- Telehealth Study Recruiting Veterans Now
- USDA Delivers Immediate Relief to Farmers, Ranchers and Rural Communities Impacted by Recent Disasters
- Submit Nominations for Partnership for Quality Measurement (PQM) Committees
- Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation of the Medicare Program (Executive Order 14192) - Request for Information
- Dr. Mehmet Oz Shares Vision for CMS
- CMS Refocuses on its Core Mission and Preserving the State-Federal Medicaid Partnership
- Social Factors Help Explain Worse Cardiovascular Health among Adults in Rural Vs. Urban Communities
- Reducing Barriers to Participation in Population-Based Total Cost of Care (PB-TCOC) Models and Supporting Primary and Specialty Care Transformation: Request for Input
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- Secretary Kennedy Renews Public Health Emergency Declaration to Address National Opioid Crisis
- 2025 Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule
- Rural America Faces Growing Shortage of Eye Surgeons
- NRHA Continues Partnership to Advance Rural Oral Health
- Comments Requested on Mobile Crisis Team Services: An Implementation Toolkit Draft
- Q&A: What Are the Challenges and Opportunities of Small-Town Philanthropy?
HIV Discrimination, Privacy and Confidentiality: Impact on the Delivery of Oral Healthcare
The New England AIDS Education and Training Center is hosting a webinar: “HIV Discrimination, Privacy and Confidentiality: Impact on the Delivery of Oral Healthcare” on January 11, 2021 at 11 am ET. Persons with HIV are protected by a variety of state and federal laws against discrimination, especially in places of public accommodation. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act classified this as a national mandate to eliminate discrimination against persons with disabilities. Speakers will discuss the impact on the delivery of oral healthcare during the webinar.
To register for the webinar: https://www.neaetc.org/events/view/19571?mc_cid=c8f998257c&mc_eid=3de0fb2a18
Dental Public Health Leadership
The American Institute of Dental Public Health (AIDPH) is developing a leadership program aimed at rising oral health professionals seeking formal training and support. The goal is to tailor the programming to the needs of the community with an intention to launch in the spring of 2022. In order to design curriculum and frame this experience, they are requesting feedback through a brief survey. Click the following link to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F3M3WJJ
Successful Community Health Worker Programs
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the Penn Center for Community Health Workers with support from the Commonwealth Fund and the Community Health Acceleration Partnership (CHAP), have published a white paper, “Critical Inputs for Successful Community Health Workers Program.” The white paper will be presented during a webinar on December 14, 2021 at 4 pm ET. Organizations employing or looking to hire Community Health Workers can learn about how to support Community Health Workers and maximize their impact. Speakers will discuss the process of developing inputs, share reactions from the field, and discuss ways to incorporate the information into current and future work.
For more information and to register for the webinar: https://ncqa-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/7816376153451/WN_6BABThWqScCdBHbB-thaLA?mc_cid=c8f998257c&mc_eid=3de0fb2a18
Cholesterol Management: Improving Patient Adherence to Statin Therapy
Quality Insights has developed their 2021 Cholesterol Management Practice Module https://improve.qualityinsights.org/Files/Projects/PA-DOH/PA_CholesterolModule_WFM_FINAL_508.aspx that offers a variety of strategies and tools care teams can utilize to improve patient-adherence outcomes. Review the module and visit the links below to learn more:
- Updated for 2021: Care Team Interventions to Implement American Heart Association Cardio Vascular Disease Primary Prevention Guidelines https://mcusercontent.com/3c9fc473fc413830f0c7ccfaf/files/f56d7db0-0ea3-13da-6429-f3684eb6b434/Care_Team_Workflow_PA_2021_508.pdf
- White Paper-Team Up for Quality Care: The Role of Primary Care Teams in Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease https://improve.qualityinsights.org/CMSPages/GetFile.aspx?guid=e33d8be5-de73-48bc-af66-70d461c5b9d8
- National Association of Community Health Centers: Statin Therapy for High-Risk Patients Provider Training Package https://www.nachc.org/clinical-matters/nachc-million-hearts-initiative/#highrisk
- American College of Cardiology Low-density Lipoprotein – Cholesterol (LDL-C) Manager App: A free app that guides clinicians through one continuous lipid-lowering process by linking three tools – the Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) Risk Estimator, Statin Intolerance app, and the Lipid Lowering Therapy Pathway tool – all based on up-to-date ACC clinical policy. https://www.acc.org/LDLCmanager
- The Adherence Estimator: a patient-centered tool designed to help care teams gauge a patients’ likelihood of adhering to newly prescribed oral medication for certain chronic, asymptomatic conditions https://www.ehidc.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/Adherence%20Estimator%20Kit_%20Interactive%20PDF.pdf
CDC Correction Shows Fever Pennsylvanians Vaccinated
A data correction made by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week made a dent in the state’s perceived progress on vaccinating the adult population. Under a data adjustment disclosed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH), the number of people considered fully vaccinated dropped from 73.7% of those 180and-older to 68.9% because of a reduction of about 1.2 million doses after removal of duplicate information and correction of data on first, second and booster doses.
CDC Strengthens Booster Recommendation
On November 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) strengthened its guidance to recommend a booster shot https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#considerations-covid19-vax-booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines for all adults ages 18 years or older who completed their primary vaccination more than six months ago. See the CDC statement https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1119-booster-shots.html This recommendation aligns with and follows the Federal Drug Administration’s authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines as a booster and supplements previous guidance on boosters for other COVID-19 vaccines, covered in this bulletin https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USHHSHRSA/bulletins/2f91b54 The following resources are available to help health centers understand what this means: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html and https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html
Pennsylvania Medical Assistance Program Dental Fee Schedule Update
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Medical Assistance Programs has a new bulletin: https://www.dhs.pa.gov/docs/Publications/Documents/FORMS%20AND%20PUBS%20OMAP/MAB2021113001.pdf to notify dentists of updates to the Medical Assistance (MA) Program Dental Fee Schedule.
Pennie, Off to a Great Start in Pennsylvania
Pennie, the Pennsylvania’s Health Insurance Marketplace, has enrolled more than 327,000 consumers as of November 21, 2021. More than 130 trained health center-based enrollment assisters registered with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and are providing unbiased free enrollment assistance to consumers statewide at 43 health centers. Enrollment data shows more consumers are enrolling in Gold level plans at 31% compared to 22% in 2020. The average premium for those eligible for Advanced Premium Tax Credits is $142.42 and those not eligible for Advanced Premium Tax Credits is $485.89. Consumers are encouraged to always update their yearly income projection and shop for other plans for better options. Open enrollment ends on January 15, 2022, but consumer must select a plan by December 15 for a January 1 effective date.
Pennie Open Enrollment Toolkit
Visit https://agency.pennie.com/ to access customizable flyers, posters, logos, videos and much more. Pennie offers a variety of downloadable social media posts, educational materials in English and Spanish. You can also request large quantities of printed materials to be shipped directly to you using the https://agency.pennie.com/materialrequest/