The Missouri Rural Health Association (MRHA) is a non-profit, grass-roots, member-driven organization whose mission is to safeguard and improve the health of rural Missourians. MRHA accomplishes its mission by engaging in partnerships and providing leadership on rural issues through advocacy, communication, education, and research.
Updated Newsletter Available - Check the Members Section!
Without Federal Reform, Number of Uninsured Could Expand Sharply Over Next Decade, Report Finds
The report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that if substantive healthcare reform is not enacted, the number of uninsured Americans could reach 65.7 million by 2019, with middle-income families hit hardest.... More»
Register Now for AHRQ’s 2009 Annual Conference: Research to Reform: Achieving Health System Change on September 13-16
Register now for AHRQ's third annual conference, scheduled for September 13-6, at the Bethesda North Marriott Convention Center in Bethesda, MD. Leading authorities in health care research and policy will hold sessions on health care infrastructure, delivery of services, quality and safety, improving Americans’ health status, provider performance and payment reform, and patient engagement. Select to register and for more information about the conference.
Department of Health and Human Services Flu-related Prevention Materials - Click for more information
2009 CRISIS AND EMERGENCY RISK COMMUNICATION TRAINING SEMINAR INVITATION
Consistently providing useful public health information and education to the various communities we serve is one our most important (and challenging) objectives. But when an emergency strikes, the task of getting the “right information” to the “right people” at the “right time” so they can make the “right decisions” takes on an entirely new and urgent importance. The H1N1 (swine) flu situation has proven just how much the public relies on timely, accurate, useful information.
In an on-going effort to prepare public health professionals for effectively communicating with the public during emergencies, the Center for Emergency Response and Terrorism will offer media and risk communication seminars again this year. Designed especially for local and state public health staff, the seminars are built around an emergency response scenario requiring participants to develop clear, consistent public health messages. The day-and-half seminars are provided at no charge.
This year we are offering only two courses: one basic Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) course and one Advanced Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (ACERC). The classes will be built around an emergency response scenario featuring the need to provide clear, consistent, and useful messages for the public.
You can register by mail, fax or online. The registration brochure is attached and can be found at: www.dhss.mo.gov/BT_Response/risk_com09.htm. Registrations are due at least seven days prior to the seminar date. If you have any questions contact Brian Quinn, Center for Emergency Response and Terrorism at 573-526-4768 or brian.quinn@dhss.mo.gov.
ADOLESCENT SHORTS NEWSLETTER AVAILABLE THROUGH DHSS WEBSITE
The Adolescent Shorts Newsletter, along with other adolescent health related publications, is available through the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) website at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/AdolescentHealth/Publications.html. The latest issue is titled “Transitioning Youth with Special Health Care Needs to Adult Health Care Services, Part 2”. Adolescent Shorts is a bi-monthly newsletter co-published by the DHSS Adolescent Health Program and The Children’s Mercy Hospital. The newsletter addresses current issues and promotes best practices in adolescent health care. For more information on Adolescent Shorts, contact Patti Van Tuinen, at 573-751-6188, or e-mail Patti.VanTuinen@dhss.mo.gov.
RECREATIONAL WATER ILLNESS - STAY HEALTHY WHILE SWIMMING THIS SUMMER
Very soon thousands of Missourians will flock to their favorite swimming areas to stay cool and have fun. But many don’t know that something else can be swimming around in the water with them: organisms that can make people sick. Organisms that can cause recreational water illness (RWI) can be found in swimming pools, water/spray parks, hot tubs, lakes, rivers, and oceans. Some organisms, like Cryptosporidium that causes diarrhea, can even live for days in well-maintained pools treated with chlorine. The week before Memorial Day, May 18-24 has been designated as National Recreational Water Illness Prevention Week to raise awareness about healthy swimming behaviors including ways to prevent RWIs and injuries. CDC has created a wealth of resources that LPHAs can use to raise awareness in their communities including a toolkit for public health professionals with free brochures that you can order. Also consider getting involved in an effort to develop a National Model Aquatic Health Code. For more information, contact Mary Glassburner at the Bureau of Environmental Regulations and Licensure (BERL) at (573) 751- 6111.
MOALPHA TO SPONSOR MAY MEDICAID AND MEDICARE BILLING WORKSHOPS
Learn how to maximize your LPHA’s funding by billing for all allowable services. Presenters will include representatives from the MO HealthNet Division and the health plans for MoHealthNet clients. Workshops (co-sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur) will be held in May in five locations: Shelbyville, Cameron, Rolla, Springfield, and Poplar Bluff. The agenda and registration form are attached.
Chonic Kidney Disease Workshops - Click here for more information. Learn how you can join efforts to REDUCE the incidence and SLOW the progression of CKD in Missouri
during the upcoming regional meetings cosponsored by Primaris and the Missouri Rural Health Association.
America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Information
This new Issue Brief summarizing health literacy findings from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) has just been published by the Department of Health and Human Services. A collaboration of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), this eight page Issue Brief is crafted for a policy audience, and includes policy implications of the findings. “America's Health Literacy: Why We Need Accessible Information” can be found on the ODPHP's Health Literacy Improvement Website: http://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/default.htm
Missouri Chamber supports health coverage proposal
The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry strongly supports legislation given first round approval by the Missouri Senate on Wednesday to expand and provide more efficient health care coverage to more than 35,000 uninsured Missourians, without a tax increase. Click to read the full article.
