Volume 06 | November 2018
G-Health Enterprises Newsletter November 2018 
G-Health to use MEDENT for face-to-face patient/care coordinator meetings 
G-Health Enterprises has teamed up with its electronic health record, MEDENT, to make face-to-face meetings between its members and patient health navigators (PHNs) easier. Utilizing a telehealth system through MEDENT, GBUAHN members can schedule a time to meet with their patient health navigators digitally. Through the MEDENT patient portal, video visits are scheduled to accommodate a smart phone or laptop (or desktop) computer. Once the meeting time is set up, the member and patient health navigator will be able to engage in a face to face interaction from remote locations.

“Having this connection through MEDENT directly to our GBUAHN members is another way G-Health is tearing down barriers to care created by the social determinants of health,” said Raul Vazquez, M.D., chief executive officer of G-Health Enterprises. “Now, members have the power right in their hands to schedule face-to-face contacts with their PHNs, and they won’t have to deal with barriers such as finding transportation and child care.”
 
Through the use of MEDENT telehealth capabilities and other innovative strategies, G-Health Enterprises will be able to address the social determinants of health and clinical needs with a 360-degree approach. [
Patient health navigators digitally.
 
 Will be able to engage in a face to face interaction from remote locations.
 Through the use of MEDENT telehealth capabilities and other innovative strategies, G-Health Enterprises will be able to address the social determinants of health and clinical needsThrough with a 360-degree approach.

GBUAHN’ s is the first health organization in Western New York to utilize Tyto Care’s cutting-edge tools for remote chronic care management  
GBUAHN has entered into a partnership with Tyto Care , a telehealth company enabling live telehealth visits and comprehensive medical examinations anytime, anywhere. GBUAHN will be implementing Tyto Care’s telehealth platform and examination tools with their patient health navigators (PHNs) for use during in-home visits.

The tools include a portable, hand-held examination kit and a telehealth platform that enables doctors to remotely examine a patient’s heart sounds, lungs sounds, skin, ears, and throat, and measure blood pressure, oxygen levels, and body temperature. PHNs can use Tyto’s digital platform to send the exam data to a physician for review or connect for a live video visit with a physician.

“GBUAHN is thrilled to be the first health care company in Western New York to utilize the Tyto Care equipment and platform,” said Raul Vazquez, M.D., chief executive officer of G-Health Enterprises. “Now our PHNs have the ability to assist physicians remotely utilizing devices to examine ears, heart sounds, lung sounds, throats, etc. Many of our members have transportation issues and this telehealth system makes it much easier and comfortable for patients to see their doctors.”
Tyto Care can remotely diagnose conditions such as cold and flu, cough, ear infections, rashes, stomach issues, and non-urgent bumps and bruises. It can also help clinicians monitor patients with chronic conditions. The solution has been proven to help reduce emergency room visits, keep patients healthier to avoid in-patient hospitalization, and eliminate transportation as a barrier to health care access.
GRANT FUNDS MEDICATION-ASSISTED TREATMENT 
TO REDUCE OPIOD-RELATED DEATHS   

Project is a partnership of Monroe Plan, GBUACO, and Endeavor Health Services to expand access to MAT treatment for Medicaid recipients 
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant to Monroe Plan for Medical Care, a not-for-profit Medicaid managed care organization, to enhance access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services for Medicaid recipients with opioid use disorder (OUD). The Greater Buffalo United Accountable Care Organization (GBUACO) and Endeavor Health Services (Endeavor) will work in partnership to help deliver the project titled, “ Addressing Buffalo’s Opioid Epidemic with Medication-Assisted Treatment .”

Joseph Stankaitis, M.D., M.P.H., Monroe Plan Chief Medical Officer, stated, “Addiction to medical or street opioids has become a scourge in Western New York. This grant allows us to offer evidence-based treatment to some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community by closely collaborating with both GBUACO and Endeavor Health Services.” 

The project will expand access to MAT services, including the medication buprenorphine, to primary care doctors in the GBUACO network and their patients with OUD. The goal of the program is to reduce opioid misuse and overdose deaths among Medicaid beneficiaries in Erie County. According the Erie County Health Department, 268 county residents died of a confirmed or suspected opiate overdose in 2017. 

“Long-lasting changes in brain chemistry can cause difficulty with abstaining from opioid use; withdrawal symptoms and cravings can be overwhelming,” said Raul Vazquez, M.D., chief executive officer of GBUACO. “MAT can help reduce withdrawal symptoms and curb opioid cravings that can lead to relapse. In fact, studies show that long-term MAT has an 85% chance of reducing mortality among people with OUDs. The importance of this SAMHSA grant cannot be overstated.”  

“We are excited to be able to partner with Monroe Plan and GBUACO to offer this much needed service to the community,” said Elizabeth Mauro, LCSW-R, Endeavor Chief Executive Officer. “Our approach to Medication Assisted Treatment is comprehensive, and utilizes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach in the treatment of alcohol and substance abuse. Individuals have access to a wide range of behavioral and physical health services provided where and when they need it.” 

