Your CHCANYS: 04-21-16

New York State FY 2015-16 Budget: FQHC-Related Highlights 
The Legislature passed the New York State FY 2016-2017 budget within 24 hours of the April 1 deadline.  Click here and here for highlights relevant to FQHCs, prepared for CHCANYS by Brown & Weinraub, PLLC.  

DSRIP Project Approval and Oversight Panel and DOH to Host Public Comment Days on 1115 Waiver  
The Department of Health has announced that it will host two Public Comment Days on New York’s 1115 Waiver programs. During these meetings, members of the DSRIP Project Approval and Oversight Panel will join NYS Dept. of Health staff in listening to comments provided by members of the public and stakeholders. Feedback on all waiver programs is welcomed. The downstate Public Comment Day will be held on May 4 at the NYU Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square Park South in NYC from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. The upstate Public Comment Day will be held on June 10 at the Empire State Plaza, Meeting Room # 6 in Albany from 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. These meetings will be webcast live and will be open to the public. Pre-registration is not required. Individuals who wish to provide comment will be asked to register on site and limit their feedback to 5 minutes.  Your participation in this important public process is strongly encouraged.

Do 1 Thing: Emergency Preparedness 
Being prepared for disasters and emergencies can seem like a big job. Many people don't know where to start, so they never start at all. With Do 1 Thing, you can take small steps that make a big difference in an emergency. Do 1 Thing is a free 12-month program that makes it easy for you to prepare yourself, your family, and your community for emergencies or disasters. Participate as an individual or as an organization. For more information, click here. 

Emergency Management for Primary Care Centers In-Person Training
(*Two spots remaining)  
This course will provide an overview of the four phases of emergency management, the key elements of an emergency management program and plan, and the role of the health center during emergencies and disasters. *The initial roll-out of this training is being offered to health centers located in the Capital District, Long Island and the Hudson Valley. If you are interested in bringing it to your health center, contact EMTeam@CHCANYS.org. The online version of this training is available on the NYS Department of Health Learning Management System.

2016 Health Commerce System Communications Drill
The CHCANYS Emergency Management Team, in partnership with the NYS Dept. of Health, will coordinate a communications drill in May using the NYSDOH Health Commerce System (HCS).  

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Training Opportunity 
PCEPN, in partnership with the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene and Northwell Health, will offer five PPE trainings for clinical providers in April 2016 to support infectious disease preparedness. Participating organizations will be provided with personal protective equipment kits, which can be used for training or in health center operations, as well as possible educational credits (CMEs) for participating providers.   

Save the Date: PCEPN Coordinated Tabletop Exercise for Primary Care Networks and Partners
This event will take place on May 19, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Baruch College.  More information to come. 

Register Now: CPCI Statewide Administrative Training  
Date: Friday, April 29, 2015 
Time: 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.  
Hosted by CHCANYS and delivered by Greg Augustine of Azara Healthcare, this training will cover the key features and functionality around administration of the Center for Primary Care Informatics (CPCI), including navigating the new support portal, managing alerts around Patient Visit Planning, utilizing provider and mapping administration tools and user administration reports, and analyzing and interpreting your data. Geared toward super users and administrators of the CPCI analytics tool, this webinar is free to attend, but advance registration is required. Click here to sign up. 

eCW Problems with e-Prescribing of Non-Controlled Substances  
CHCANYS has become aware that there have been issues with the e-prescribing function for non-controlled substances in eCW that have caused prescriptions to be auto-faxed to pharmacies.  Users are generally not aware that this is happening. It is recommended that eCW users speak with their SAM as soon as possible about available options for remedying the situation and consider applying for a waiver to the State’s e-prescribing requirement  -- click here for waiver forms and instructions.

Funding Available to Support Medicaid Providers with Health Information Exchange Adoption 
The Data Exchange Incentive Program (DEIP) was established by the NYS Dept. of Health with support from CMS to help increase Health Information Exchange adoption of Medicaid providers. The program was designed to help defray the cost to provider organizations of connecting to the SHIN-NY via a RHIO (now known as a Qualified Entity, or QE). The ability to participate in electronic health information exchange is important to improving patient care and supports the achievement of Meaningful Use, PCMH and participation in DSRIP projects. Funds are still available for additional participants, CHCANYS continues to collaborate with the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) to roll out the incentive program to FQHCs. Organizations are eligible to receive incentive payments of  up to $30,000 per site for signing a QE Participant Agreement and implementing an EHR interface to contribute data to the QE.  In order to receive funding, organizations must finish all program milestones by September 30, 2016.  

Funding for Primary Care Providers to Expand Buprenorphine Treatment  
On behalf of the NYC Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene, Public Health Solutions has announced the release of an RFP to fund three non-profit primary care providers who will help accomplish buprenorphine expansion and promote high quality care using a Nurse Care Manager (NCM) model. Proposals are due on May 9, 2016 by 2:00 p.m.  Click here to access the RFP. To submit an application online, click here.  Questions about the RFP may be directed to buperfp@healthsolutions.org.

