What's New
HRSA Launches Precision Medicine Initiative
Staff from 46 community health centers convened at HRSA on Monday, July 8 to discuss an ambitious partnership with NIH to enlist more than 1 million patients in a study across 21 states. The "Precision Medicine Initiative" will look into genetic, environmental and lifestyle markers for clues on how to prevent and treat disease.
"Health centers have a long history of emphasizing the importance of prevention, and using that as a key strategy for improving the health of a wide range of populations. We look to precision medicine to understand variability in disease onset, differences in genetic and environmental risks, and how we can really focus on specific populations and their specific needs," according to Diana Espinosa, HRSA Deputy Administrator.
Read more about the Precision Medicine Initiative.
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Public Comment Period Open: Child and Adult Core Sets of Quality Measures for Medicaid and CHIP
The public comment period is now open for the draft report, Recommendations for Improving the Core Sets of Health Care Quality Measures for Medicaid and CHIP: Summary of a Multi-Stakeholder Review of the 2020 Child and Adult Core Sets. The Child and Adult Core Sets of quality measures for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are key indicators of the access to, and quality of, the health care Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries receive, many of whom are also served by HRSA’s Health Center Program.
Review information about the report or the report itself. Email comments to MACCoreSetReview@mathematica-mpr.com with the subject line “2020 Core Set Review Public Comment” by 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, August 5.
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World Hepatitis Day is July 28!
The HHS National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan provides strategies and actions we can take to move towards hepatitis elimination in the U.S., and The World Health Organization’s World Hepatitis Day website provides informative materials and resources to help raise awareness and promote action on viral hepatitis across the globe. As you engage in viral hepatitis elimination efforts, be sure to connect with HHS’ Mapping Hepatitis Elimination in Action initiative to add your project to the growing map of coordinated and collaborative efforts across the nation!
CMS Request for Information on Reducing Administrative Burden
CMS recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking innovative ideas and solutions to reduce burden in the following areas:
- Streamlining CMS reporting and documentation requirements;
- Aligning coding and documentation requirements for Medicare, Medicaid, and other payers;
- Enabling data sharing to support clinician-patient relationships;
- Improving accessibility of CMS requirements for quality reporting, coverage, or prior authorization;
- Addressing policies and requirements that are overly burdensome for those in a rural setting;
- Simplifying policies and requirements for dually enrolled (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) beneficiaries;
- Simplifying beneficiary enrollment and eligibility determination; and
- Improving CMS processes for issuing regulations and policies.
The RFI on Reducing Administrative Burden to Put Patients over Paperwork is posted in the Federal Register. Submit your comments by Monday, August 12.
Important CMS Assister Certification Training Update
As CMS prepares to release the 2020 Assister Certification Training, the 2019 Assister Certification Training that was hosted on the Marketplace Learning Management System has been taken offline. During this “go-dark” period, assisters will not be able to access the certification training. CMS anticipates that the 2020 Assister Certification Training will be available later this summer.
Substance Use Disorder & Behavioral Health
Promising Practices for Substance Use Disorder Treatment Among Pregnant and Parenting Women
Two HRSA-funded health centers will share promising practices to treat and support the needs of pregnant and parenting women diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD). In addition, experts from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists will share maternal and child health safety resources concerning the prevention and treatment of SUD.
Wednesday, July 24
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 888-942-9264
Passcode: 9893674
Primary Care and Behavioral Health Integration: Building Workforce Capacities
During this HRSA webinar, HRSA-funded health centers will share their unique approaches to developing behavioral health workforce training programs and practices that provide high-quality, integrated behavioral health care.
Wednesday, July 31
3:00-4:30 p.m. ET
Join the webcast the day of the session
Call-in: 877-917-4906
Passcode: 9450742
Syringe Service Programs: A Critical Public Health Intervention
This webinar, hosted by the HHS Office of the Assistance Secretary for Health, will allow you to engage with HHS leadership around syringe services programs, which are an important community-based prevention program that can save lives, combat the nation’s opioid crisis, reduce the transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C, and support individuals in accessing SUD or opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment services.
