CMSA'S Pulse eNewsletter
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December 2015 In This Issue
Special Announcement
Featured Events
Member Announcements
Featured Article
Articles and Links
Industry Events
CareerSmart Learning
Right at Home, Inc.
Special Announcement
Happy holidays! With the season upon us, CMSA would like to share with you our schedule for operations below. Our goal is to ensure that all of your service requirements are met at this time.

Dec. 24 - Jan. 1: CMSA's offices closed in observance of the holidays
Email cmsa@cmsa.org for urgent needs and assistance this week.

Jan. 4: Normal business operations return
 
We wish everyone a happy holiday season and all the best for the New Year!
 
Featured Events
CMSA's Annual Conference & Expo is coming to Long Beach, California, in 2016! Mark your calendars for June 21-23, 2016, with pre- and post-conference activities on June 20 and 24. As always, CMSA's annual event delivers the clinical and career-building knowledge you need to be the most effective case manager you can be.
 
Registration is now open; learn more and register today!
 
American Sentinel University
CCMC (Comm. For CM Cert.)
Nielsen Healthcare Group
Member Announcements

The CMSA awards program was established to pay special tribute to those individuals or organizations that have demonstrated distinguished service to the case management profession or association management.

Each year, recipients are recognized at CMSA’s Annual Conference. Visit www.cmsa.org/awards to learn more about the following awards and others, as well as the nominations process.

• Case Manager of the Year (CMOY) & Awards of Service Excellence (AOSE) - Deadline: Feb. 14

Case Management Research Award (CMRA) & Case Management Practice Improvement Award (CMPI) - Deadline: March 15

 

You asked, we listened!

CMSA now offers extra payment options including monthly installments, auto-renewals, and two-year memberships. At the time of your next renewal, check out these alternative payment options. if you're interested in joining for the first time, simply choose your preferred payment plan at the time of joining. For more information, click the link below.
 
Go online and attend the 2015 conference!
 
Extended Conference is a cloud-based education solution that delivers content in audio and visual formats, providing you with on-demand access to content required to fulfill your continuing education needs. Take advantage of Extended Conference to gain timely updates from industry thought leaders; also, fulfill the requirements of your employer, professional association, as well as credentialing and licensing boards, all at once!
 
Discounts are offered to CMSA members and conference attendees from the original event.
 
Featured Article
Pat Stricker, RN, MEd
Senior Vice President, TCS Healthcare Technologies

Cybersecurity is an ever-increasing reality that every industry is grappling with (banking, business, education, government, and healthcare). In addition, the cyberattacks are getting much more sophisticated and causing more damage than previously. In 2014 healthcare was at the top of the Breach List with 42.5%, while other industries ranged between 5.5% to 33%. In the 2015 Breach study, which was just released this week, business has taken over the top spot with 40.1% of the breaches, while healthcare has dropped to second place at 35.2%. The other industries (education, government/military, and banking/credit/financial) range from 7.6% to 9.2%. While healthcare’s percentage of breaches has dropped, the number of records involved (121,603,514) far exceeds the other industries, which range from 759,600 to 34,220,850 records. Just the 10 largest breaches alone involved 110 million people (1/3 of the U.S. population)!
 
Capella University
Amramp
AeroCare Medical Transport Systems, Inc.
Articles and Links
Report shows hospital-acquired conditions decline by 17 percent over a four-year period

A report released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Dec. 1 shows that thanks in part to provisions of the Affordable Care Act, an estimated 87,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and nearly $20 billion in health care costs were saved as a result of a reduction in hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2014. Preliminary estimates show that, in total, hospital patients experienced 2.1 million fewer hospital-acquired conditions from 2010 to 2014, a 17 percent decline over that period. This aligns with HHS’ aim to encourage better care, smarter spending, and healthier people.

