April is Autism Awareness Month
On behalf of the Autism Subcommittee of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Council on Children with Disabilities, note the current AAP autism resources for health care professionals and parents (see below). Find more information about these items as well as additional resources on the Autism page of the NCMHI Web site. Be sure to check out the sneak preview of the autism toolkit contents - only for AAP members (see below).
- Sound Advice on Autism
The AAP has developed a series of audio interviews with medical experts and parents of children with autism who answer parents' frequently asked questions. Conversations include: screening, diagnosis, treatment, alternative therapies, prevalence and causes of autism.
- AUTISM: Caring for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Resource Toolkit for Clinicians
A clinical resource (on CD-ROM) to assist in the recognition, evaluation, and ongoing management of ASDs. SNEAK PREVIEW for AAP Members - including samples and additional content information!
- Understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)
This booklet provides critical information about ASDs and answers parents' most common questions. This booklet will help to identify ASD symptoms so that an intervention program can be started as soon as possible.
- Is Your One-Year Old Communicating with You?
This brochure encourages parents to share any concerns about their baby's language development with their pediatrician as early as possible. It also provides early language and social milestones checklists.
New AAP Technical Report—Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision
Learning disabilities constitute a diverse group of disorders with reading disability, or dyslexia, being the most common. Early recognition and referral to qualified professionals for evidence-based evaluations and treatments are necessary to achieve the best possible outcome. Learning disabilities have spawned a wide variety of scientifically unsupported vision-based diagnostic and treatment procedures. This new technical report from the AAP discusses the role of the pediatrician, the education system and the family in addressing dyslexia.
Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) Releases Payment Rate Brief
Although the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is taking hold in dozens of demonstration projects across the nation, there is a wide range of payment methodologies and rate arrangements with providers within those projects. This brief provides a detailed look at the payment arrangements and dollar value of a sample of 12 PCMH initiatives that represent a diverse mix of initiatives, including those involving a single commercial payer, multiple payers, and a state Medicaid agency acting alone. The brief is a reference for primary care practices and payers interested in creating new PCMH initiatives, or refining existing ones.
Your Best Shot at Good Health
HHS has launched a new Web site on vaccine and immunization information. Vaccines.gov is a one-stop shop to learn about vaccines recommended for you and your family, obtain local immunization information, and take control of your preventive health.
USDA Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program
Application Deadline: April 25, 2011
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced its Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program (DLT) awards. The DLT is designed specifically to meet the educational and health care needs of rural America. Through loans, grants and loan/grant combinations, advanced telecommunications technologies provide enhanced learning and health care opportunities for rural residents. Entities providing education and medical care via telecommunications including corporations or partnerships, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, state or local units of government, consortia, and private for-profit or not-for profit corporations and eligible to apply. Individuals are not eligible.
Community Grants Program Releases Call for Proposals
Application Deadline: April 27, 2011
A new Community Grants program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) called Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health (MATCH) will help spark action in communities to address the many factors that influence health. As the County Health Rankings illustrate, social and economic factors such as education and employment can affect health directly and indirectly, and those negative effects may accumulate over individuals' lifetimes and continue unbroken through generations. The first round of the Community Grants program is open to communities that are ready to take action to address the social and economic factors that affect health-factors which have a significant impact on health outcomes, yet are often ignored in community health improvement activities.
Research Centers for Excellence in Clinical Preventive Service
Letter of Intent Deadline: April 29, 2011
Application Deadline: May 23, 2011
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has announced a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that solicits applications from eligible organizations to become a Research Center for Excellence in Clinical Preventive Services with a focus on one of three programmatic areas: 1) patient safety, 2) health equity; or 3) health care system implementation.
AAP Community Pediatrics Monthly Funding Alert
The AAP Community Pediatrics Monthly Funding Alert provides information on funding opportunities from the AAP and other organizations, as well as links to key programs and agencies.
For a more detailed listing of funding opportunities, click here.
