resource for behavioral health integration.  This section focuses on information exchange, and has a number of helpful resources identified. Health Center Takeaway: The last two resources are integrated care plan templates; if you have an external behavioral health partner, consider how you might share data between the two organizations in a standardized format. Patient-Centered Primary Care Institute Behavioral Health Integration: Obstacles & Successes Lessons learned from this interview: Change the mindset from the bringing together of two services to truly integrating whole health Shift from historic care delivery methods to a focus on achieving better health outcomes Building trust with primary care providers is essential Health Center Takeaway: Determining what patients need will help guide the type of integration services your health center develops, which can include different approaches for different sites. SAMHSA’s Quick Start Guide to Behavioral Health Integration for Safety-Net Primary Care Providers This guide helps any health center think about where it is in the process of integrating behavioral health, with a number of embedded links for additional information. Key areas of Administration, Workforce, and Clinical Practice. Health Center Takeaway: Use this guide to identify barriers to a fully-developed program, and find resources to help overcome them. Zufall Health Center Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care Change Package Zufall Health Center partnered with a local behavioral health system to create an Integrated Behavioral Health system, using grant funding to help support the pilot. This collection of lessons learned focuses on: Leadership Commitment Clinical Information Systems and Measurable Improvement Integrated Care Delivery Clinical Decision Support Patient/Family Engagement Health Center Takeaway: Leadership must assess organizational capacity to collaborate, and then collect baseline data on health outcomes, including preventative screenings, ED visits, hospitalizations as some of the early steps. Implementing measurement and management of key clinical outcomes are critical next steps. NCQA Mainstreaming Behavioral Health Care NCQA has developed a Distinction in Behavioral Health Integration, which allows recognition of Patient Centered Medical Homes who have integrated care teams in place using evidence-based protocols and ongoing quality measurement and improvement. Health Center Takeaway: Many health centers have achieved recognition as a Patient Centered Medical Home PCMH or are along the way.  Aligning behavioral health integration work to earn this Distinction can help provide a roadmap for implementation of integration activities, and externally create validation for potential funders. How Intermountain Healthcare's Mental Health Integration is Improving Care Intermountain Healthcare is a large health system, with 22 hospitals and 180 clinics. It has been developing Mental Health Integration services for a number of years, with three key components: Their mental health assessment tool activates a team consultation workflow to determine which patients are referred. They designed an operational system in which mental health specialists and nurse care managers are included in the primary care staff, through full-time co-location or frequent rotation.They evaluate the program regularly to monitor patient outcomes, team effectiveness and the culture of healthcare delivery from the perspective of the patient and the care provider. Health Center Takeaway: Integrating behavioral health takes time. Intermountain Healthcare has created an efficient process to develop programs and they plan for two years to implement and become revenue-neutral. Health centers would benefit from a long-term approach with a commitment of upfront internal or external funding.   Deeper Reading If you are looking for more in-depth reading on the topic, visit the following links for longer articles. Electronic Health Record Challenges, Workarounds, and Solutions Observed in Practices Integrating Behavioral Health and Primary Care This Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine article describes the electronic health record EHR-related experiences of practices striving to integrate behavioral health and primary care using tailored, evidenced-based strategies from 2012 to 2014; and the challenges, workarounds and initial health information technology HIT solutions that emerged during implementation. Behavioral Health Information Network of Arizona: 2014 HIMSS HIE Community Roundtable This HIMSS presentation describes the design and implementation of a Health Information Exchange in Arizona that integrates behavioral health data and is 42 CFR Part 2 compliant.  Useful for any health center leadership involved in such a project with their affiliated Health Information Exchange. More Details...

EHR Implementation Timeline for Health Centers: A Planning Tool for Health Centers Implementing New EHRs (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: To ensure successful and smooth implementation or migration of electronic health record (EHR) systems, it is critical for health center staff to carefully plan the process. This timeline document highlights key events and milestones that should take place in the months before, and immediately following, the EHR go-live date. To ensure successful and smooth implementation or migration of electronic health record (EHR) systems, it is critical for health center staff to carefully plan the process. This timeline document highlights key events and milestones that should take place in the months before, and immediately following, the EHR go-live date.   This provides a simplified timeline to aid health centers in planning EHR implementation or migration. Download the tool below.  More Details...

