November 2018
Seven Health Information Exchanges Connect to Military Health System to Include HealthSYNC of Louisiana
On August 30, the Military Health System (MHS) added critical medical information from seven physician-led health information exchanges (HIEs) across the nation. This was facilitated by the Kansas Health Information Network (KHIN), KAMMCO and the eHealth Exchange. Laura McCrary, Ed.D, Executive Director of KHIN comments on the significance, “This represents the growing capabilities of HIEs to share records in all locations from which a patient has received care.”

With this new development, medical records can be shared across the world as military personnel and their families transition between multiple locations, stateside or overseas. Military hospitals and clinics now can quickly and securely access patients’ personal health information 24/7 and have access from the physician-led HIEs in Kansas, Connecticut, New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri and Louisiana. 
HealthSYNC of Louisiana -
Patients Benefit from HIE
“MHS cares for 9.4 million beneficiaries, delivering care globally in military hospitals and clinics and providing coordinated, integrated care through civilian networks,” said Kimberly Heermann-Do, Health Information Exchange Office Lead in the EHR Modernization Program Management Office. Heermann-Do added, “Through HIEs, records are available securely from the private sector if the HIE is onboarded to the MHS. Having access to records for patients across the KAMMCO Network will assist MHS providers with clinical decisions.”

Kurt Scott, KAMMCO CEO said, “KAMMCO provides a critical service to make patients’ medical records available wherever they receive care. It is a privilege that we can now deliver lab results, current medications and health histories for servicemen and women across the globe. We are proud that MHS can query our HIEs and effectively use the clinical data they access.”

New QPP CME Modules, Infographics, and Scoring Guide Now Available
CMS has posted three new continuing medical education (CME) modules on the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) performance categories and MIPS Alternative Payment Models (APMs). The courses may be accessed by logging into one’s  Medicare Learning Network account or creating one here .

The new CME modules include:
  • 2018 Improvement Activities Performance Category CME Module: Covers the basics of the MIPS Improvement Activities performance category including reporting requirements, scoring, and flexibilities for small and rural practices. 

  • 2018 Cost Performance Category CME Module: Offers an overview of the MIPS Cost performance category and how CMS calculates Cost scores. 

  • 2018 MIPS APM CME Module: Provides an overview of MIPS APMs, the APM scoring standard, and reporting requirements for MIPS APM participants. 

Additional Quality Payment Program Resources

CMS has also posted the following new resources:
 

  • 2018 MIPS Scoring 101 Guide: Provides a detailed overview of how each MIPS performance category is scored, how CMS calculates bonus points, and how the payment adjustment is calculated based on the MIPS final score. 

For More Information:

Questions?
Contact the Quality Payment Program at QPP@cms.hhs.gov or 1-866-288-8292 (TTY: 1-877-715-6222).
State Medical Societies Collaborate to Impact Healthcare Disparities
Seven state medical societies, including the Louisiana State Medical Society (LSMS), announced the creation of the Health Equity Network for Change (HENC) in September. The organization is focused on improving the health status of medically underserved populations, utilizing health information exchange data and powerful analytic tools provided by KAMMCO. Medical societies in Georgia, South Carolina, Connecticut, New Jersey, Kansas and Missouri have engaged KAMMCO to build physician-led exchanges. 

HENC chairman M. Natalie Achong, MD, MHL, FACOG representing the Connecticut State Medical Society, shared, “Physicians across the nation are increasingly concerned about health disparities. To address this, HENC brings leading physicians together to examine trends in health disparity data. This will allow HENC to make data-driven recommendations for the establishment of population health priorities at regional, state and national levels aimed at improving health outcomes.”

“LSMS is pleased to collaborate in this new initiative with the state’s physician-led health information exchange, HealthSYNC of Louisiana,” said Jeff Williams, LSMS Executive Vice President and CEO. “By working together to address universal healthcare issues such as healthcare disparities and population health, we can broaden our impact across the country.”

Laura McCrary, Ed.D, Senior Vice President of KAMMCO added, “Health information exchange data is an enormously valuable, rich set of clinical data aggregated across all exchange participating healthcare providers within a region, state or nation. This data provides key insights into healthcare patterns and utilization previously not available from static, outdated or geographically limited clinical data sets.” 

HENC has tapped leading physicians with expertise in health disparities to include Donnie Batie, MD, ABFM, representing the Louisiana State Medical Society. Dr. Batie is board certified in Family Practice and Geriatrics and serves as the Medical Director of the Skilled Nursing Facility for General Health System and Bethesda Rehabilitation Hospital, Baton Rouge, La.

Physicians representing the other states include: Amin Yehya, MD, representing the Medical Association of Georgia; Tracie Collins, MD, MPH, MHCDS, representing the Kansas Medical Society; Kirsten Dunn, MD, FACP, representing the Missouri State Medical Association; Soumen Samaddar, MD, representing the Medical Society of New Jersey; and, Gerald Wilson, MD, representing the South Carolina Medical Association.



Jeff Williams
LSMS
Executive Vice President & CEO
844.424.4371