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New AAP Collaborative Mental Health Care Pedialink Course
Many—in fact, most—primary care clinicians cite a lack of referral sources as a major barrier to expanding their role in mental health care. The purpose of this course is to address this barrier. With an easy to use format, this course is available 24/7 from your home or office computer! With the Collaborative Mental Health Care Pedialink course, in 1 hour primary care clinicians will be able to:
- Identify needs that require emergency specialist care
- Determine other clinical circumstances that require specialty mental health or substance abuse services
- List key services needed by children and adolescents experiencing mental health and substance abuse problems and identify the professionals trained to provide them
- Describe methods for making effective referrals to mental health or substance abuse specialists
- Describe models of collaborative mental health practice
Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care Webinars
(Available for a fee at registration)
Webinar—Implementing Childhood Asthma Management Programs in the Community
April 13—4:30 to 5:30pm (EST)
When it comes to reducing the enormous cost, health and personal burdens of childhood asthma, just delivering the right medical care is not always enough. Join the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN) and its partners as they share key learnings from years of implementing successful, science-based childhood asthma management programs in communities across the country. This webinar—hosted in partnership with ADVANCE for Respiratory Care & Sleep Medicine—will take a close look at opportunities and challenges from community-based MCAN programs.
URAC Patient Centered Health Care Home Overview Webinar
April 14—2 to 4pm (ET)
(Available for a fee at registration)
This webinar will provide an overview of the URAC Patient Centered Health Care Home Principles and PCHCH Assessment Toolkit. The goal of toolkit is to support practices in their PCHCH transformation journey, by using an educational, step-wise approach, with objective benchmarks for assessing progress while promoting continuity and quality of care for the patient.
AAP/CDC Webinar—State Level Pediatric Emergency Preparedness
April 20—4 to 5:15pm (Eastern)
Call Number: 888/673-9802, Passcode: 4829527
Children are extremely vulnerable during disaster situations. States play a critical role in the recovery of pediatric health following a disaster, and should have appropriate "All-Hazards" emergency preparedness plans that address the unique needs of pediatrics. During this Clinical Outreach and Community Activity (COCA) conference call subject matter experts will discuss gaps in pediatric preparedness and national recommendations aimed to improve pediatric emergency preparedness at the state level.
Newborn and Neonatal Hospital Coding—AAP Pediatric Coding Webinar
April 21—12 to 1pm (Central)
Coding for services provided to neonates has proved challenging to providers and coders primarily because the bundled services differ from most other E/M services. Learn more about the AAP newborn algorithm: guidelines for reporting concurrent neonatal care. This coding resource explains the who, what, when, and where of newborn coding. For additional information or to register, click here.
How to Code When the Kid Isn't There—AAP Pediatric Coding Webinar
June 7—12 to 1pm (Central)
As educated parents want more informed participation in all their children’s medical decision-making, there is a demand for convenient and timely access to non–face-to-face services including advice, consultation, and treatment by e-mail and telephone. This webinar highlights codes for non–face-to-face care. This webinar will provide guidelines for appealing for payment for non–face-to-face services and provide AAP resources to help you do so.
AAP Future of Pediatrics Conference
July 29-31—Chicago, IL
With the overall goal of improving child and adolescent health, the AAP Future of Pediatrics conference blends cutting-edge updates on clinical and practice management topics, with strategies for advancing medical homes and building partnerships within communities. Learners will apply principles of team-based care, change management, and co-management between pediatric specialists and primary care, to achieve a goal of improving the health of all children. A variety of educational formats will be utilized, including interactive, roundtable, and networking sessions, to provide learners with opportunities to develop innovative, enduring partnerships and transform their practices.
For a full listing of Upcoming Conferences and Webinars, click here
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National Quality Strategy will Promote Better Health, Quality Care for Americans
HHS has released the National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care (National Quality Strategy). The strategy was called for under the Affordable Care Act and is the first effort to create national aims and priorities to guide local, state, and national efforts to improve the quality of health care in the United States. Priority areas include effective care coordination and person-and-family centered care for all children and adults.
The Medical Home as a Mediator of the Relation Between Mental Health Symptoms and Family Burden Among Children With Special Health Care Needs
This study, published in Academic Pediatrics, explores the role of medical home as a mediator of the relationship between emotional and behavioral difficulties among CSHCN and financial- and employment-related burden experienced by their families. The study also emphasizes the role and benefits of utilizing care coordination in this process.
