Clinical organizations have rapidly pivoted to provide virtual care during the COVID-19 epidemic; however, there is great opportunity to advance the automation and improvement of other aspects of public health. The CDC in partnership with organizations like Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has developed electronic approaches to public health reporting on reportable conditions. Public health agencies have similarly rushed to shore up existing systems and innovate and automate public health activities including reporting, contact tracing and public health messaging and control measures that can bend the curve on communicable disease transmission. Here we discuss the available approaches to public health, from the perspective of the federal public health infrastructure, the state/local public health agency and the community health center and their data partners and how interested parties might advance their own clinical enterprise and data towards seamless reuse and downstream public health activities.

In response to relaxation of telehealth reimbursement rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, Community Health Centers (CHCs) have rapidly transformed in-person visits into telehealth visits that reduce the spread of infection to patients and staff. Although those rules will likely be tightened after the emergency period, it is likely that in many states, telehealth will continue to be a reimbursable option of care. To this end, health centers may consider re-designing their primary care model to expand virtual care and will need to evaluate financial feasibility. From a reimbursement perspective, CHCs in some states were already operating under a primary care capitation alternative payment methodology or able to negotiate one with payers. This provides even greater flexibility in terms of means of serving patients and choice of the most appropriate member of the care team. This workshop will explore clinical and operational considerations which may impact financial sustainability. Furthermore, it will discuss reimbursement options which could incentivize how health centers manage total cost of care in a virtual environment. Participants will learn key concepts which should be integrated into a financial modeling exercise that would serve as a business plan, and identify return on investment (ROI) for a virtual care program.

Prior to COVID-19, health centers often struggled with engaging patients in their care or providing care in non-traditional ways, such as via telehealth or the patient portal. Now, health centers have the opportunity to set a new standard for how patients can access health care services in the “new normal”. By structuring an access monitoring program, health centers can measure and positively impact provider continuity, appropriate schedule utilization, appointment availability, and patient engagement. Health centers have the opportunity to leverage the hard work and ingenuity demonstrated when implementing processes in response to COVID-19, such as those for text message communication, COVID-19 testing services, and telehealth, and can now optimize and sustain these process to improve access to care and increase patient engagement long-term. 

Aledade Co-founder and CEO Farzad Mostashari, MD has spent his career at the forefront of healthcare policy and health information technology. Dr. Mostashari is the former National Coordinator for Health IT at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and served as a distinguished expert at the Brookings Institute’s Engelberg Center for HealthCare Reform. He has spoken and written extensively on issues affecting health IT, ACOs, and health care policy and delivery. Dr. Mostashari received his MD from Yale University School of Medicine and his Masters in Population Health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Mostashari's Keynote Discussion Topics include: Redefining value-based care during a pandemic Technology, payment and workflows during the COVID-19 pandemic Leveraging data to drive decision-making, financial resiliency, combating racism and racial/health disparities (for patients and employees) and more

COVID-19 has resulted in additional funding for Health Centers. As frequently happens with new federal funding the compliance environment evolves with the latest frequently asked question (FAQ) updates, new reporting guidelines and documentation standards. While the environment is changing that doesn’t mean Health Centers can wait passively for a perfect future date to begin taking compliance seriously. In this session we will provide an update on the current grants management environment. We will share what we know, what we don’t know and provide insight into how the compliance environment is evolving. We can be certain that things will continue to change, but this session will provide confirmation for some, ideas for many, and motivation for others. Compliance is a required part of this funding and ignorance is not an excuse that the Office of Inspector General (OIG) accepts. Join BKD for this session as we work to help you and your Health Center reduce your risk for this federal funding. We are entering the phase of accountability for this funding and we want you to be prepared.

This session will describe the state of healthcare cybersecurity from a sector-wide perspective, the cyber threats that healthcare providers are facing, and what strategies and tools they are using in order to address these threats. This session will highlight best practices for improving your security posture. Learn about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare cybersecurity and information privacy programs within healthcare organizations and what organizations are doing to combat cyber threats in a COVID-19 world.

Operating a call center that fields nearly half a million phone calls each year typically requires innovative strategies to support employee recruitment, retention and satisfaction; IT infrastructure; and metric measurement. Then, COVID-19 hit. Erie Family Health Centers was forced to quickly and dramatically transform its entire model of care – and Patient Access Operations along with it. More than 70 employees were transitioned to work from home within the span of two weeks. Training programs were revamped to ensure teams were ready to support rapidly evolving models of care, including the rapid launch of telehealth visits and 7-day-a-week care. This session will discuss the sustainability of potential advantages of many of the adaptations that Erie, and other community health centers, made to the way our Patient Access Centers operate. We will focus on the potential benefits for employee recruitment that a work-from-home model may offer. We’ll look at the important metrics that are necessary to measure to sustain the health of your call center during a time of crisis and beyond. And we will explore the adjustments to employee training that allow organizations to be more agile, more responsive to change, and more empathetic to employees' needs and wants.

COVID-19 changed how health centers approach providing access to primary and specialty care for communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19. This session will highlight two examples of health centers that leveraged alternative delivery models for providing high-quality services to their patients in communities.   The first example will feature CCI Health and Wellness Services, which transitioned its group-based prenatal care program – which had a successful track record improving birth outcomes – to virtual group-based care within two weeks. CCI’s Centering Program combines standard health assessments, interactive learning in a group setting of 10-12 women, and community building to help foster positive health outcomes and behaviors amongst its prenatal population.   The second example will highlight a virtual diabetes education program and efforts to address social determinants of health. Community Care Network of Kansas and Health Ministries Clinic (HMC) participated in a demonstration project that focused on the social determinants of health (SDOH) in a targeted Medicaid population of Hispanic patients with diabetes. HMC staff used PRAPARE to collect actionable data and Azara DRVS to identify care gaps and report average assessment score, specific social risk factors, and clinical diabetes measures. To maintain positive outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, HMC began offering telehealth services, which allowed a diabetes educator and care management staff to use audio only and audio/video telehealth along with in-person visits to stay connected to their patients.

One health center out of Hope Valley, Rhode Island will share their experience in building a new patient visit model that reached the following results: a 33% increase in patient access, 46% decrease in no-shows, and a 38% increase in capacity utilization. While improving patient access to care has many favorable benefits to patients including improved health outcomes and quality of care, it requires process changes, innovation, and a bold leadership group. Results include a greater volume of patient visits while also attaining improvements in no-show reductions and capacity utilization.

CMS, State Medicaid programs and commercial payers are getting more aggressive in moving providers from volume to value-based pay (VBP).  Exactly how VBP will be implemented is evolving, particularly for FQHCs, but it does appear to be here to stay.  COVID-19 demonstrated that fee-for-service doesn’t provide the flexibility providers need to pivot their models to meet the changing needs of their patients and communities.  And, CMS demonstrated its continuing commitment to VBP by issuing a letter to Medicaid Directors on September 15, 2020, with information on how to advance payment to support value-based care.  FQHCs will need to develop capabilities to be successful as VBP continues to evolve.  This session will describe the types of VBP methodologies that are being discussed, the clinical and financial capabilities FQHCs will need to be successful, and how health centers can prepare for VBP.