Resource Search Results

Improving Diabetes Outcomes: Curated Expert Guidance, Tools, and Resources (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: According to 2016 UDS data, an estimated 14.3% of Federally Qualified Health Center patients nationwide have diabetes. Of these 2 million plus patients living with diabetes, approximately 32% have uncontrolled diabetes, with HbA1c equal to or above 9% or have had no test in the prior year. These statistics bring forth the need for improvement in the care of diabetes; several resources and research outcomes are profiled here with specific takeaways for health centers. As of CDC's 2017 National Diabetes Statistics Report, 30.3 million people, or 9.4% of the total U.S. population, have diabetes. Of these 30.3 million, only 23.1 million are diagnosed - while the other estimated 7.2 million are undiagnosed. Additionally, more than 1 in 3 adults or 84.1 million people in the U.S. have prediabetes. Among adults age 65 and older, nearly half have prediabetes. More Details...

Diabetes Improvement Toolkit (2017). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: A website that hosts toolkits, guides, and other resources to support data collection, quality, and performance improvement with the use of Health IT tools More Details...

Promising Practices Report: Community Outreach and Education Efforts of the Metta Health Center Program Within the Lowell Community Health Center (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This report describes the development of a culturally tailored outreach and health education program through the use of radio and public access TV programming by the Metta Health Center Program in Lowell, MA. The health center has been recognized by the Office of Minority health as an exemplar provider of culturally competent care in meeting and exceeding all the standards set forth in the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care. More Details...

Health Center Investments in Enabling Services Associated with Better Outcomes (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This factsheet provides analysis of the health center data from the 2015 Uniform Data System (UDS). The data highlights that enabling services staffing and costs are associated with better national quality measures, including higher rate of HbA1c < 8%, higher rate of controlled hypertension, higher cervical cancer screening, and higher child immunization rate. More Details...

Clinician Wellbeing Bundle (2017). Resource Type: Toolkit. Description: Health providers facing overwork or increased or prolonged stress due to aspects of their work environment and daily tasks may physically or mentally deteriorate and provide inadequate care for their patients. This Content Bundle is housed in the STAR² Center Resource Center and contains articles, websites, multimedia content, and tools related to physician burnout and workforce well-being. More Details...

Staff Orientation to the use of Health Information Technology (HIT) to achieve the Triple Aim - Part I: Part 1 of 3: Effectively Using Data to Improve the Patient Experience (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: A custom, health-center focused eLearning module for onboarding and orienting clinical and administrative&nbsp;health center staff to&nbsp;the Triple Aim and their important role in collecting accurate and timely information to support informed decision-making.&nbsp; The first aim &ndash; Patient Experience &ndash; is addressed in this module with a focus on the many staff a patient interacts with during a visit who impact the patient&rsquo;s care.&nbsp; ** Please note that viewing issues have been identified when using the Internet Explorer 11 browser. The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers. The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers. More Details...

Staff Orientation to the use of Health Information Technology (HIT) to achieve the Triple Aim - Part II: Part 2 of 3: Effectively Using Data to Impact Population Health (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: A custom, health-center focused eLearning module for onboarding and orienting clinical and administrative&nbsp;health center staff to&nbsp;the Triple Aim and their important role in collecting accurate and timely information to support informed decision-making.&nbsp;&nbsp; The second aim &ndash; Population Health &ndash; is addressed in this module with a focus on the use of data to improve the health of a population or sub-group of patients.&nbsp; ** Please note that viewing issues have been identified when using the Internet Explorer 11 browser. The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers.The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers. More Details...

Staff Orientation to the use of Health Information Technology (HIT) to achieve the Triple Aim - Part III: Part 3 of 3: Effectively Using Data to Increase Healthcare Value (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: A custom, health-center focused eLearning module for onboarding and orienting clinical and administrative&nbsp;health center staff to&nbsp;the Triple Aim and their important role in collecting accurate and timely information to support informed decision-making.&nbsp;&nbsp;The third aim &ndash; Value &ndash; is addressed in this module with a focus on using data to achieve the best outcomes for patients while decreasing costs.&nbsp; ** Please note that viewing issues have been identified when using the Internet Explorer 11 browser. The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers.The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers. 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; EHR Optimization Session 2 Slides From the second May 2017 Learning Session Provider Scorecard:&nbsp;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:&nbsp;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&nbsp;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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; ​Data Dictionary:&nbsp;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:&nbsp;Organizing your quality team with a schedule and map of quality report distribution A&nbsp;Report Inventory&nbsp;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&nbsp;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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; EHR Optimization Session 1 Slides From May 2017 Learning Session; agenda includes: Introductions EHR Optimization Defined Identifying &ldquo;Waste&rdquo; Data Life Cycle Strategies for EHR Optimization Closing/ Discussions/ Sharing eCQM Crosswalk for UDS, MIPS, PCMH, etc.:&nbsp;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:&nbsp;Organizational tool to confirm eCQM measure specifications match EHR vendor logic ONC EHR Certification criteria means that vendors use eCQMs&rsquo; electronic Clinical Quality Measures&rsquo; 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&rsquo;s logic is consistent with the health center&rsquo;s definition and workflows. This tool supports alignment of the health center&rsquo;s data definition with the vendor&rsquo;s reporting logic. Download each of these resources below, in the Documents to&nbsp;Download section. Access part two and three&nbsp;of this series as well! More Details...

