UPDATES

*NEW* Board of Directors Update   On October 2, the Board endorsed the strategic direction and initiatives presented at the focus group meetings held in September. Staff were directed to develop a business plan incorporating this strategic direction including the IPA’s current priorities. The Board will hold a retreat on Saturday, November 16 to review and discuss this plan. The Board also voted to participate as a sponsor of the Hilo Medical Center Foundation’s Wine and Cheese Event, Hawaii Care Choice’s Holiday Dinner and Auction, and the 2020 Hilo Heart Walk. The IPA will also sponsor Community First’s “Let’s End High Blood Pressure” campaign.

‘Ohana Health Plan 2019 Pay for Quality (P4Q) Program and Risk Adjustment Review Workshop via Webex   ‘Ohana Health Plan will present a workshop for providers, office billers, and quality staff on October 17, 12:30-2:00 PM, to learn how to code for better quality measure results that will work for all health plans, including ‘Ohana Health Plan. Flyer attached. If interested in attending, please RSVP to julia.mitchell@wellcare.com or call 808-209-1968.

KTA Flu Clinic – October 15, 22, & 29, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM at the East Hawaii IPA Office   Refer your patients to the IPA office to receive their flu shots at 670 Ponahawai St., Ste. 117! Flyer attached.

*NEW* National Takeback Initiative (NTBI) – Saturday, October 26, 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM   Please refer your patients to turn in their unused or expired medication at Ka Waena Lapa ‘au Medical Complex (upper parking lot at the corner of Ponahawai Street and Komohana Street). Other locations listed in the flyer attached.

LOOKING FOR PHYSICIAN VOLUNTEERS: Hilo Medical Center Foundation 17th Annual Wine, Cheese, Chocolate & More Event – Saturday, November 2, 2019   Hilo Medical Center Foundation is looking for strong, fun, and competitive physicians to volunteer. Volunteers will be paired up in teams and there will be competition to see who makes the most tips. All proceeds go to the HMC Foundation projects.  This is a great way for the community to interact with its physicians. Event flyer attached.
Volunteer job details are as follows:

  • Show up at 4:30pm in black/white attire and work on your tip strategy with your teammate

  • Serve pupus and wine to new physicians and sponsors from 5:00 to 6:00pm, you can sip along with them to get you ready for the hardcore tip work starting at 6:00pm

  • Serve pupus to the rest of the attendees from 6:00pm to 7:30pm or until pupus are gone or whatever else you decide to serve for more tips

The Foundation will provide the aprons and an honorary ticket for you to enjoy the food and wine while you are working the room for the tips. Please let Dr. Dolan know if you are interested by emailing her at @ ldolan@fmchawaii.com with your name, email address and a cell phone number no later than October 11.

JABSOM Admissions Task Force Committee Asking for Input   A JABSOM (John A. Burns School of Medicine) committee has convened to streamline the admissions process and revamp applicant admission criteria. Attached is a letter from Dr. Melanie Arakaki calling for suggestions/comments on how to improve the admissions process. The committee meets every 2-3 weeks. If you are interested in participating, please email Dr. Arakaki at mel_arakaki@yahoo.com.

HMSA PAYMENT TRANSFORMATION

*NEW* HMSA Payment Transformation Webinar: “Prepare Now for 2020” – Wednesday, November 13, 12:30 – 2:00 PM.   Please register by Monday, November 11. Flyer attached.

New Dental Measures on COREO   HMSA is launching a one-month pilot program from Oct. 1 for two new dental measures in Coreo. These measures are not part of your quality scores and won’t affect your reimbursements from HMSA.
The dental measures are:

  • Preventive dental care: This measure identifies your patients who haven’t had a dental cleaning in the current calendar year.

  • Oral Health for Total Health: Patients enrolled in this HMSA program receive condition-specific dental benefits that improve their overall health. This measure identifies patients in Oral Health for Total Health who haven’t had a dental cleaning or non-surgical periodontal treatment in the current calendar year

KEY DATES
Sept. 30           Primary care providers with Coreo will be able to see dental gaps in care for attributed patients.
Oct. 1              Integrated dental-medical pilot on Coreo with a small group of dentists starts.
Nov. 1             Last day of integrated dental-medical pilot.
Jan. 1, 2020    Launch of statewide integrated dental-medical program.

HMSA QUALITY PERFORMANCE

*NEW* Reminder: Influenza Vaccine   Reminder that the flu vaccine measure is a PO (IPA) measure and the denominator counts members 18 years and older. Please continue to use the codes attached to received numerator credit in Coreo. Please encourage your entire office to get the vaccine. Offices who are able to get 80% or more of their staff (including providers) to get the flu shot will receive $250. Any staff member who gets a flu vaccine will be entered into a separate $250 raffle prize drawing. 

PCP Engagement with Ecosystem is now available as of 10/1/19 – please complete the attestation form as this is a critical measure that will affect your payment rates. Tiffany Pa of HMSA will be contacting each office to assist with completing this form.