HRSA Announces FY 2017 New Access Point Funding Opportunity 
On Tuesday, April 19, HRSA announced that approximately $50 million will be made available in FY 2017 for 75 awards to new and existing health centers nationwide for operational support of new primary care service delivery sites.  Applications are due in Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 17 and in HRSA’s Electronic Handbook (EHB) by 5:00 p.m. ET on July 15. Applicants must meet both deadlines.  HRSA will host a TA webinar for applicants on Wednesday, April 27 at 3:00 p.m. ET. To connect, click here a few moments before the call is scheduled to begin. Dial 1- 888-968-4311 and enter passcode 4838997 for audio. To access CHCANYS’ New Access Point Resource Center, click here. For additional technical assistance resources from HRSA, click here.For additional technical assistance resources from HRSA, click here. Questions about the application? Contact BPHCNAP@hrsa.gov. 

Coding and Documentation in a Transitioning VBP World - Rochester 
Date:  April 28-29, 2016 
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 
Location: 2100 Brighton Henrietta Town Line Road, Suite 100, Rochester 
CHCANYS has retained Coding & Compliance Initiatives, Inc. (CCI) to provide a face-to-face training on coding guidelines and documentation improvement. Appropriate documentation and accurate coding are essential components of effective charge capture and compliant billing practices. This hands-on workshop is designed to prepare physicians and non-physician practitioners for a successful transition to ICD-10 requirements related to documentation and specificity and will provide participants with a solid background on the documentation required by providers to support the ICD-10 codes and severity of a patient’s condition.  For more information and to register, click here.

2^nd Annual New York State STD Conference, Finger Lake Region
Date: June 24, 2016 
Location: The Lodge at Welch Allyn, 4355 State Street Road, Skaneateles 
Hosted by: The NYS STD Center of Excellence, University of Rochester, Clinical Education Initiative of the New York State Department of Health. For more information and to register, click here.

Webcast Series: Enhancing Access to Behavioral Health Care 
This free webcast series, hosted by HRSA, is designed for provider organizations who would like to develop or expand tele-behavioral health services for underserved populations and will feature a presentation on the tele-behavioral health model used by Finger Lakes Community Health. For more information, including webcast dates and times, click here.

BPHC All-Programs Webcast Recording Now Available
The Bureau of Primary Health Care hosted an All-Programs Webcast on March 23 to provide stakeholders (grantees, look-alikes, cooperative agreements, partners) with updates on current Health Center Program activities and future plans for Fiscal Year 2016. To access a recording of the webcast, click here. 

HRSA Releases Calendar Year 2017 FTCA Requirements Program Assistance Letter (PAL) 
HRSA recently released PAL 2016-03 entitled “Calendar Year 2017 Requirements for Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) Coverage for Health Centers,” which clarifies and details the requirements for CY 2017 FTCA deeming and redeeming applications for Health Center Program grantees. FTCA redeeming applications must be submitted through EHB on or before May 24, 2016. To view the PAL, click here. 

HRSA Will Distribute New Individualized Health Center Patient Targets 
The Bureau of Primary Health Care will release 2016 Patient Targets to health centers next week, along with a corresponding updated FAQ document.  The updated targets for current grantees will reflect the base value (the highest of the average number of patients served in 2011, 2012 or 2013 based on UDS) plus any additional Patient Target numbers projected in expansion/supplemental funding applications for your health center. For new health centers, the Patient Target used in the application that initiated funding under the Health Center Program will be used. Health centers will have until May 12 to submit questions and suggestions and any Patient Target inconsistencies within a supplemental funding opportunity to PHCPPatientTargets@hrsa.gov. 

HRSA Funding Opportunity: Dental Faculty Development and Loan Repayment Program  
The Dental Faculty Development and Loan Repayment Program aims to increase the number and quality of the oral health workforce by assisting dental training programs in general, pediatric, dental public health or dental hygiene to attract, develop and retain dental faculty through both loan repayment and faculty development activities. This Funding Opportunity Announcement focuses on faculty who are training and providing service in community-based primary care settings. Applications are due on May 31, 2016. 

CHCANYS Issues Survey and Report on Emerging Titles in NYC-Based FQHCs
In 2015, CHCANYS surveyed all FQHCs statewide on recruitment and retention issues, as well as emerging care coordination job titles and the preferred education, skills, and experience levels for these positions. Four job titles were assessed through the survey: Care Coordinators, Community Health Workers, Patient Health Navigators, and Health Educators.  Prepare to Care: Key Findings and Training Recommendations for New York City FQHC’s Emerging Titles, a report released by CHCANYS in partnership with New York Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (NYACH) and the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the State University of New York at Albany (CHWS), focuses on survey results reported by FQHCs in New York City.  To read it, click here.  

Demand for RNs in New York Expected to Rise 
The Future of the Registered Nursing Workforce in New York: State-Level Projections, 2015-2025, a new report released by the Center for Health Workforce Studies of the State University of New York at Albany, finds the demand for registered nurses in New York is expected to grow, particularly in long-term care settings.  To access the report in full, click here.  

Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2016 
Doctors in New York are earning 5.6% more than they did last year, but their pay still trails physicians in other states, according to a survey recently released by Medscape.  The survey asked for pay related to patient care, as well as salary, bonus and profit-sharing information.  The average salary for New York respondents was $263,000—the sixth-worst pay level among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.  To view the report, click here.