Value-Based Care, Primary Care Hannah Russell Value-Based Care, Primary Care Hannah Russell

The Importance of a Hospitalist Relationship in Primary Care

PCP practices engaged in shared savings or at-risk contracts can have tremendous medical expenses related to hospitalizations and the downstream impact of the hospital stay – beyond the DRG payment for hospital care. There are multiple opportunities to address issues that impact medical spend during and after a hospital stay, but they are dependent on a hospitalist team dedicated to work with the PCP practice, functioning within service level agreements around communication, referral patterns, and timely follow up with the PCP.

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ACP, Primary Care Hannah Russell ACP, Primary Care Hannah Russell

Advance Care Planning Conversations - What they are and why they matter

More than 90 percent of Americans believe it is important to discuss the treatment and palliative options they would choose to pursue if they were to become incapacitated by medical issues in the future, according to The Conversation Project’s 2018 National Survey. Yet, they also report that only 32 percent have actually conducted these conversations.

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Healthcare, "How To's", Primary Care Hannah Russell Healthcare, "How To's", Primary Care Hannah Russell

Successfully Navigating an EHR Conversion

Earlier this month, my practice converted from the Allscripts Professional PM and EHR system to athenaOne. If you have been through this process, you know it is not easy. Many have come to tears or left their job when going through a system conversion because of the stress of balancing seeing patients while learning a new system. While lessons were learned and there were hiccups along the way, our process went smoothly with only a 3-week ramp-up period.

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Physicians, Primary Care, Notes On News Hannah Russell Physicians, Primary Care, Notes On News Hannah Russell

How Digital Minimalism May Help Solve Physician Burnout

The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a paper titled “Digital Minimalism - an Rx for Clinician Burnout.” The article points to a recent study that found the amount of time spent in electronic health records (EHRs) correlates with declines in face-to-face time with the patient, computer-based work after hours and increasing rates of burnout. Digital minimalism could be a new way forward for physicians.

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Healthcare, Primary Care, Big Ideas Hannah Russell Healthcare, Primary Care, Big Ideas Hannah Russell

What can you do to reverse the trends of primary care?

The business of primary care is a serious one and a unique one. Maybe you’ve always known you want to be in healthcare and primary care specifically, or perhaps you’re one of the many who, to use the Napoleon Hill term, “drifted” into your current role. However you got to where you are right now, what you and your practice do to serve your community is critical.

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Primary Care, ACO Hannah Russell Primary Care, ACO Hannah Russell

How to prepare for 2024 ACO success in 2023

Over the last several weeks, we’ve focused on readiness for joining an Accountable Care Organization, or ACO. We’ve explored what an ACO is, shown how to see if your practice is ready to join an ACO, and shared five key questions to assess before either forming your own ACO or joining an existing ACO.

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Primary Care, Healthcare, ACO Hannah Russell Primary Care, Healthcare, ACO Hannah Russell

What are five questions you need to ask before joining an existing ACO?

As we continue our series discussing Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, we now move from the topic of forming your own ACO to what are some key questions to ask before joining an existing ACO. Entering an existing ACO can be a lucrative and well aligned way to accomplish success in value based care for your MSSP patients, but you may find yourself facing buyers’ remorse if you don’t go in well-informed. If you do make a decision that doesn’t align with your practice’s priorities and goals, you will be locked into the model for at least one year, possibly more, depending on the terms of your agreement.

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Primary Care, Healthcare, ACO Hannah Russell Primary Care, Healthcare, ACO Hannah Russell

What are five questions you need to ask before forming your own ACO?

Over the last several weeks, we’ve been in a series discussing Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs. We began this month by reviewing “What is an ACO and what do you need to know about them?”, and we continued last week by giving some tips to answer the question “Is your practice ready to join an ACO?”.

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Notes On News, Primary Care Hannah Russell Notes On News, Primary Care Hannah Russell

Notes On News: The End of the COVID-19 National Emergency and Public Health Emergency

The U.S. House of Representatives recently put forth a bill to end both the national emergency and the public health emergency (PHE) for the COVID-19 pandemic early. President Biden signed a version of the bill on April 10, ending the national emergency, but the PHE will continue until May 11, at which point it, too, will expire.

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Primary Care, ACO Hannah Russell Primary Care, ACO Hannah Russell

Is your practice ready to join an ACO?

If you are a primary care practice, you’re most likely aware of the CMS directive to have all Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in an arrangement that includes accountability for quality and total cost of care by 2030. You’ve also most likely been approached within the last few weeks about joining an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), likely by multiple different groups, or you’ve done research and heard about ACOs recently. With Phase 1 of the ACO application period of May 18, 2023 through June 15, 2023 and Phase 2 July 11, 2023 through August 1, 2023, being aware of the deadlines is important, but even more important is being prepared to succeed in an ACO, and making the decision to even join one for the 2024 performance year.

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Primary Care, ACO Hannah Russell Primary Care, ACO Hannah Russell

What is an ACO and what do you need to know about them?

If you are a primary care practice, you’ve likely been approached within the last few weeks about joining an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), possibly by multiple different groups. The reason for this flurry of activity is Phase 1 of the ACO application program goes from May 18 to June 15, 2023 and the final phase to add TINs to an ACO is July 11 to August 1, 2023. If you’re not already in an ACO, you’ll need to make some important decisions about whether or not to join an ACO for 2024, and which ACO to join. 

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