Alzheimer’s Association Encourages Everyone to Take Charge of Their Brain Health  — June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month

Alzheimer’s Association Encourages Everyone to Take Charge of Their Brain Health  — June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month

This June during Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month, the Alzheimer’s Association Minnesota – North Dakota Chapter is encouraging everyone to take charge of their brain health. Today, there are nearly 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s, including...
Great Plains QIN LAN Event: Use of Pharmacogenomics as a Medication Optimization Strategy | June 18, 2024

Great Plains QIN LAN Event: Use of Pharmacogenomics as a Medication Optimization Strategy | June 18, 2024

Pharmacogenomic testing is a form of genetic testing that helps predict how an individual will respond to certain medications based on their genetic makeup. It involves analyzing variations in genes that affect drug metabolism, efficacy, and potential adverse...
The Confusion with Billing Medicare for Respiratory Vaccines is Real

The Confusion with Billing Medicare for Respiratory Vaccines is Real

Billing issues related to COVID-19 vaccines can arise due to various factors, such as insurance coverage, government reimbursement policies, and administrative errors. The second round of 23-24 updated COVID-19 vaccines are upon us. To try to alleviate issues with...
Updated Community Data Reports [Q4 2023]: Addressing Gaps, Achieving Growth and Quality Improvement

Updated Community Data Reports [Q4 2023]: Addressing Gaps, Achieving Growth and Quality Improvement

The Great Plains QIN team strives to improve healthcare quality and patient outcomes. We work with partners and community coalitions to identify areas for improvement, which include reducing avoidable hospital admissions and readmissions, including those caused by...
Sepsis: STOP And TELL Tool | Knowing the Signs of Sepsis Could Save a Life

Sepsis: STOP And TELL Tool | Knowing the Signs of Sepsis Could Save a Life

In North Dakota and South Dakota, sepsis is the #1 admission and readmission diagnosis. With sepsis, time is of the essence. For every hour of delayed treatment, the risk of death increases by between 4 and 9 percent.¹ Experts say that 80 percent of sepsis deaths...
Partnerships are Key to Reducing Readmissions with Hospital and Nursing Home Collaboration

Partnerships are Key to Reducing Readmissions with Hospital and Nursing Home Collaboration

Reducing readmissions matters to both hospitals and nursing homes. With readmission measures that can impact the bottom line for both, strategic partnerships are paramount. For the FY 2025 Program year, the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Value Based Payment Program...
The “High Utilizers”: Transforming Care for Multi-Visit Patients (MVPs)

The “High Utilizers”: Transforming Care for Multi-Visit Patients (MVPs)

Dr. Amy Boutwell developed The MVP (Multi-Visit Patient) Method after many years of assisting healthcare systems transform and improve their care delivery model and studying what worked best across a variety of settings. Per the Institute for Advancing Health Value,...
Ensuring Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Treatment through the Care Continuum Webinar Series

Ensuring Medication for Opioid Use Disorder (MOUD) Treatment through the Care Continuum Webinar Series

More than 1 million Medicare beneficiaries had a diagnosis of opioid use disorder in 2020.1 However, fewer than 1 in 5 Medicare beneficiaries with an opioid use disorder (OUD) diagnosis received medication to treat this condition. In addition, the number of patients...
Opioid Utilization in Hospice and Palliative Care: Compassionate Pain Care Has to be Individualized

Opioid Utilization in Hospice and Palliative Care: Compassionate Pain Care Has to be Individualized

Addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of dying patients includes management of their pain. But how have increasing concerns and policies that target opioid misuse impacted their pain management options? The American Medical Association...