Board Member Nominations – 4 Open Positions   The IPA is seeking nominations for 4 open positions on the Board of Directors – there are a total of nine seats on the Board. Three positions are for 3-year terms and one position for a 1-year term (position vacated by Dr. Laurie Hopman due to retirement). Members nominated must be in good standing who will attest in writing that they are willing to serve by attending meetings and participating on committees/initiatives. Nomination form attached, list of current Board members are also attached. Nominations must be received at the IPA office by Friday, February 23. Election will be held at the IPA’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 25. Absentee ballots will be sent to those who cannot attend the meeting.

Membership Levels – Last Chance to Give Your Feedback!   At the November 2017 Strategic Planning Retreat, members recommended forming a work group to develop a proposal for membership levels and benefits. Faxes and emails were sent to members interested in participating. As a result, the Membership Work Group met on January 31 and all members were invited to attend. The Membership Work Group presented the attached proposal to the Board on 2/7/18. The Board recommended sending their proposal to the general membership for feedback before approving. Please review and complete the attached survey by Monday, February 26.

**EHI IPA’s Membership Work Group proposed the following:

  1. All members must pay $1,200 in annual dues to cover the IPA’s basic operating expenses.

  2. All members receive “Bronze” level benefits.

  3. Silver & Gold Level Members are PCPs participating in HMSA’s Payment Transformation Program who receive additional benefits.

  4. Gold Level members are offices on eClinical Works Electronic Health Records who receive IT training/support in addition to Bronze and Silver benefits.

East Hawaii IPA Recruiting Chief Medical Officer   The IPA Board decided to move forward with recruiting and hiring a Chief Medical Officer to help the IPA move toward clinical integration & consolidation and create infrastructure to improve quality of care, recruit & hire new physicians and help retiring physicians transition well. Attached is a position description. Please contact Susan Mochizuki at 797-3114 or smochizuki@ehiipa.com if you have questions.

Opioid Presentation – Wednesday, March 14, 2018 – 12:30 PM or 5:30 PM   Presenting on the opioid epidemic is Rupa Shah, PharmD, and Shane Tiernan of Purdue Pharma at the East Hawaii IPA office on Wednesday, March 14, 12:30-1:30 PM or 5:30-7:00 PM. Please RSVP by Friday, March 9.

HMSA Payment Transformation COREO to Replace COZEVA   Starting April 1, 2018, HMSA will replace COZEVA with a new reporting system called COREO. Three webinar training sessions will be held on Wednesday, January 31 (Session 1 – view PPT here), Wednesday, February 28 (Session 2) and Wednesday, March 21 (Session 3) from 12:30-2:00 PM. Register here.

  • The IPA will also be hosting hands-on COREO workshops at the IPA office on Friday, March 2, at noon-2:00 PM and 2:30-4:30 PM. PAYMENT TRANSFORMATION PROVIDERS ONLY. Please RSVP by Wednesday, February 28. Only need to sign up for one hands-on workshop time slot.

  • We recommend registering for ALL 3 training HMSA webinars (which give different topics in each webinar).

SBIRT   Stands for Screening, Brief Intervention & Referral to Treatment for alcohol & substance abuse. EHI received a two-year grant from the State Department of Health to help offices do SBIRT screenings by having their patients complete a brief survey. All offices are invited to participate and will receive honoraria for their effort. Please contact Jane for more information at jbontuyan@ehiipa.com.

Physician Mentorship for Hawaii Island Family Medicine Residents   If you are interested and want to help play a role in engaging, mentoring, and helping grow the next generation of physicians in Hilo, please consider volunteering to be a mentor to one of the family medicine residents. Please contact Dr. Lynda Dolan at ldolan@fmchawaii.com or call 808-933-9187. Flyer attached.

IPA Ecosystem Healthcare Resource Binder Update Available   In order to meet end-of-the-year HMSA engagement measures, you must refer your patients to programs within the community throughout the year and document these referrals at the end of the year to HMSA. The Ecosystem Healthcare Resource Binder is available with updates! Please email Jane at jbontuyan@ehiipa.com to install the resources onto your desktop with current updates.

Hilo Medical Center Monthly ED/Admission Report   Please let us know if you would like EHI IPA to send you an ED/Hospital Admission report at the end of every month, through an online link. If interested, please email Joyce at jvitales@ehiipa.com and include the email address to send the online link.

Hawai‘i State Department of Health SURVEY for Primary Care (Adult + Peds) & OB/GYN   The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) greatly values your opinion as a healthcare professional and is pleased to invite your practice to complete an important online survey. You may have recently received mailers from Dr. Virginia Pressler, Director of the Hawai‘i State DOH, encouraging you to participate in this important health survey. The data is gathered to gain a clearer understanding of provider needs, so that DOH is able to enhance support to providers across the state and promote better health outcomes for the people of Hawai‘i. If you have previously participated in this survey, we thank you for your time. If you have not participated, we would appreciate a few minutes of your time.

By participating in this survey, your practice will:

  •   Have the opportunity to identify provider training needs

  •  Receive information about DOH programs that may be of interest to your practice and patient community

  •  Be part of an ongoing, statewide effort to identify barriers and gaps in care.

  • The survey should take no more than 15 to 20 minutes to complete. Survey responses are confidential and will be compiled into a public report of all data collected; answers will not be matched to you or your facility. Neither you, nor anyone in your practice, will be identified in survey reports.

To access the password-protected survey, please visit this link:  http://tinyurl.com/HawaiiDocSurvey

Please enter the following password: Provider8

Announcements:

  • MIPS Reporting Deadline for 2017 Fast Approaching –  Attached are 10 things to do and know if you plan to submit data for the 2017 MIPS performance period. MIPS data submission: Now through March 31, 2018 – Submit your data on the CMS Enterprise Portal here.

  • CMS MIPS/MACRA Webinar: “Quality Payment Program Data Submission Office Hours: MIPS Quality Data Submission” – February 28, 10:00-11:00 AM. Register here.

  • Ecosystem Healthcare Referral: Hilo Medical Center Stroke Support Group – Refer your patients to gather and support stroke survivors, family, friends and caregivers. Occurs every second Tuesday of the month at 4:00 PM. Dates in the flyer attached.

  • Hilo Medical Center CME Opportunities in February – Flyer attached.

  • Ecosystem Healthcare Referral: Bayada Home Health Care – Refer your patients to Bayada Home Health Care using both the referral form and the referral fax coversheet. Video with brief explanation of their services attached. Questions? Call 808-933-1702.

  • Ecosystem Healthcare Referral: Seniors Helping Seniors – Refer your patients to a variety of in-home care services offered by Seniors Helping Seniors. Please see attached link to find out what services they offer. Also attached is a brief video of their services. Questions? Call 808-792-0002.

  • Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi (HMONO) Olakino Newsletter – February 2018 Issue attached.

  • 2018 SPIN Conference (Pediatricians) – Saturday, April 21 @ UH Mānoa Campus Center Ballroom – Please register for this statewide conference for families of children with disabilities. Attached is the form to register, as well as the agenda. RSVP by April 2.