Task Force recommends screening adolescents for clinical depression
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends screening adolescents 12-18 years of age for clinical depression only when systems are in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. (B recommendation) The Task Force found insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening children 7-11 years of age for clinical depression. (I statement) The Task Force reviewed new evidence on the benefits and harms of screening children and adolescents for clinical depression, the accuracy of screening tests administered in the primary care setting and the benefits and risks of treating clinical depression using psychotherapy and/or medications in patients 7 and 18 years of age.
Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule --- United States, 2009
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) annually reviews the recommended Adult Immunization Schedule to ensure that the schedule reflects current recommendations for the licensed vaccines. No new vaccines were added to the schedule. However, several indications were added to the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine footnote; clarifications were made to the footnotes for human papillomavirus, varicella, and meningococcal vaccines; and schedule information was added to the hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccine footnotes.
The Path to a High Performance U.S. Health System: A 2020 Vision and the Policies to Pave the Way
Commonwealth Fund; Published: February 2009
Proposes establishing a national insurance exchange with a choice of private plans and a new public plan, combined with payment and system reforms, in order to realize affordable coverage for all, improve health outcomes, and slow health spending growth.
Funder(s): Commonwealth Fund
Subject(s): Health; Health, Health Insurance/Coverage; Health, Healthcare Access/Reform
Publication Type: Research Report
PubHub Link (122 pages; 710KB; PDF)
National Diabetes Education Program
The NRHA has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health and other national organizations to promote the National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP). The NDEP develops and disseminates educational information on diabetes in minority communities. http://www.ndep.nih.gov/
AHRQ Releases New Survey to Assess Medical Office Safety Culture
The Medical Office Survey on Patient Safety Culture,a new evidence-based tool from AHRQ, can help you assess how your staff views different areas of patient safety. You can use the results to target areas for improvement and build a stronger patient safety culture within your organization. The survey captures opinions from all levels of staff on important dimensions that relate to patient safety and quality issues, communication about error, communication openness, information exchange with other settings, office processes and standardization, organizational learning, staff training, teamwork, and work pressure and pace.
The survey toolkit is free and available on AHRQ’s Web site. It includes survey forms and a user’s guide that explains the survey process, discussing such topics as overall project planning, data collection procedures and analysis and report creation.
The new survey is an expansion of AHRQ’s successful Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture.
Safe Practices 2009 - National Quality Forum; Washington DC
The National Quality Forum's Safe Practices for Better Healthcare provides a blueprint for organizations to improve the quality and safety of patient care. The practices are organized into seven content areas: establishing leadership structures and systems, improving safety culture, honoring patient's wishes for informed consent and error disclosure, matching health care needs with delivery capacity, facilitating information transfer and clear communication between providers, managing medications safely, preventing health care–associated infections, and implementing safe practices for specific clinical conditions and sites of care. Since the last update in 2006, seven new practices have been added and others retired. The practices are defined so that organizations can measure the relationship between implementation of the practices and patient safety outcomes.
HCUP
The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP, pronounced "H-Cup") is a family of health care databases and related software tools and products developed through a Federal-State-Industry partnership and sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). HCUP databases bring together the data collection efforts of State data organizations, hospital associations, private data organizations, and the Federal government to create a national information resource of patient-level health care data (HCUP Partners). HCUP includes the largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States, with all-payer, encounter-level information beginning in 1988. These databases enable research on a broad range of health policy issues, including cost and quality of health services, medical practice patterns, access to health care programs, and outcomes of treatments at the national, State, and local market levels.
Obama's vision for Integrated Medical Records - One element of the Obama vision for the reform of the US health care system is to overhaul the record keeping system, making the data consistent and using technology to keep the records and distribute the information. $19 billion has been set aside in the stimulus package to kick start information technology companies and health care providers into the process of making this happen. http://www.opexsg.com/images/stories/content/PDF/electronic%20medical%20benefits.pdf
The Missouri Foundation for Health has released the 2009 edition of Medicaid Basics. This publication provides an overview of Medicaid and an overview of the state’s Medicaid program called MO HealthNet. Click to view the report.
Hospitals see increase in uninsured, underinsured emergency room patients - Click to read the report
Beyond Health Care: The Economic Contribution of Hospitals – Health care is too often viewed as an economic drain when, in fact, it is an economic driver. Hospitals not only provide vital health care services to millions of people, they also play a critical role in supporting a strong and stable economy, a role that is not widely understood. To learn more about the economic contribution of hospitals, the American Hospital Association as produced the TrendWatch Report [click here to read the report, or click here to read a letter from the AHA President and CEO].
Recent updates from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
TRANSMITTAL(S) RELEASED
Transmittal 1695, entitled “Providers Submitting Information on Beneficiaries Entitled to MA for FY 2006 & for SSI Fraction,” was published. This regulation affects Hospitals.
View the complete text of Transmittal 1695: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R1695CP.pdf
TRANSMITTAL(S) RELEASED - CORRECTION
Transmittal 58, entitled “Disclosure of Physician Ownership in Hospitals,” was published. This regulation affects Hospitals and Physicians.
View the complete text of Transmittal 58: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R58GI.pdf
TRANSMITTAL(S) RELEASED - CLARIFICATION
Transmittal 454, entitled “Influenza Pandemic Emergency Preparedness - Waiver of Certain Medicare Requirements,” was published. This regulation affects ALL Providers.
View the complete text of Transmittal 454: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/transmittals/downloads/R454OTN.pdf
