Alabama | Indiana | Kentucky | Mississippi | Tennessee
August 2019
atom Alliance Enters Research and Development Period
Over the next three months, atom Alliance team members will be gathering information about current patterns of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and opioid misuse in our five-state region. This information will be used to establish baseline data to measure our work promoting safe opioid use and improving CKD care. The information gathering will be accomplished by reviewing currently available national and statewide data sources and through conversations with key stakeholders and healthcare providers.

atom Alliance team members will gather and summarize currently available data in five areas:

  • Deaths due to opioid use
  • Adverse drug events due to opioids
  • Blood pressure management in people with CKD
  • Screening for kidney disease in adults with diabetes
  • Number of people with diabetes who are diagnosed with CKD

atom Alliance team members will also gather information on:

  • Interventions happening that address opioid use or CKD
  • Infrastructure available to gather information for a baseline
  • Gaps in data, interventions, and infrastructure
  • Barriers to implementing interventions

You are a valued partner in our work and we may reach out to you for your input on these topics, assess your barriers to addressing them, and discuss ways we might be able to support your efforts in these areas.

Later this fall, we will share a summary of the information we gathered during this period of research.

It is our privilege to partner with you as we improve quality, drive value, and provide innovative business solutions to our healthcare communities. Contact Amanda Ryan if you have any questions or comments.
Featured On-Demand Opportunity
Motivational Interviewing Video Series
Motivational interviewing (MI) is a counseling method that helps people resolve ambivalent feelings to find the internal motivation they need to change their behavior. It is a practical, empathetic and short-term process that takes into consideration how difficult it is to make life changes.

Learning MI involves multiple steps, including understanding the Spirit of MI, the Stages of Change and strategies for engaging, focusing, evoking and goal-setting.

In our new four-part training series, atom Alliance examines how clinicians can use MI in their practice settings, better understand how patients are motivated to make a change and educate staff in using these techniques.
You Have the Power to Protect Your Patients
National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) is an annual observance held in August to highlight the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. You have the power to protect your patients against serious diseases like shingles, pneumococcal disease, hepatitis B, and seasonal flu.

Your recommendation can make a difference. Healthcare professionals are the most valued and trusted source of health information for adults. All staff have a role to play in ensuring adults are getting recommended vaccines. Even if your practice doesn’t administer vaccines, you can make strong recommendations, refer patients to other vaccine providers, and follow-up to ensure vaccination.

Be a champion for vaccination in your practice. Ensure everyone in your practice is sharing a consistent message with patients about the importance of vaccines for their health.
Seeking Volunteer Healthcare Consumers
The atom Alliance is developing a volunteer network designed to engage Medicare beneficiaries and caregivers in the CMS quality improvement work. We plan to recruit at least 3-5 consumers/patients who are on Medicare or their caregivers for each of the communities where we are striving to improve health and healthcare. They will serve as the voice of the people in their community.

There are no educational or training requirements required. Individuals of all professional and educational backgrounds who have an interest are invited to apply to become volunteers. 

Successful volunteers will have the following skills:

  • Active Listening
  • Service Orientation
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Speaking
Are You Ready for Flu Season? What You Should Do in August
Create an employee immunization campaign committee comprised of individuals from various departments from your facility.

  • Prepare committee members to educate staff and leadership about the importance of immunizing health care personnel (HCP) against influenza during management meetings, departmental in-service training, and orientation sessions for new employees.
  • Schedule and hold a committee kickoff meeting (monthly meetings thereafter).
  • Determine campaign dates, theme, and preliminary promotion plan.
  • Order promotional materials as needed (such as balloons, buttons, posters and stickers).
  • Gather educational materials on influenza.
  • Work with your pharmacy to schedule vaccine deliveries with the vaccine supplier.
  • Begin regular monitoring of influenza updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and your state health department.
  • FluView: www.cdc.gov/flu
  • Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report: www.cdc.gov/mmwr
Upcoming Events
Aug 20
Aug 22
Maximizing Your Quality Score: Beyond the Basics for Solo and Small Group Practices
This upcoming event will focus on techniques and advice for maximizing your quality score, taking into account options that include using claims, EHRs, and registries to submit your quality data. (Offered twice)
View our  calendar  page for more details.
Igniting Powerful Change: A Look at Our Progress Together
Together, we have made an impact on the quality of care delivered in our states and beyond. While quality improvement is a never-ending cycle, our work as your Quality Innovation Network - Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) cycles every five years. Let's take a moment to celebrate our successes since 2014.
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.A1.01.008