CCNC Update: January 2014
In the News
NC Medicaid Reform. CCNC's Mark Benton narrates a presentation on North Carolina Medicaid reform that's now hosted on CCNC website. The video runs approximately 1 hour and twenty minutes and details challenges and recommended approaches to reforming North Carolina's Medicaid program. Click here to view the presentation.
NC Medicaid Advisory Group. North Carolina's Medicaid Reform Advisory Group heard comments from the public at its second meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Mark Benton testified on behalf of CCNC. Strong support of CCNC was evident throughout the meeting, including very strong support from the two speakers detailed below.
- NCMS president speaks to Medicaid Reform Advisory Group. Devdutta Sangvai, MD, MBA, North Carolina Medical Society president, encouraged Medicaid policymakers to look beyond managed care to developing value-driven systems serving the private sector and Medicare. See the NCMS blog for details and to comment.
- Medical students speak out. More than 300 UNC medical students signed a petition supporting a role for Community Care of North Carolina in Medicaid reform. For details, see the UNC news site.
Other NC Medicaid News. For more Medicaid-related news stories, please click here.
Project Lazarus Events and Developments
Polk County - The Project Lazarus meeting in Polk County received media coverage from WSPA-TV news and Asheville Citizen-Times in both North and South Carolina.
Gaston County - Earlier this month Project Lazarus hosted a meeting at Partners Behavioral Health to rekindle past efforts that addressed unintentional prescription drug overdoses. Gaston County and other communities met to discuss how best to approach the issue; which could include putting up billboards for public awareness, providing 24-hour drop-off boxes for old prescription drugs and more. Read more in the Gaston Gazette.
Cabarrus County - Training entitled “A Guide to Rational Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain,” will be held at Cabarrus Family Medicine on Jan. 30. Sign up here. Additional training programs are scheduled for Charlotte and Mt. Airy in the coming months. Visit the Project Lazarus registration site for more information and to register.
Polk County - Project Lazarus is hosting a special dinner and presentation on Jan. 22 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Isothermal Community College Polk Center. After law enforcement experts provide data, everyone present will be encouraged to brainstorm solutions. Read more about Project Lazarus efforts in Polk County in the Tryon Daily Bulletin.
Mecklenburg County - Community Care Partners of Greater Mecklenburg, Pfizer, CCNC, The Governor's Institute and Project Lazarus are hosting a free dinner program for health care professionals including a presentation, "Pain Narrative for Primary Care and A Guide to Rational Opiod Prescribing" on Feb. 20 at 5:30 p.m. Register before Feb. 14 by sending your name, title, organization and email address to Megan Okkerse or call (704) 512-5555.
Trainings - The training, “A Guide to Rational Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain,” will be held at FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital on Jan. 23 and at Cabarrus Family Medicine on Jan. 30. Sign up for the Jan. 23 here, or the Jan. 30 event here. Additional training programs are scheduled for Charlotte and Mt. Airy in the coming months. Visit the Project Lazarus registration site for more information and to register for trainings.
NC HIE News
- NC HIE Provider Survey. NC HIE is working with the North Carolina Medical Group Managers (NCMGM), the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS), the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) and the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians (NCAFP) to better understand what services are most useful to providers and measure provider awareness of NC HIE services. To take the survey, click here.
- NC HIE Trainings and Webinars. Trainings include a functionality tutorial of the NC HIE Clinical Portal and an overview of patient opt-out options within the HIE Network. The Meeting Meaningful Use webinar highlights NC HIE core services, an overview of the partnership between CCNC, NC HIE and NC DHHS, and the role NC HIE plays in helping practices meet Meaningful Use. For more information on the upcoming trainings and webinars and to register, click here.
Publications
CCNC population management efforts detailed in national journal. The impact of CCNC’s approach to managing the care of a population of 169,667 non-elderly Medicaid recipients with disabilities is discussed in an article in Population Health Management that was just published in hard copy this week. For more details, go here.
NCMJ details changes in pharmacy education. There is an interesting article in this month’s NC Medical Journal regarding how UNC School of Pharmacy is changing how it prepares students for the challenges of today’s health care delivery system.
PCPCC Report. The Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative just issued a report entitled “The Medical Home’s Impact on Cost & Quality,” an annual effort to highlight published clinical, quality, and financial outcomes of patient-centered medical home initiatives from across the US. The report focuses on studies released between August 2012 and December 2013 and identifies where they are happening, who is leading them, and key outcomes. Read the full study here.
Events
Care Transitions Summit. The North Carolina Alliance for Effective Care Transitions (NC ACT) will host its third annual NC Care Transitions Summit on Jan. 31. The event is designed to share effective practices at the national, state, and local levels, highlight available resources, and develop and strengthen partnership. CCNC serves as one of the Summit Sponsors. For information on the Summit and details on how to register, click here.
Other News
Beacon/Community Care of Southern Piedmont video. Check out this great video detailing the work of NC's Beacon Community in using information technology, including health information exchanges, to improve provider communication, increase patient access to health records and improve care delivery.
NC HIE. The Division of Medical Assistance (DMA) is offering a subsidy program that will help cover the costs of connecting qualifying practices to the NC HIE, enabling access to a wide array of NC HIE services and MU reporting functionalities. CCNC will be administering this subsidy program. Kerry Kribbs has joined the CCNC team and will be working with Jayson Caracciolo to launch the CCNC/NC HIE Connectivity Challenge. Contact Kerry for additional information.