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October is American Pharmacists Month. In observation, we'd like you to meet Anne Myrka RPh, MAT, Senior Director of Drug Safety and Chronic Disease Management for IPRO.
Anne has been in the healthcare field for 30 years. Her experience includes roles in hospitals, community pharmacies, nursing homes and assisted living consulting, home healthcare medication management, and academia.
She has presented nationally about high-risk medication management, care transitions, and medication reconciliation, and has co-authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics. Anne is committed to educating and supporting healthcare facilities.
As a contractor under the CMS QIN-QIO program, the IPRO QIN-QIO has experts like Anne available to assist you at no charge.
Learn more about working together to make our communities healthier.
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The Power of Partnership: The Launch of IPRO LINKS (Local Interactive Network of Knowledge Sharers)
IPRO QIN-QIO invites non-clinical local community organizations that are working to enhance healthcare outcomes to join us on October 12 from 12-1 pm ET.
Together we will explore mutual goals and opportunities to build healthier communities by reaching people where they live, work, play and pray. We’ll review our goals, hear from some current partners, share tools related to Immunization and Chronic Kidney Disease, and consider how we can stay connected and support one another going forward.
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IPRO QIN-QIO High-Risk Medication Safety Monthly Learning Circle
November 2, 2 - 3 pm ET and the first Wednesday of each month
November 2 Topic: Open discussion on what YOU need to manage your high-risk medications – we are prepared to focus on opioids, anticoagulation, diabetes meds, med rec, antibiotic stewardship, antipsychotics
- IPRO will provide audit tools, review your data, assist with tools, resources and education
- Goal is rapid improvement with short Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles of improvement
How to Join: No pre-registration required.
Email [email protected] to receive a calendar invitation.
CMS National Nursing Home Stakeholder Call
October 6, 4 pm ET
Long-term care providers, facility staff and resident advocates are encouraged to attend. This event is open to the public; registration is required.
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Can Primary Care Practices help reduce hospital readmission rates? An article published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine suggest that primary care practices that engaged in more readmission reduction activities had lower readmission rates.
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Curated by our experts, the IPRO QIN-QIO resource library contains tools, links and information on everything from care coordination to COVID-19, CKD to social determinants of health. Use the Resource Picker to find what you need, or check out this month's featured resources:
Naloxone Saves Lives is a patient education document that describes what Naloxone is, how it works, why it is offered to individuals with an opioid prescription, and signs of opioid overdose.
Effective and person-centered care is key to supporting the overall health of adults who are experiencing physical, behavioral and/or social needs. Our Complex Care Compendium: A Guide to Support Better Outcomes for People with Complex Needs highlights emerging practices in the field that help improve care delivery, reduce avoidable hospital utilization and lead to healthier outcomes for patients.
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Opioid, Pain Management, and Behavioral Health | | |
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October Observances include National Check Your Meds Day on October 21 and DEA Drug Takeback Day on October 29 – Both are designed to enhance medication safety. In addition, October is American Pharmacist Month. Brush up by watching "Opioid & Pain Management Best Practices, Strategies for Success," presented by Kara Harrer, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy, Calvert Health, Maryland.
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Emergency Prep, Infection Control, and Patient Safety | | |
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Do you have an emergency plan?
According to the Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers (initially published 09/1/16 and revised 04/16/21), all 17 providers/suppliers types must have an Emergency Preparedness Plan as part of their Conditions of Participation. Additionally, many states require other groups (such as community-based organizations) to have their own plan or adopt the county level plan.
Let us know if you have a plan or would like more information on creating one by completing this brief survey today.
Healthcare Quality Week Begins October 17
Conducting a Root Cause Analysis (RCA) is an important step to identifying areas of opportunity for improvement, to reduce avoidable hospital utilization, medication errors, or other issues. We also have resources for addressing healthcare associated infections and adverse drug events.
CMS issues updated Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic
This updated guidance applies to all U.S. settings where healthcare is delivered, including nursing homes and home health.
Take the Medication Safety Assessment
Do you wonder if your organization truly has all of the tools and resources you need to safely manage high-risk medications such as anticoagulants, diabetes medications, antipsychotics and antibiotics? This brief, multiple choice Medication Safety Assessment will help you identify your medication management gaps. IPRO will review the assessment and provide you with evidence-based resources to meet your needs.
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Prevention, Management & Care Coordination | | |
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When working with patients on chronic disease management, using a decision worksheet can help. The worksheets are used during the visit and provide a template for clinicians and patients to discuss the options and decide on a plan. The MGH Health Decision Sciences Center has worksheet templates available for diabetes, hypertension and more.
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Experts are predicting another wave of COVID-19 as the weather turns colder and people spend more time indoors. Now’s the time to encourage your patients to get an updated vaccine. It doesn’t matter which vaccine they received for the primary series or how many boosters they received. Updated vaccines can be given if it’s been at least 2 months since the last dose; or, if the recently had COVID, they should get a shot 3 months after testing negative.
To help spread the word, the HHS We Can Do This COVID-19 Vaccine Public Education Campaign is asking for your help in spreading their new Public Information Campaign titled “At Risk” and “En Riesgo.”
Here are CDC vaccine resources in Spanish.
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Don't miss our October Health Equity Newsletter, packed with the latest on how you can work to eliminate healthcare disparities. This month, a focus on the role of geographic disparities in health equity, disparities in drug overdose deaths during the pandemic, improving REaL data collection, and more.
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The IPRO QIN-QIO works to ensure high-quality, safe health care in New England, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
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This material was prepared by the IPRO QIN-QIO, a Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the official views or policy of CMS or HHS, and any reference to a specific product or entity herein does not constitute endorsement of that product or entity by CMS or HHS. 12SOW-IPRO-QIN-T1-AA-21-435 | | | | | |
