"Advocating for the Importance of Case Management to the Effective Delivery of Health Care" was the theme for this year’s 2012 CMSA Public Policy Summit, held April 23-24 in Washington, D.C.

The National Board of Directors and Public Policy Committee gathered nearly 100 case management advocates in our nation’s Capitol to educate policymakers on the issues impacting all case managers. The attendees at the Summit brought their knowledge and concerns to Capitol Hill, working to directly impact policymakers.

 

Sponsored by Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance

Congratulations to Arma Haseleu, RN, CCM, AATMC, from Fargo, N.D.! Thank you to everyone who entered for a chance to win this great trip. Check the Angel MedFlight blog at http://angelmedflight.wordpress.com after the conference to read about Arma’s trip to San Francisco!

 

The Case Management Foundation (CMF), a nonprofit organization created to support education, research and professional development for case management professionals, is pleased to be attending CMSA’s Annual Conference once again this year. Stop by Booth #646 to enter for a chance to win one of two giveaways: two round trip tickets to any location in the continental United States, donated by Angel MedFlight Worldwide Air Ambulance, or an iPad 3!

 

June 19-22
 
The Annual Conference is just one month away!  If you are already registered, head to www.cmsa.org/conference to view the most up-to-date schedule, make your session selections and learn about other conference week events.

If you are not registered yet, you can still do so at the standard rate through May 31; CMSA members and groups of three or more registering together receive a $100 discount on registration.  Register for the conference and reserve your accommodations today!

 

Once again, CMSA will support a local charity in the host city of the annual conference!  Attendees are asked to bring new or gently used children’s books for a book drive being held between June 19-22 at the annual conference in San Francisco; donations will benefit Children's Book Project, founded to help build literacy by providing free, new and gently used books to children who need them.

Watch for collection bins in the CMSA Registration area of the Moscone West.  Your support is appreciated!

 

Join CMSA President Mary Beth Newman, MSN, RN-BC, CMAC, CCP, CCM, on Thursday, May 24 at 12:00 p.m. CDT to discuss CMSA's most current initiatives and special industry collaborations, as well as any updates to your member benefits. Use this time to ask questions and interact with your association President on CMSA hot topics!

Click here to Register

Please note that this webinar was originally scheduled for May 16. Want to listen to February's All Member Call? Head to CMSA's website.

Not a CMSA member but considering?  Join this call to hear an exclusive membership offer and to learn more about CMSA!

 

Margaret (Peggy) Leonard, MS, RN-BC, FNP, SVP, of Clinical Services at Hudson Health Plan, was recently presented the Community Leadership Award by Visiting Nurse Services in Westchester & Putnam for her collaborative efforts to improve the health and well-being of community residents.

Congratulations, Margaret!

Click below to read the full press release.

 

Kathleen Moreo, President/CEO of PRIME Education, Inc., recently received the AMCP Spirit of Volunteerism Award for her work as AMCP Chair of the Health Care Practitioner Task Force, including her collaborative efforts with CMSA as an awareness campaign partner for an accredited live webinar program.

Congratulations to Kathleen!

Click below to read the full press release.

 

By Pat Stricker, RN, MEd
SVP of Clinical Services
TCS Healthcare Technologies

Case managers fully understand the importance of empowering patients to become more engaged in their own health.  However, it is wonderful to see that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is also supporting this concept.

For example, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), founded in 2010 as an independent, non-profit organization, was chosen by PPACA to "evaluate and compare health outcomes and the clinical effectiveness, risks, and benefits of medical treatments, services, procedures, drugs, and other strategies or items that treat, manage, diagnose, or prevent illness or injury." 

 

Medicaid and Medicare introduce greater flexibility for beneficiaries to receive care at home or in settings of their choice
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

New opportunities in Medicaid and Medicare that will allow people to more easily receive care and services in their communities rather than being admitted to a hospital or nursing home were announced recently by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

 

Proposed rule would strengthen tie between payment and quality improvement
Source: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a proposed rule that would update Medicare payment policies and rates for inpatient stays to general acute care hospitals paid under the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) paid under the LTCH Prospective Payment System (PPS).

 

Changes will reduce costs and allow more focus on medical care
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced significant steps to reduce unnecessary, obsolete, or burdensome regulations on American hospitals and health care providers. These steps will help achieve the key goal of President Obama’s regulatory reform initiative to reduce unnecessary burdens on business and save nearly $1.1 billion across the health care system in the first year and more than $5 billion over five years.

 

Join Bruce Berger Consulting and The Physicians’ Institute on August 16-17 in Atlanta, Ga., for comMIt™ (Comprehensive Motivational Interviewing Training). This effective training program is designed to teach health care providers how to use the principles of motivational interviewing (MI) with patients. Brief motivational interviewing is a patient-centered approach developed:

•    For use with patients who vary in their readiness to take their medications or manage their illness and related health behaviors
•    To more effectively improve adherence with health behaviors
•    Ultimately, to produce better patient outcomes

 

Through a joint collaboration, CMSA and ABQAURP have created a sub-specialty certification for Transitions of Care (TOC) as part of the specialized credentials available through ABQAURP’s Health Care Quality Management Board Certification (HCQM). Created to recognize the importance of TOC, this credential is the first one to support professionals – as a team and individually – who demonstrate competence and skills in providing the key elements of TOC.

For additional details about the certification and the available sub-specialties, visit www.abqaurp.org/certification.asp

CMSA Members: Receive a 10 percent discount on the HCQM board exam with promo code CMSAEXAM

 

World Congress has several live health care events coming up this summer. Members can save $200 on current rates for each event by entering the code CMSA200 during the registration process!

The World Congress 11th Annual Leadership Summit on Patient Flow Optimization, June 27-28 | Chicago, IL More Info

The World Congress 6th Annual Leadership Summit on Process Improvement in Health Care | June 27-28, Rosemont, IL More Info

The World Congress 8th Annual Leadership Summit on Medicare
July 24-25, 2012 | Arlington, VA More info

The World Congress 2nd Annual Leadership Summit on Medicaid
July 24-25, 2012 | Arlington, VA More info

Not valid on gov’t registrations, cannot be combined with any other offers, cannot be used toward a previous registration.