Comagine Health

New on Our Blog: The Value of Data Integration in a Community Health Data Utility by Richard Gibson, MD, PhD, MBA Clinical Director Why should we try to integrate data from medical provider offices, community benefit organizations and public health agencies? The answer is we know that health depends on more than access to health care providers. Especially for those with lower incomes, reaching one’s full health potential often calls for multiple services in the community. A health data utility (HDU) can help. HDU is a national model where aggregated data from multiple sources serve a diverse set of organizations. Each community or state will have different organizations and agencies and somewhat different needs, but all will benefit from the core components illustrated by the following imagined story. Continue reading at https://lnkd.in/gBb_C5ut. #data #HealthDataUtility #HDU

Ready for the AMERSA Annual Conference on Nov. 14-16 in Chicago? We’re excited to be a part of two presentations you won’t want to miss. · At 3 p.m. Nov. 14, Hunter Spencer of Oregon Health & Science University will present “Harm Reduction in Peer-Assisted Telemedicine for Hepatitis C: Secondary Outcomes of a Randomized Controlled Trial.” In addition to Spencer, authors include Devin Gregoire of Oregon Health & Science University, Comagine Health Senior Director of Research and Evaluation Gillian Leichtling, and Herink M, Ryan Cook, Andrew Seaman and P. Todd Korthuis, all of Oregon Health & Science University. · At 3:17 p.m. Nov. 14, Linda Peng of Oregon Health & Science University and Comagine Health Director of Research and Evaluation Erin Stack will present “Development and Training for a Peer-Delivered Contingency Management Program for Stimulant Use Harm Reduction.” They authored the presentation, along with Comagine Health Vice President of Research and Evaluation Christi Hildebran, Bryan Hartzler of the Northwest Addiction Technology Transfer Center, Comagine Health Senior Research Associate Alexis Cooke, Oregon Health & Science University’s Ryan Cook, Comagine Health Senior Director of Research and Evaluation Gillian Leichtling, Judith Leahy and Kelsey Payne, BA, CADC II, QMHA of the Oregon Health Authority, and Lynn Kunkel, Kim Hoffman, PhD and P. Todd Korthuis, all of Oregon Health & Science University. For more information on the conference, visit https://lnkd.in/evZqafBG. #amersa2024 #ContigencyManagement #HarmReduction

We’re looking forward to the National Association of Medicaid Directors' 2024 Fall Conference on Nov. 11-13 in Washington, D.C.! Stop by our booth and learn about how Comagine Health can provide education, training, technical assistance and more on: ✅ Care management efforts ✅ Health IT consulting ✅ Analytics ✅ Preventing and managing chronic disease ✅ Advancing health equity and addressing disparities ✅ And much more! For more information about the conference, visit https://lnkd.in/gceXT3u #NAMD #HealthIT #HealthEquity #Medicaid

As Comagine Health wraps up the final weeks of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' QIN-QIO 12th Scope of Work, we are celebrating by sharing some of the program’s impact over the past five years.  Our Chronic Disease team developed and launched three unique learning collaboratives meant to help health care professionals improve care for patients with chronic conditions. These collaboratives were designed to meet the individual needs of each participating clinic or health system and their patient populations.  Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD): Three participating medical groups completed a learning collaborative and received guidance, practice facilitation support and resources to improve their workflow process to increase CKD screening and diagnosis rates. By the end of the collaborative, participating clinics increased screening rates between 29 and 55%.  Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP): Ten clinics completed a learning collaborative focused on SMBP program implementation in outpatient settings. Comagine Health provided participating clinics with 21 blood pressure monitoring cuffs and provided weekly training and support for staff. This work resulted in 127 – nearly 50% – of 267 enrolled patients with hypertension achieving controlled blood pressure. Diabetes: Three federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and one hospital system completed a learning collaborative focused on increasing the adoption and use of clinical systems and care practices to improve health outcomes in people with diabetes. Participants focused on reducing the number of patients with A1C greater than nine, reducing the number of patients missing A1C measurements and increasing referrals to diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) programs. Those involved in the collaborative also started using registry dashboards to gain data visibility and conducted data validation and cleaning that led to more familiarity with the information. Visit https://lnkd.in/gg7bCn3d for resources to better address chronic diseases.   #QIO #ChronicDisease #Diabetes #CKD #Hypertension 