Need a Doc Campaign + Providers Accepting HMSA Patients   If your office is accepting NEW HMSA PATIENTS, please let us know so we can help patients find a primary care provider. EHI’s “Need a Doc” campaign will help place patients with current member practices. You can view the material on our website here. If you have any questions, please contact Jo at 808-797-3113 or email jvitales@ehiipa.com.

EVENTS

Hawaii Care Choices Holiday Dinner & Auction: “Celebrating Hilo”   Join Hawaii Care Choices in celebrating their 16th Annual Holiday Dinner & Auction on Monday, December 2. Silent Auction starts at 5:00 PM with campaign & pupus, seated dinner & live auction starts at 6:30 PM. The featured chef is Café Pesto’s Casey Halpern. Flyer attached.

Walk with a Doc – Lili‘uokalani Gardens Park – Dr. Craig Kadooka – Every Sunday, WWAD meets at the park across the street from Hilo Bay Café. Walkers gather at 8:00AM to hear a short healthcare talk, followed by stretching and then walking at your own pace. Anyone is welcome to participate.

PROVIDER RESOURCES

  • BRIGHT GREEN POLST FORMS – If your office would like “bright” green POLST forms for your office, please email jbontuyan@ehiipa.com.

  • HIPAA Online Training – EHI IPA offers online training as a membership benefit for $20 per person. The certification received after successful completion is effective for 2 years. If you are interested, please complete the attached form and fax to 808-935-4472 or email to Jo at jvitales@ehiipa.com and send a check to East Hawaii IPA, 670 Ponahawai St., Ste. 117, Hilo, HI 96720.

  • Healthcare Source HR Screening Tool Available for Members – EHI offers member offices use of a complimentary employee screening tool. The tool helps assess whether potential new hires are the right fit for your office! The tool rates candidates numerically by job performance, retention and service excellence. It also customizes key questions for face-to-face interviews. This program has been used successfully by hundreds of healthcare organizations. Candidates are sent a link to the assessment with results forwarded to a designated office email address. Please email Jo at jvitales@ehiipa.com if you are interested in learning more about this tool.

  • CIN Recorded Webinar: How to Prevent Staff and Provider Burnout – Watch the recorded webinar here, featuring a conversation between a burnout researcher, Rachel Willard-Grace, and CIN managing partner, Sunita Mutha, exploring strategies to address burnout and promote resilience.

    • For additional resources on provider and staff burnout please visit the CIN Resource Kit: Improving Provider Well-Being. This resource kit now includes some of the resources that Rachel referenced in this webinar.

    • To sign up for the newsletter, sign up here to get the latest quality improvement resources, tips, and tools!

  • American Heart Association FREE CME Webinars – View list of activities here. Type in “CME” in the Keyword search box and register for free.

  • American Heart Association WEBINARS: Blood Pressure Control Education Series:

    • “Navigating Blood Pressure Clinical Quality Measures” – Thursday, November 21, 12:30 – 1:30 PM SAVE THE DATE!

  • SAVE THE DATE! Hilo Medical Center Angiostrongylus Workshop – January 5-8, 2020 – Pre-registration form attached.

PATIENT RESOURCES

  • KTA Diabetes Self-Management Education – KTA will begin another round of Diabetes Self-Management Education classes at the East Hawaii IPA office. Please use the attached REFERRAL FORM. Please see flyer attached and refer your patients to this valuable resource!

  • Hilo Medical Center Diabetes Support Group – Every first Tuesday of the month, 4:00 PM. Katie Seaton, who has her bachelor’s in dietetics and is a current intern at HMC in the process of completing her master’s degree, will be providing recipes to support diabetes management. Samples will be provided. Contact Colleen Talich at ctalich@hhsc.org or 808-932-3034 with any questions.

  • Halau Mauli‘Ola Medical Nutrition Program – Stacy Haumea is relocating to 83 Maika‘i St., Hilo, for appointments Mon/Tue/Weds. She will continue to see patients with Hui Mālama on Thurs/Fri weekly. Flyer attachedNEW referral form attached.

  • Individual Nutrition Counseling Referral for Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi (HMONO) – Refer your patients to nutrition counseling with Stacy Haumea at HMONO using their referral form (here). Under the “Referred to” section, select HMONO Family Medicine Clinic.

  • Mountain-Pacific Quality Health – CARDIAC HEART ATTACK SYMPTOMS. Flyer attached. Let us know if you’d like the IPA to print out copies for your office by calling 808-797-3113.

  • Mountain-Pacific Quality Health: New Patient Tool for Heart Health – Check the MPQH website for their heart health calendar. These are free for patients and can start anytime of the year and includes weight logs and health tips. These offer a fun and easy way for patients to monitor their weight. A calendar example (scroll to the bottom for the example) and order form can be found here.

  • Beacon Health – PCP Referral for Behavioral Health Support – Beacon Health offers behavioral health services for HMSA patients. Attached is the referral form (here), the overview of services (here), and the WHO-5 Well-Being index tool (here).

  • Refer Patients to Complete Their Advanced Health Care Directive at ADRC – March-November dates attached.