Alabama | Indiana | Kentucky | Mississippi | Tennessee
January 2019
Continuing Education Credits offered for
Opioid Tapering and Disposal Resources webinar on Jan. 24
Best Practices
Helping Home Health Agencies   Improve Heart Health in Kentucky One Milestone at a Time
Home Health Agency (HHA) staff work tirelessly to complete day-to-day tasks, so finding the time to review diagnosis-specific tracking information can be a challenge. Sometimes HHAs need a little outside help to pause, evaluate where they are and stay on the right path.

Agency Director Sharon Branham wanted to improve the cardiovascular health of her patient population. atom Alliance offered to help her complete the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign’s Cardio Milestones.
Featured Resource
PneumoRecs VaxAdvisor App
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently launched an app to help vaccination providers quickly and easily determine which pneumococcal vaccines a patient needs and when.
 
The PneumoRecs VaxAdvisor mobile app:
  • Incorporates recommendations for all ages
  • Help pediatric providers interpret schedules for catch-up vaccination
  • Help all providers with vaccinations based on medical indications
States Recognized for Quality Reporting and Performance
Each year the top 10 performing states in the Medicare Beneficiary Quality Improvement Project (MBQIP) are recognized for having the highest reporting rates and most significant performance improvement on the reported measures compared to the previous reporting year. In 2018, the atom Alliance-supported states of Indiana (#5), Tennessee (#8) and Alabama (#9) were recognized among the top performing states.
New Resource for Preventing Harm in Nursing Homes
One-third of nursing home residents experience an adverse or temporary harm event, and the majority of those are preventable. To raise awareness of nursing home safety and support safer care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Quality Innovation Network National Coordinating Center (QIN-NCC) released a new resource – the All Cause Harm Prevention Change Package to prevent harm in nursing homes.
Flu Activity Elevated; Keep Vaccinating Patients
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that influenza activity was increasing in the U.S. Eleven influenza-associated pediatric deaths have been reported for the 2018–2019 season. Last season, there was a record-setting number of pediatric deaths in the U.S. (172), so be sure to protect all patients for whom vaccination is recommended.
Featured On-Demand Learning Opportunity
Using Telehealth to Improve Quality Measures
Guest speaker Becky Sanders shares telehealth use cases. Learn from staff about how they have helped meet quality goals.

Discussion topics include:
  • telemedicine
  • health information exchange
  • distance education and training
  • public health surveillance
  • emergency preparedness
  • trauma system development
Upcoming Events
Jan. 15
Jan. 17
MIPS 101: An Overview of the Merit-Based Incentive System (MIPS) for Solo and Small Group Practices
This event will feature a panel of experts who work closely with small
practices and are familiar with MIPS. It is designed for newly eligible MIPS clinicians in small practices and those wanting a high-level overview of the program. (Offered twice)
Jan. 16
Discover Which Reporting Methods and Measures Will Give You the Highest Score
Join us for a demonstration to learn how you can take advantage of this valuable online application. It is powered by BizMed and provided to you at no cost by Qsource, the CENTERS for MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES (CMS) contractor that assists healthcare providers with the QPP. The BizMed QPP Navigator is a CMS MIPS Qualified Registry.
Jan. 24
Opioid Tapering and Disposal Resources
Continuing Education Credits Available
The Team for Innovation in Medication Safety (TIMES) invites you to join a webinar on new resources and tools for tapering opioids and disposing of them properly.
View our  upcoming atom webinars  page and our  calendar  page for more details.
Connect with atom Alliance

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This material was prepared by atom Alliance, the Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO), coordinated by Qsource for Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi and Alabama, under a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Content presented does not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 19.A1.01.001