Comagine Health and our affiliate UHIN are among the organizations that have committed to One Utah Health Collaborative’s pledge and are contributing to the Utah Model of Care. This key step toward creating a health care system that is affordable, high quality and trusted for all Utahans has now been officially adopted at the state level. https://lnkd.in/gMcJmY5B

Comagine Health offers several tools to help with immunizations, including useful trackers for long-term care facilities and engaging posters for outpatient providers. Stay ahead of the curve with our tools that will make tracking vaccination status for long-term and post-acute residents and staff easier than ever. These have been updated to ensure compliance with the latest information for reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). • Visit https://lnkd.in/g6gkYG9r to access a tool that tracks which residents have received the COVID-19, influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines. This tool now includes columns to track the dates of new cases and hospitalizations with a positive test within the past 10 days, aligning with the NHSN reporting requirements. • A tracker available at https://lnkd.in/gN7dCE_J helps quickly calculate the correct weekly reporting for health care personnel required by NHSN. • A tracker that will help nursing homes quickly and easily collect staff immunization status can be found at https://lnkd.in/gtaAUPEQ. • For some helpful guidance or tips for submitting data to NHSN, check out our tip sheet at https://lnkd.in/gsN29KuP Tools are also available for outpatient providers that can help build patient understanding of vaccine recommendations, facilitate patient conversations and help providers track vaccination rates across their patient populations. • Available in English and Spanish, the adult immunizations poster outlines current vaccine recommendations for a variety of demographics. This resource is a fantastic way to get the vaccine conversation started in exam rooms. Get the English version at https://lnkd.in/ghaWTvqi. The Spanish version can be found at https://lnkd.in/gVSpyaaX. • The adult immunization improvement rate calculator monitors data for MIPS measure #493: adult immunization status. This interactive calculator is a great way to assess vaccination rates. Download a copy at https://lnkd.in/gmhcGAd4. #vaccines #LTPAC #COVID19 #NHSN

As Comagine Health wraps up the final weeks of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' QIN-QIO 12th Scope of Work, we are celebrating by sharing some of the program’s impact over the past five years. Our Adult Immunizations team worked with outpatient providers, long-term care professionals, pharmacies and other organizations from across the health care system to improve vaccination rates for Medicare beneficiaries. This work focused primarily on COVID-19, influenza and pneumonia vaccines. • Influenza Vaccine Trends: Comagine Health connected community partners to pharmacies providing flu vaccinations in our six-state region of Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Despite downward trends nationwide, influenza vaccination rates among people with Medicare in Oregon, Nevada and Utah increased between 2022 and 2024. • Vaccination Resources: We developed more than 20 resources on adult immunization best practices that were accessed over 1,200 times, including a poster to facilitate patient conversations about vaccines in the exam room. Find the English-language poster at https://lnkd.in/ghaWTvqi and the Spanish-language version at https://lnkd.in/gVSpyaaX. • Pneumonia Vaccines: Our social media campaign to promote pneumococcal vaccinations reached more than 34,000 individuals in Clark County, Nevada, and Multnomah County, Oregon, the regions with the highest percentage of unvaccinated people in our service area. • Vaccination Station 2.0: Nearly 250 long-term care professionals from 132 facilities across 22 states registered for our Vaccination Station 2.0 workshop series. Participants in the series reported higher vaccination rates than nonparticipants. • Flu Fighters Podcast: The team created the three-part podcast series, “Flu Fighters,” about influenza vaccinations. Listen to the series at https://lnkd.in/dJkpXkNy as we enter flu season! For more resources from our QIN-QIO Adult Immunizations team, visit https://lnkd.in/gqhNNGce. We want to thank all those who joined in our efforts to protect adults from COVID-19, flu and pneumonia. #QIO #Immunizations #COVID #Flu #Pneumonia