Preventive Care for People Experiencing Homelessness: Healing Hands (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This issue of Healing Hands addresses some issues in preventive health care for people experiencing homelessness. Highlights include a list of key screenings that are relevant for populations of people experiencing homelessness and a discussion of the different kinds of programs—including medical respite programs, mobile medical units, and telehealth—that can help expand access to preventive health care services. More Details...

HITEQ Health App Decision Tree: A tool developed In collaboration with the Children's Health Fund to help choose appropriate Health Apps (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: There are thousands of consumer health applications health apps, which run on smartphones, watches, tablets, and other mobile devices. These Health Apps are available for download for general consumers, patients, and healthcare professionals. Currently, there is no governmental agency that provides&nbsp;certification or guidance on health apps, although there are several projects from organizations such as HL7, the FDA, ONC, and OCR&nbsp;that are working to provide guidance. User discrepancy in terms of the validity and safety of the health apps they choose to use are&nbsp;primarily based on ratings or recommendations. This guide seeks to provide a health app decision tree that can assist medical professionals and consumers in making wise choices when using health apps. There are thousands of consumer health applications health apps, which run on smartphones, watches, tablets, and other mobile devices. These health apps are available for download for general consumers, patients, and healthcare professionals. Currently, there is no governmental agency that provides&nbsp;certification or guidance on health apps, although there are several projects from organizations such as HL7, the FDA, ONC, and OCR&nbsp;that are working to provide guidance. User discrepancy in terms of the validity and safety of the health apps they choose to use are&nbsp;primarily based on ratings or recommendations. This guide seeks to provide a health app decision tree that can assist medical professionals and consumers in making wise choices when using health apps. The Children&#39;s Health Fund&nbsp;was made aware of a use case in which a health app that was targeted for use by adults was used for a child and consequently caused a detrimental health issue. Currently there are no certifying bodies for consumer-oriented health apps and consequently many doctors must navigate this domain themselves. This guide seeks to provide a health app decision tree that can assist medical professionals and consumers in making wise choices when using health apps. Download the decision tree below. More Details...

Measuring Population Health Management Return on Investment: A methodology to calculate ROI (Return on Investment) using a Matrix Tool (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: There is a great deal of interest among health centers, Primary Care Associations PCAs, and Health Center Controlled Networks HCCNs in the advantages associated with investing in Population Health Management electronic platforms. Measuring specific and quantifiable returns clarifies the benefits and supports consistent understanding among stakeholders of the value of PHM. There is a great deal of interest among health centers, Primary&nbsp;Care Associations PCAs, and Health Center Controlled Networks HCCNs in the advantages associated with investing in Population Health Management PHM electronic platforms. &nbsp;Measuring specific and quantifiable returns clarifies the benefits and supports consistent understanding among stakeholders of the value of PHM. Available below, the PDF document titled Measuring Population Health Management Return on Investment outlines a conceptual process for measurement of ROI of a population health management system offered at the network level. What is presented here could also be used a starting point for developing an ROI analysis at the organizational level. The companion tool, an Excel file titled PHM ROI Matrix Tool,&nbsp;provides recommendations for measurement for different stages of PHM implementation and an ROI calculator. Download both of these resources below. These resources were created in partnership with Michigan Primary Care Association&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mark S. Rivera of Managed Care Consulting Inc./MCC Analytics, and HITEQ&nbsp;thanks both for their time, insight, and energy. More Details...

The Fundamentals of Developing a FQHC APM (2017). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: This webinar provides the basis for developing capitated FQHC APM and some best practices. More Details...

Growing Our Own: Cultivating the Next Generation of Primary Care Physicians in Community Health Centers (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: It is critical to advance policies and programs that help community health centers (CHCs) become Educational Health Centers (EHCs)2 and “grow their own” primary care training opportunities. This paper explores several pathways for promoting CHCs as teaching environments - enhanced partnerships between Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) and CHCs (with either the AMC or the CHC as the sponsoring institution3), and CHCs participating in HRSA Teaching Health Center (THC) funding opportunities (with sponsorship either by the CHC alone or by a consortium body) - and posits a spectrum of options and costs associated with each of these pathways to train medical residents. More Details...

Demonstrating Value: Measuring the Impact of the Health Care for the Homeless Grantees (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This publication provides clear examples of the uniqueness of the population experiencing homelessness and the invaluable work Health Care for the Homeless grantees providing direct services give to our communities. Additionally, first-hand accounts are provided in linked audio files, attesting the value of HCH grantees. More Details...

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: How the Opioid Crisis Affects Homeless Populations (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This fact sheet provides data on how the opioid crisis disproportionately affects people experiencing homelessness and points to treatment recommendations. More Details...

Data Dictionary Tool and Template: Organizational tool for your EHR and analytics platform data indicators (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This&nbsp;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&nbsp;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.&nbsp; Also, see the companion Quality Report Inventory tool here. More Details...