Community Centered Health Homes: Bridging the Gap Between Health Services and Community Prevention
A recent brief from the Prevention Institute outlines approaches that community health centers can take to promote community health even as they deliver high quality medical services to individuals. The brief presents a set of research-informed recommendations for ways in which health care providers can engage in community prevention.
New Brief from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
AHRQ has released a new program brief, Child Health Research—Identifying Quality Problems and Improving Care, which summarizes findings from selected AHRQ-supported research on pediatric health care quality published from 2006-2010.
Spotlight on State Medical Home Initiatives
- Putting Patients First Might Really Save—Medical Practices Use New Approach in Delivering Care
A recent article in The Columbus Dispatch tells the story of practice transformation through a patient's eyes, depicting the positive changes experienced in the patient’s care. Central Ohio Medicine, part of Central Ohio Primary Care group, is one of nine area practices that have become medical homes. The effort is coordinated by Access HealthColumbus, a health policy group, which will collect and analyze quality and cost data.
- Kearney Clinic Tests Out Patient-Centered Pilot Program
A recent story by KHAS-TV outlines how Kearney Clinic and the Plub Creek Medical Group in Lexington, Nebraska will participate in a state-funded, two-year pilot program testing the medical home approach to care. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will also offer financial incentives to the clinic for Medicaid patients.
- Video Depicting New Hampshire Patient-Centered Medical Homes
The New Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative has produced this video that tells the story of patient-centered medical home (PCMH) from the perspectives of patients, clinicians, and other health care professionals. The Initiative, in partnership with groups from all parts of the New Hampshire health care system, launched the nine site pilot throughout the state.
- CDPHP Pilot Program Shows Good Results
This article in The Business Review discusses how the Capital District Physicians' Health Plan, based in Albany, NY, is saving $32 per member, per month, at the three primary care practices that made up the first phase of its medical home pilot. The health insurer is working with 21 other area practices for the second phase, and it will select the third-phase practices by the end of May 2011.
- Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh offers iPhone App for Parents
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has developed a mobile application called ChildrensPgh. It allows parents to access information on making online medical appointments, contacting providers and going to the hospital's emergency department. The iPhone app also provides some basics on first aid and medication dosing.
AAP Updates Recommendation on Car Seats
A new policy published in the April 2011 issue of Pediatrics advises that parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. It also advises that most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age. The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday. For additional information, click here.
For additional information on National Initiatives, click here
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The Medical Home: Health Care Access and Impact for Children and Youth in the United States
The medical home concept encompasses the elements of pediatric care considered essential for all children. This article in the March 2011 issue of Pediatrics discusses the characteristics of children with medical homes and the relationship between presence of a medical home and selected health care outcomes by using new data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH).
State Strategies Update to the Catalyst Center Web site
The Catalyst Center, a national center dedicated to improving health care coverage and financing for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN), has updated the state financing strategies pages on their Web site to reflect information gathered in their 2010 surveys of state Title V and Medicaid programs and family leadership organizations. Visit their Web site to learn about each state's innovative, effective programs for improving financing and coverage of CYSHCN.
Got Transition Launches a New Web site
Got Transition, the new National Health Care Transition Center, has launched a new Web site. Got Transition works to assure that youth with/without special health care needs receive care in a medical home that provides family-centered/youth activated transition preparation, planned transfers from pediatric to adult health care and respectful partnerships. The site also features Got Transition's new report, Health Care Transition for Youth with Special Health Care Needs 
, which details each state's progress on health care transition.
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Spotlight on the Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care
The Institute for Patient- and Family-Centered Care (IPFCC) provides leadership to advance the understanding and practice of patient- and family-centered care in hospitals and other health care settings. IPFCC is a non-profit organization that works to promote collaborative, empowering relationships among patients, families, and health care professionals. The Institute facilitates patient- and family-centered change in all settings where individuals and families receive care and support. It also serves as a central resource for policy makers, administrators, program planners, direct service providers, educators, design professionals, and patient and family leaders.
Survey from the NCMHI—Help Us Help You!
The NCMHI launched its new and improved Web site in spring 2010 and is looking to collect feedback and suggestions from users on its Web site. The NCMHI hopes that through continued feedback and enhancements to the tools, resources, and content featured on the site, the NCMHI can help you to further the implementation of a medical home for all children and youth. To access a short survey on the NCMHI Web site, click here.
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