This announcement builds on results previously achieved and reported in December 2014, which showed 50,000 fewer patients died in hospitals and $12 billion in health care costs saved between 2010 and 2013. This progress toward a safer health care system occurred during a period of concerted attention by hospitals throughout the country to reduce adverse events as part of the ACA, including Medicare payment incentives to improve the quality of care and the HHS Partnership for Patients initiative.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
 

As consumers counted down to Tuesday's enrollment deadline for January 1 coverage, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced on Dec. 11 that new HealthCare.gov consumer decision support features piloted earlier this enrollment season will now be fully deployed to all visitors. The new Out of Pocket Cost calculator, Doctor and Facility Lookup, and Prescription Drug Lookup features will help consumers to more easily search for the plan that best meets their budget and health needs.

"We are constantly focused on improving the consumer experience," said Kevin Counihan, CEO of the Health Insurance Marketplace. "Over the past month, we have tested and improved these new decision support features on HealthCare.gov to help consumers pick the plan that best meets their needs. Listening to consumers has always been our top priority and this year we heard their call for additional resources to help them search for and identify the best plan for their families."

Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
 
Industry Events

As part of the continuing mission to provide access to opportunities that highlight the value of its members, CMSA is extending a special offer to you on behalf of DecisionHealth.

The 7th Annual Case In Point Platinum Awards seek to honor organizations and individuals who are improving the quality of care throughout the care continuum, containing health care costs, and educating and empowering patients and their families so they are active participants in their health and health care. The awards provide an opportunity for those who devote their hearts and minds to the practice of case management and care coordination to be recognized and honored for the important work being done across the care continuum.

CMSA members are eligible to receive a 50-percent discount on application fees. Click 'Learn More' to access the entry portal; clicking through this link will automatically reduce your fees to capture the 50-percent discount.
 
Supported by funding from NACDS FOUNDATION, a new eight-hour e-learning program, Comprehensive Motivational Interviewing Training for Health Professionals, is now available. This training uses a sense-making approach (Berger BA and Villaume WA, Motivational Interviewing for Health Care Professionals: A Sensible Approach, APhA Press, Washington, D.C., 2013) to MI. The program can be completed within a three-month window and is approved for 8 hours of nurse, pharmacist, and physician continuing education credit. It is based on the authors' 25 years of experience in teaching MI to health care professionals. It costs $225.
 
CMSA members can receive a 10 percent rebate check by e-mailing their receipt to bbergerconsulting@gmail.com along with their mailing address. Go to: http://nacds.learnercommunity.com/ to register. For more information, contact education@nacds.org. To view an excerpt from the program, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX4XXbikpQM
 

CMSA members: Save $300 on any of the events below when you use promo code CMSA300.

The 2nd Annual ACO Population Health Summit
January 27-28 Atlanta, GA

*offering CCMC Credits!
The accountable care model works to achieve coordinated, quality care through provider communication and collaboration. The ACO Population Health Management Summit brings together ACO executives to discuss best practices for increasing care coordination, preventing hospital admissions and readmissions, and improving patient outcomes. 

The accountable care model works to achieve coordinated, quality care through provider communication and collaboration. The ACO Population Health Management Summit brings together ACO executives to discuss best practices for increasing care coordination, preventing hospital admissions and readmissions, and improving patient outcomes. Learn more and register here.

The 7th Annual Leadership Summit on Hospital Readmissions

January 27-28 Atlanta, GA

*offering CCMC Credits!
Readmissions are one of the most expensive aspects of health care, costing hospitals an estimated $428 million in 2015. Finding the best solutions to reduce avoidable readmissions is one of the key strategies to reducing health care costs. At the7th Annual World Congress Leadership Summit on Readmissions, learn best practices for reducing readmissions, improving outcomes, and lowering costs. Learn more and register here.
 
The 9th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Summit
Feb 23-24 Washington, DC
The 9th Annual Medicaid Managed Care Summit will bring together executives from managed care plans, health plans, and government Medicaid programs to discuss strategies for creating more seamless transitions of care, understand how the new CMS regulations impact their organizations, and learn ways to integrate LTSS and behavioral health services while managing the costs of care. Learn more and register here.

Managed Long Term Services and Supports
Feb 23-24 Arlington, VA
This summit brings together a variety of stakeholders including state Medicaid program officials, representatives from managed care companies, and LTSS providers to discuss innovative strategies to address the challenges in the shift to managed care. Learn more and register here.
 
 

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