Here’s a look at recent Comagine Health conference appearances, where our team members have been sharing insights and gaining knowledge. Left, Patient Safety Manager Shannon Cupka (pictured) and Improvement Advisor Josh Hernandez presented “Escaping Infection: It Takes a Team” at the New Mexico Health Care Association/New Mexico Center for Assisted Living 2024 Convention and Exposition in Albuquerque on Aug. 21-22. Upper right, Infection Prevention Consultant Jennifer Roeder, MSN, RN, CIC, taught attendees how to use an escape room activity to train long-term care facility staff on infection prevention at the 63rd Utah Health Care Association-Utah Center for Assisted Living Fall Convention and Expo, held Oct. 2-3 in Sandy. Middle, Research Associate Kyn Kappesser and Director of Research Methods and Design Mary Gray presented “Illuminating the Behavioral Health Needs of Transgender and Non-Binary Youth” on Oct. 1 at the GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality’s Annual Conference on LGBTQ+ Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. Bottom right, Improvement advisors Tara Bowsher, MPH, and Kelly Williams represented Comagine Health at the Nevada Health Care Association Annual Trade Show and Convention on Sept. 11-12 in South Lake Tahoe. Inside, from left, Comagine Health Senior Consultant Tara Kline, CPHQ, SSBB, CISA, Senior Director of Data and Technology Andrew Burchett, and Senior Consultant Director Nick Faulkner, MBA, PMP, Valerie Law of ZeOmega, Comagine Health Senior Business Development Manager Mimi Jerkan, and ZeOmega’s Shaun Newton and Michael Gould attended the Medicaid Enterprise Systems Community (MESC) 2024 on Aug 12-15 in Louisville, Kentucky. Oregon Perinatal Collaborative Quality Improvement Coordinator Laurel Durham, Comagine Health Project Coordinator Ana Sassano, MA-MCHS, and Comagine Health Program Manager Ami Hanna, MPH, displayed a poster at the Maternal Health Learning Exchange in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Aug. 6-8. The poster provided an overview of the two organizations’ partnership focused on perinatal substance use disorder, which is part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSAgov), HHS State Maternal Health Innovation Program. Director of Community Health Joanna den Haan was among the speakers Sept. 11 for the webinar "Catalyst for Change: Navigating Barriers and Sustaining Health Equity Amidst Transformation." The session was hosted by Foundation for Health Care Quality, Comagine Health and Washington Health Alliance. Improvement Advisor Alexandra Topper, MPH, presented “Experiences in the Medicare System: Perspectives from Patients and Family Caregivers" as part of the virtual PFCCpartners Community of Practice Workshop on Sept. 27.

Comagine Health is closing out October and kicking off November with an active conference schedule! If you’ll be attending any of these events, you’ll want to catch these presentations! American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Expo Oct. 27-30, Minneapolis Don’t miss Director of Research Methods and Design Mary Gray’s presentation “Stimulant Prescriptions: Trends in Oregon by Societal Levels” at 1 p.m. Oct. 27. Other authors of the study are Senior Healthcare Data Analyst Kendra Blalock and Research Associate Claire Carson Deahl, MS, MPH. https://lnkd.in/eUGeWnV ***** Community Health Association of Mountain/Plains States (CHAMPS)/Northwest Regional Primary Care Association Primary Care Conference Oct. 26-29, Denver Clinical Director Evan Saulino will present “Why and How Community Health Centers (CHCs) Can Improve Screening, Diagnosis, & Management of Chronic Kidney Disease” at 8 a.m. Oct. 28. In addition, Comagine Health will have a booth available, so stop by and say hello! https://lnkd.in/gt-eTJZF. ***** National Association of Health Data Organizations Annual Conference Oct. 30 and Nov. 6; Nov. 12-14, Virtual * Senior Director of Analytics Emily Sim will moderate the series “Pathways to Addressing SUD Data Gaps: State Lessons Learned” at 3 p.m. EDT Oct. 30. * At 3 p.m. EDT Nov. 6, Vice President of Data Solutions Sara Hallvik will moderate the “Data Informing Health Care” series, which will feature “Using Quality Data to Increase Chronic Kidney Disease Screening in a Primary Care Clinic,” presented by Healthcare Data Analyst Ann Jensen and Senior Improvement Advisor Jenny Lingle. * At 12:10 p.m. EDT Nov. 12, Emily Sim will present “Communicating Data Through Analytics.” https://lnkd.in/ggtDrzbW #PublicHealth #PrimaryCare #data #SubstanceUseDisorder

Don’t miss the webinar “Breaking the Mold: Dialysis Infection Prevention in Non-Traditional Settings” at 11 a.m. PDT Oct. 31! Presented by Comagine Health Director of Quality Improvement for ESRD Network 16 Barbara Dommert-Breckler and representatives from Innovative Renal Care, the session is part two of the Making Dialysis Safer for Patients Coalition four-part webinar series organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To register, visit https://lnkd.in/gvBhfHD5. #ChronicKidneyDisease #ESRD #dialysis