Among other objectives, the program is designed to drop the incidence of illicit opioid use and prescription opioid misuse among project participants from a baseline of 56% to 45% by the end of 2019; to 42.5% in 2020; and to 40% by the end of 2021. By the end of each project year, 90% of
GBUACO’s primary care doctors will have completed trainings and adopted consistent evidence-based MAT treatment guidelines. A full 100 percent of GBUACO’s primary care physicians will have daily access to support from addiction medicine practitioners. By the end of September 2019, 70 percent of all GBUACO practices will have a primary care doctor certified to prescribe MAT pharmaceuticals. 

Endeavor (formerly known as Mid-Erie) will be co-locating behavioral health counselors at the GBUACO primary care sites to provide counseling as part of the comprehensive treatment approach in using Medical-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder.  
Innovative treatment techniques lead to dramatic high blood pressure rate decreases for Urban Family Practice patients

UFP earns national recognition for commitment to improve high blood pressure 
Urban Family Practice (UFP) is utilizing innovative techniques to treat high blood pressure, including a wellness program. Some participants’ blood pressure drops equal the decrease seen in patients taking a drug that costs $280.00 a month.

The Amer ican Heart Association has awarded Urban Family Practice (UFP) a Target: BP™ award for their commitment to prioritize blo od pressure control within Buffalo’s Lower West Side community. UFP is recognized as a leader in the national effort to get people’s blood pressure under control and reduce the number of Americans who have heart attacks and strokes each year. Out of 1,674 health care organizations enrolled in Target: BP, UFP was one of only 438 nationwide to achieve gold status for controlled blood pressure rates for over 70% of its patients.  

UFP used YourCare Health Plan data to track patients with high blood pressure from April 2018 – June 2018. In April 2018, only of 50% of YourCare patients at UFP had normal blood pressure (lower than 140/90). By utilizing innovative techniques to treat high blood pressure, by the end of June 2018, 72% of UFP YourCare patients had normal blood pressure. 
The innovative techniques UFP uses to treat high blood pressure are:
·      Obtain a list of patients who have high blood pressure
·      Call the pharmacy for each patient with high blood pressure and send a 90-day supply order for medication to lower blood pressure. This step enables the patient to start taking the medication even before his/her doctor’s appointment. A ninety-day supply of medication makes it easier for patients who may have a hard time getting to the pharmacy

  • Call the patient for an appointment
  • If his/her blood pressure is lower than 140/90, the patient is asked to return to the clinic monthly; if the patient’s blood pressure is over 140/90, weekly appointments are scheduled

Another innovative G-Health Enterprises program is the Wellness Program through the Greater Buffalo United Accountable Healthcare Network (GBUAHN). The program involves personal training, exercise classes, weight loss support groups, nutritional counseling and healthy cooking classes in their state-of-the-art gym and teaching kitchen. 

Since its inception, the GBUAHN Wellness Program has reduced emergency room visits among its members by 67%, and in-patient hospitalizations by 80%. GBUAHN data across 18 months showed an average drop in blood pressure of 10 points systolic and 6 points diastolic. A three-month study of diabetic patients in the wellness program showed an average A1C drop of .6%. That level of a drop equals the decrease seen in patients taking a drug that costs $280.00 a month.
YourCare Provider Portal – New & Improved! 
Did you know YourCare Health Plan now offers a new and improved provider portal? You can easily access physician information, claims, authorizations, referrals, and much more!
Register for access to the provider portal by visiting https://www.yourcarehealthplan.com/For-Providers/Provider-Login . 

Furthermore, within the provider landing page on the YourCare website, providers have access to our quarterly provider newsletter, monthly bulletins and updates, continuing education seminars, information about our quality incentive programs, and more. 

For questions for our Provider Services team, please call 1.888.638.7149. Thank you for the care you provide to our valued members!
Dr. Vazquez speaks at Latino Summit
As the Statewide-plus recognized expert in his field, Dr. Raul Vazquez, G-Health Enterprises CEO, was invited to speak at the 2018 Upstate Latino Summit. The event took place on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, N.Y. Dr. Vazquez spoke on the subject of Latino Health Disparities. 
GBUAHN and United Healthcare hosted a Halloween Trunk or Treat event on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at GBUAHN’s Jefferson Avenue offices. Participants decorated their vehicles’ trunks according to a theme. Decorated trunks ran the gamut, featuring mummies, spooky spiders and skeletons. Kids dressed in costumes walked through the parking lot, stopped at the cars and received candy.
G-Health Enterprises sponsored Zumbathon – Dance for Freedom for Project Mona’s House – Buffalo’s first restoration home for women who have been victims of human trafficking. The event was held at the Walden Galleria on Saturday, October 27, 2018, with Ondrea Barker and Mahogany Bell on hand to promote GBUAHN and enroll new members.
Buffalo Police Athletic League (PAL) Executive Director Nekia Kemp and Development Director Judith Sperry stopped by GBUAHN to formally accept their donation from the GBUACO Golf Tournament. Over $1,000.00 was raised to help fund programs at PAL.
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