Quality Report Inventory: Organizing your quality team with a schedule and map of quality report distribution (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This Report Inventory tool is a means to make public all available reports, the schedule for publishing to the organization, and their distribution.  A Report Inventory is a means to make public all available reports, the schedule for publishing to the organization, and their distribution. It provides a point of reference for all potential report requestors who are looking for data on any metric. The Report Inventory may also include reference to EHR alerts, mappings, and schedules and any supporting EHR or Population Health Management tools that are available to support improvement of each metric. Making this tool available on a shared drive or company intranet provides a point of reference for analysts to direct report requestors prior to acting on any new report request. The Report Inventory is organized by metric, including the denominator and numerator definitions, exclusions, and references to the metric steward which may be internal to the organization or external (e.g. UDS, NQF, etc.). The Report Inventory should be curated by your data analysts in collaboration with the responsible metric stewards within an organization. Download the Excel tool below to see a full example and additional instructions.  Also, see the companion Data Dictionary tool here. More Details...

EHR Optimization Series: Part Two of Three: Including slides, Workflow tool, and Provider Scorecard (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The second of a three-part EHR Optimization series focused on establishing goals and expectations for optimizing EHR utilization and sharing proven strategy/tools for optimizing EHR utilization, including slides and related tools. The second of a three-part EHR Optimization series focused on establishing goals and expectations for optimizing EHR utilization and sharing proven strategy/tools for optimizing EHR utilization, including slides and related tools.  EHR Optimization Session 2 Slides From the second May 2017 Learning Session Provider Scorecard: Assessing accurate EHR documentation This resource provides a process and method that can be used to evaluate the degree to which an individual provider or care team member consistently documents required information in the appropriate place in the EHR. Blank and Sample completed, filled-in versions are available for download below. EHR Workflow Worksheet: EHR Optimization tool to map the workflow to enhance performance on a particular clinical measure This tool provides a structured way to review how data is captured and input in the EHR for a particular clinical measure across the clinical team including registration, pre-visit planning, nursing, and provider visit. The sample uses the BMI Percentile Children CMS 155 v5 as an example, and a blank version is also provided. Using the workflow tool will help answer questions on which components of the data are entered by whom, and facilitate soliciting feedback from staff on ways to improve efficient and accurate data capture. Blank and Sample completed, filled-in versions are available for download below. Visit the Guide for Improving Care Processes and Outcomes in Health Centers for additional tools and support for workflow assessment and improvement. Download each of these resources below, in the Documents to Download section. More Details...

EHR Optimization Series: Part Three of Three: Including slides, Data Dictionary, and Quality Report Inventory (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The third of a three-part EHR Optimization series focused on establishing goals and expectations for optimizing EHR utilization and sharing proven strategy/tools for optimizing EHR utilization, including slides and related tools.  The third of a three-part EHR Optimization series focused on establishing goals and expectations for optimizing EHR utilization and sharing proven strategy/tools for optimizing EHR utilization, including slides and related tools.  EHR Optimization Session 1 Slides From May 2017 Learning Session; objectives include: Understand the role reporting has in EMR optimization Be able to list at least 3 considerations when developing reports to improve EMR utilization and meet the goals of the intended audience Identify at least 2 HITEQ resources for improving reporting effectiveness in facilitating decision-making Be able to discuss the interplay between reporting and data validation Slides are in the Documents to Download section; Recording is available below in the Links section.  ​Data Dictionary: Organizational tool to catalog your EHR and analytics platform data indicators A Data Dictionary provides a single point of reference for data mapping and interpretation for all of the indicators in your quality reports. Organization of the data definitions in this tool provides a reference for the team of the definitions which impact reports and alerts in the analytics application. That application may be the EHR or an analytics platform that is tied to the EHR. Anyone with questions about where data is being pulled from for any indicator can reference the Data Dictionary without analyst security privileges or expertise within the analytics tools. The Data Dictionary should be curated by analysts and made available on a shared drive or company intranet. Quality Report Inventory: Organizing your quality team with a schedule and map of quality report distribution A Report Inventory is a means to make public all available reports, the schedule for publishing to the organization, and their distribution. It provides a point of reference for all potential report requestors who are looking for data on any metric. The Report Inventory may also include reference to EHR alerts, mappings, and schedules and any supporting EHR or Population Health Management tools that are available to support improvement of each metric. Making this tool available on a shared drive or company intranet provides a point of reference for analysts to direct report requestors prior to acting on any new report request. The Report Inventory is organized by metric, including the denominator and numerator definitions, exclusions, and references to the metric steward which may be internal to the organization or external e.g. UDS, NQF, etc.. The Report Inventory should be curated by your data analysts in collaboration with the responsible metric stewards within an organization. Download each of these resources below, in the Documents to Download section. More Details...