Tuesday, July 30
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Living Proof: Recovery Supports for People with Opioid Use Disorder or Co-Occurring Disorders Considering or Using Medication-Assisted Treatment
Join SAMHSA for Bringing Recovery Supports to Scale Technical Assistance Center Strategy (BRSS TACS), a three-part virtual learning series focusing on recovery supports for people considering or using Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for OUD or co-occurring disorders. Register for any of the three sessions.
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Neurobiology of OUD and Medications for OUD: Implications for Co-occurring Disorders
Wednesday, July 24
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
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Delivering Recovery Supports to People with OUD Who Are Participating in MAT
Wednesday, July 31
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
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Delivering Recovery Supports to People with OUD Who Are Considering MAT
Wednesday, August 7
2:00-3:00 p.m. ET
HIV
Promising Practice: Primary Health Care Uses Data to Target HIV Outreach
Learn how Primary Health Care Iowa uses data to target HIV outreach. This health center provides comprehensive HIV/AIDS care that includes prevention, testing, and treatment. Iowa presents a unique challenge with its rural population, and the 10 counties experiencing the highest prevalence of HIV are spread across the state, making testing and treatment difficult.
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Workforce
Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program Funding Opportunity
HRSA is accepting applications for the FY 2020 Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) Program. Apply by Friday, August 30. The THCGME Program provides funding to support the training of residents in a new or expanded primary care residency training program in rural and underserved communities.
HRSA's Virtual Job Fair
HRSA’s Virtual Job Fairs are free online recruitment events that connect students and clinicians with health care delivery organizations.
Wednesday, August 7
6:45-10:45 p.m. ET
Job seekers may register until the event
Primary Care and Behavioral Health Integration: Building Workforce Capacities
See announcement above.
Additional Resources
TODAY: Conversation with a Health Center: Providing Safe, High-Quality Obstetric Care
This ECRI webinar, presented on HRSA’s behalf, features speakers from Valley Health Systems (Huntington, WV) who will share case studies, experiences, challenges, and lessons learned from their efforts to improve the quality of care for the health center’s obstetric patients. Speakers will address:
- Providing safe, high-quality care for obstetric patients with SUD
- Addressing challenges in caring for high-risk obstetric patients
- Implementing successful processes for tracking patient referrals
- Facilitating care transitions, communication, and continuity of care between health centers and other community entities
Health center administrators and health care providers should consider attending this webinar:
Tuesday, July 23
Noon-1:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Primary Care and Home Visiting Partnerships to Promote Maternal and Child Health
This HRSA webinar will provide an overview of evidence-based home visiting programs and how health center and home visiting program partnerships can help achieve primary care goals and improve patient outcomes. The presentation will feature experts from HRSA, the Johns Hopkins University, and HRSA-funded health centers to provide insight into the value and development of these partnerships.
Tuesday, July 30
3:00-4:00 p.m. ET
Register here
Health Centers Address Hypertension
Hypertension (high blood pressure), often known as “the silent killer,” is one of the most common underlying causes of death in the United States. Certain racial/ethnic minority groups are disproportionately affected. Using data from the most recent Health Center Patient Survey, HRSA researchers uncovered how health centers excel at helping patients manage this condition. Read the full article.
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Patient-Centered Medical Home Trainings for Health Centers
HRSA contracts with The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to provide technical assistance and training to health centers on the NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) recognition process. HRSA is sponsoring regional trainings, organized by Primary Care Associations, on NCQA’s Introduction to PCMH and Advanced PCMH courses for health centers. Learn more about the trainings available in your region:
Effective Partnerships Guide - Improving Oral Health for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Children and Their Families
The revision of the Effective Partnerships Guide: Improving Oral Health for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Children and their Families is the result of a joint effort between the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and HRSA to create an opportunity for Migrant and Seasonal Head Start programs and health centers to learn more about each other’s programs, share resources, foster new partnerships and strengthen ones already in place. The first version of the Partnerships Guide was produced in 2015.
HRSA and ACF develop linkages between their respective grantees at the local program level and promote partnerships and collaboration to increase access to primary health care for agricultural workers and their families.
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