NP Practices Are Perfect for Healthcare Homes
Summer is rolling along at ECFC. Thankfully, our June has been busier than May was. Within the next three weeks our state has mandated that all medical claims be filed electronically (July 15). The state has contracted with an organization to allow free access to their Web-based e-filing system. We are awaiting approval to go ahead and begin e-filing, but it seems like we are cutting it rather close.
In addition to e-filing, we have been looking at some Web-based electronic medical records and practice management systems. I will keep you posted. For those of you with little money to throw around, there are some free, corporate sponsored, EMR systems available which may be a way to get started.
I have been asked to represent my state nursing association on the Health Care Home Payment Methodology Steering Committee. Lots of words to say that we are charged with defining what constitutes coordination of care, which patients benefit from care coordination services and how cc services will be paid for.
The Health Care Home model is very hot in Minnesota. The thought is that by having a designated health care home for patients with chronic illness or at risk for chronic illness, health care providers can develop care models to include case management services within the primary care clinic and eventually lead to improved health and decreased medical costs. Care Coordination services are costly and have not been well defined in the past. It is believed that most primary care clinics provide some type of cc. Having a uniform definition of these services would help to guide primary care clinics in developing systems that would include all of the components of care coordination as defined in the Health Care Home mode. There are a number of agencies that have developed a process to "certify" clinics as Health Care Homes, most recognizable is NCQA.
It is exciting for me to see that the state is insisting that clinics provide health care services that are consistent with the NP model of care. Care coordination is fundamental to NP care. Developing plans of care for individual patient conditions, facilitating referral to specialty care or therapies, reviewing the treatment plan and making changes, as well as follow up phone calls or contact with patients between planned visits... hummm sounds like nursing to me.
I will keep you posted on our progress.
I am looking forward to July, with all its bells and whistles. On a final note about the budget - we were able to renegotiate our lease and got a modest rent reduction to assist with our 20% across the board cuts. Yay...slowly chipping away.