Practice Management Insight

February 2012

A report on events affecting Oklahoma providers

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February is American Heart Month

National Wear Red Day

Go Red for Women—In the United States, the event is scheduled on the first Friday in February, each year. It's part of a campaign that begins American Heart Month. In the U.K., they have the same event, but it occurs on February 26 and is run by the British Heart Foundation. February is also National Heart Month for the BHF.

February 8

Drug Utilization Board Meeting OHCA

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February 8– 9

2M2L Training

Stillwater

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February 9-10

SOAR Training

Tulsa, OK

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February 9- March 10

SOC Wraparound Training OKC SM

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February

OHCA Board Meeting

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February 14-20

Children of Alcoholics Week

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February 14

Valentine’s Day

February 14-15

Combine ASI/ASAM

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February 15-16

2M2L Training

Lawton, OK

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February 15

Eligibility Member Focus Group Meeting

OHCA

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February 16

Emotional Intelligence at Work: Class is Full

Oklahoma City

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February 17

Financing Strategies and Quality Medical Outcomes Meeting

OHCA

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February 17

Care Coordination and Behavioral Health Workgroup Meeting

OHCA

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February 20

President’s Day

February 21

Perinatal Task Force Meeting OU Health Sciences Center Campus /Schusterman Campus

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February 22

Permanent Rulemaking Public Hearing

OHCA

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February 23-24

Case Mgmt Training

Reg. Deadline

02/09/2012

Oklahoma City

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February 23

SOC Family Support Provider Training

Oklahoma City

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February 24 - June 22

Program Evaluation & Assessment Training

Oklahoma City, Ok

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MARK YOUR CALENDAR

What will “meaningful use” mean

in 2012?

Awaiting legislative changes, some providers move ahead on electronic health records; others stay on the sidelines

Two recent developments may significantly impact how rapidly behavioral healthcare providers join the broader push toward the use of interoperable electronic health records (EHRs).

In mid-July the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the final rule defining what providers have to do to become eligible for financial incentives as “meaningful users” of EHRs (see sidebar). Most healthcare executives expressed relief that CMS has built some flexibility into the definition of meaningful use. In Stage 1, they reduced some thresholds and deferred some requirements to Stages 2 and 3. For instance, in the proposed rule, eligible providers would have had to use electronic prescribing for 75 percent of prescriptions. That number has been ratcheted down to 40 percent in Stage 1.

Then at the beginning of August, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced a bill (S. 3709) that would extend eligibility for meaningful use incentives to behavioral and mental health centers, substance use treatment facilities, clinical psychologists, and clinical social workers. A similar bill (H.R. 5040) was introduced in the House in April. (Currently, only psychiatrists and nurse practitioners in the field are considered eligible providers. The incentives could be worth millions to hospitals and individual professionals could earn up to $44,000 under the Medicare incentives or up to $63,750 under the Medicaid incentives.)

Behavioral Healthcare asked providers, industry group representatives, and some software company executives what readers should know about the Stage 1 meaningful use final rule and why the proposed legislation is crucial to boosting adoption levels.

Denise Bertin-Epp, president and chief nursing officer at Brighton Hospital, a 130-bed addiction treatment center in southeastern Michigan, calls herself a huge fan of the meaningful use criteria. “I think behavioral health needs to adopt the same level of sophistication with electronic health records as acute care,” she says. “We can't have it both ways. If addiction is a chronic condition, then we need to endorse the use of information systems that will enhance care for patients and their families.”

Full Story

February is American Heart Month . Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women. Quad City Cardiovascular Surgeon Richard Sadler, M.D., says along  with making key lifestyle changes like stopping smoking, improving your diet and exercising more, a key step to knowing your risk for heart disease is to know your numbers.

Mark your calendar for the ThinkHealth Demonstration

Attention Non ThinkHealth member, OrionNet Systems will be hosting a FREE ThinkHealth demonstration date to be announced.

Call today, space will be limited. FREE lunch and a chance to win door prizes.

Call 405.286.1674 or e-mail [email-masked] with your organization name, list of attendee and phone number.

Save the Date Tulsa Demo

SAMHSA is accepting applications for up to $15.6 million to fund Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking Act (STOP Act) grants

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is accepting applications for up to a four year total of $15.6 million to fund STOP Act grants aimed at preventing alcohol use among underage youth in communities across the nation.

The STOP Act program was created to strengthen collaboration among communities, the Federal Government, state, local, and tribal governments in order to enhance effective efforts for reducing alcohol use among youth. This mission includes disseminating timely information to communities about state-of-the-art practices and initiatives that have proven to be effective in preventing and reducing alcohol use among youth. The STOP Act program enhances, not supplants, effective local community initiatives for preventing and reducing alcohol use among youth.

SAMHSA anticipates providing funding up to $50,000 annually in individual grants for up to 78 grantees for up to a four year period. Actual amounts may vary, depending on the availability of funds.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE: The statutory authority for this program (stated in the STOP Act CFDA: 93.243, Legislative Authority, 42 U.S.C. 290bb-25b, Section 519B of the Public Health Service Act) limits eligibility to domestic public and private nonprofit entities that are current or former Drug Free Communities Support Program (DFC) grantees. For example: local governments, federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native Tribes, Territories, and Pacific and Caribbean Jurisdictions may be eligible. The statutory authority for this program prohibits grants to for-profit agencies.

Full Story

Psychological Clinicians are professionals trained to deal with a variety of mental health related issues.  Psychological Clinians offer the following services to children ages 12 years and younger and their families:

· Psychological evaluations for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, school problems, and behavior concerns

· Short-term treatment for children and families dealing with emotional, behavioral, and learning problems

· Consultation to parents, childcare providers, teachers, and other professionals on mental health relates issues such as children and divorce, managing anger, grief and loss, raising spirited children, and stress management

Psycho-educational groups with children in schools on topics such as coping with family changes, friendship, anger management, social skills, and improving self-esteem.

Behavioral Health