EHR Optimization Series: Part One of Three: Including Performance Measure Crosswalk and Data Definition Worksheet (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The first of a three-part EHR Optimization series focused on establishing goals and expectations for optimizing EHR utilization and sharing proven strategy/tools for optimizing EHR utilization, including slides and related tools.  The first of a three-part EHR Optimization series focused on establishing goals and expectations for optimizing EHR utilization and sharing proven strategy/tools for optimizing EHR utilization, including slides and related tools.  EHR Optimization Session 1 Slides From May 2017 Learning Session; agenda includes: Introductions EHR Optimization Defined Identifying “Waste” Data Life Cycle Strategies for EHR Optimization Closing/ Discussions/ Sharing eCQM Crosswalk for UDS, MIPS, PCMH, etc.: Quality Measure reference tool to understand relationship between eCQM, PCMH, Meaningful Use and UDS data measures The CMS eCQI Resource Center is the definitive eCQM resource. This tool provides a quick crosswalk to the eCQM measure definitions and guidance to which of the eCQM measures are reported for UDS 2019, MIPS, CPC+, and NCQA PCMH. *Updated in January of 2019* Performance Measure Data Definition Worksheet: Organizational tool to confirm eCQM measure specifications match EHR vendor logic ONC EHR Certification criteria means that vendors use eCQMs’ electronic Clinical Quality Measures’ specifications to define measures. Therefore, reported data for a measure should be consistent regardless of vendor. In practice, however, it is important to confirm the vendor’s logic is consistent with the health center’s definition and workflows. This tool supports alignment of the health center’s data definition with the vendor’s reporting logic. Download each of these resources below, in the Documents to Download section. Access part two and three of this series as well! More Details...

Data Dictionary Tool and Template: Organizational tool for your EHR and analytics platform data indicators (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This Data Dictionary provides a single point of reference for data mapping and interpretation for all of the indicators in your quality reports. Organization of the data definitions in this tool provides a reference for the team of all such definitions that impact reports and alerts in the analytics application. This Data Dictionary provides a single point of reference for data mapping and interpretation for all of the indicators in your quality reports. Organization of the data definitions in this tool provides a reference for the team of all such definitions that impact reports and alerts in the analytics application. For example, it provides a format to document all items in a given report, and related EHR data. That application may be the EHR or an analytics platform that is tied to the EHR. Anyone with questions about where data is being pulled from for any indicator can reference the Data Dictionary without analyst security privileges or expertise within the analytics tools. The Data Dictionary should be curated by analysts and made available on a shared drive or company intranet. Download the Excel tool below to see a full example and additional instructions.  Also, see the companion Quality Report Inventory tool here. More Details...

Health IT Privacy & Security Skill Sets: The Importance of Information Security for all Health Center Staff (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Since 2010, the healthcare industry has seen a remarkable increase in the use of technology in the administration and delivery in healthcare. This has led to a mass migration of data from paper charts and isolated systems to Electronic Medical Records EMRs and interconnected systems that transmit patient health and financial information across trusted and untrusted networks. More Details...

CHC Adoption Framework for Electronic Patient Engagement: Methods for deploying more personalized care to underserved populations (2017). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: The introduction of electronic personal health records (PHR) systems, and the patient portals used to provide patients access to those records, into the fabric of the U.S. healthcare system provides a major opportunity to encourage positive health management practices, such as chronic disease management and increased care plan adherence, through greater engagement of the patient. More Details...

Using your EHR for Population Health Management: A Cross-reference Tool (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Health centers are interested in implementing population health management (PHM), but often lack the resources to purchase specialized PHM software suites to implement in conjunction with their EHR. We assessed the functionality of certified EHRs to assist health centers in utilizing native EHR capabilities to perform PHM functions. More Details...