Health Care Data Interoperability on the Way

Great News!  A collaborative solution for portable medical records is currently in the works to address the lack of health care data interoperability, which is a major downfall in our current health care system.  This vendor neutral platform, led by CommonWell Health Alliance, will hopefully be the first step in lowering medical costs for all Americans.  The nationwide infrastructure will allow patients and healthcare providers secure access to a patient’s data, such as test results, medical imaging records, and healthcare history, regardless of where the patient receives care.  Centralized access to patient data and information will reduce the unnecessary cost of duplicate testing and will increase the efficiency and quality of care. 

Here is what CommonWell Health Alliance has to say about their mission:

“The CommonWell Health Alliance plans to promote and certify a national infrastructure with common standards and policies and will ensure that products that display the CommonWell Health Alliance seal have been certified to work on the national infrastructure. Among the early core components of the national infrastructure, CommonWell Health Alliance will define and promote the following core services and standards:

• Patient Linking and Matching - Provide a way for vendors to identify patients as they move from setting to setting, in a robust and seamless industry-wide data environment.
• Patient Access and Consent Management - Foster a HIPAA-compliant, patient-controlled means to simplify the management of consents and authorizations for data sharing.
• Record Locator Service and Directed Query - Enable providers to match the locations of a patient’s previous health care encounters, no matter where the encounter occurred, and gain access to that data in an industry standard way.”
Reference:  http://www.commonwellalliance.org

Working with Children’s Hospitals across the country, Melnic Consulting Group has the opportunity to learn about a variety of EMR systems and is excited to witness this collaboration.  Linking hospitals and practice records will give patients the opportunity to benefit and Nurse Practitioners the tools they need to manage complex patient care.  Melnic Consulting Group enjoys being a resource to hospitals, Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Leaders, as they work together to solve the challenges of defining the future of health care.

To inquire about pediatric nursing jobs visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact: Jill Gilliland 800-886-7906 jill@melnic.com

NAPNAP Goes to Capitol Hill - Event Recap

Jill Gilliland, President of Melnic Consulting Group, a recruiting firm who specializes in pediatric advanced practice and nurse leaders, joined NAPNAP at their annual “Fly –In” event in Washington, DC.   Jill said, “Meeting with the healthcare advisor from Virginia, Representative Moran, Senator Warner, and Senator Webb’s office staff was a very positive and enlightening experience.  We discussed their involvement and promotion of healthcare and specifically their support for the role of the pediatric nurse practitioner.”  In a recap provided by Jill Gilliland, she notes that they were interested in the following NAPNAP agenda and provides insight into the topics of discussion:

• Improved Medicare Patient Access to Home Health Services addressing the ability of PNPs to refer for these services.  Particularly for children with renal failure awaiting transplantation. 
• Enabling PNPs to Organize Accountable Care Organizations by mending Section 1899 (c ) to allow PNPs to establish their own ACOs and to recognize general pediatrics as a primary care service.  This would allow clinics that are PNP run which to be included in the ACO funding model.  Many times PNPs run and operate clinics in rural areas or for community based services.  We do not want them to be excluded from the ACO model as they provide care for many of the patients the healthcare bill is designed to benefit.
• Preserve Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program which is the single largest insurer for children from low-income families.  These programs cover every 3 out of 10 children and youth which is 30 million children nationwide.  89% of PNPs report treating children covered by Medicaid.  Melnic Consulting Group has seen Medicaid reimbursement as a percent of revenue for children’s hospitals grow from 45-50% 2 years ago to up to 70% today.  Without Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement, many of the nation’s sickest children would not get the help they need.
• Support Fiscal Year 2013 Funding for Nursing Workforce Development Programs.   With the high unemployment rate at the top of the political agenda in Washington, supporting Title VIII of the Public Health Services Act by funding the current program is a step towards addressing the problem.  These funds are essential to educating student and would fund 1,400 advanced practice registered nurses in primary care.  These students can then become employed in a field in which the demand for workers is one of the highest in the US.  As the healthcare bill unfolds, the need for primary care providers to meet the needs of the growing number of insured people increases as well.  As Massachusetts has seen, the decrease in pay to physicians has left a gap between the number of people who need a provider and the number of available providers.  Nurse Practitioners are a solution to the demand and therefore, funding education is a means to solving both the increase demand for providers and lowering of the unemployment rate.

Jill Gilliland said that, “the health care advisors were eager to address the issues facing children’s health care and explore solutions.”  Washington is currently waiting for the court ruling on the health care bill but hopefully the commitment to an economical, needs based solution will continue to drive their votes and support - especially for our nation’s children.

To inquire more about thise topic visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact: Jill Gilliland 800-886-7906 jill@melnic.com

Nurse Practitioners Improving Access for Children's to Quality Care

Fly In Day for NAPNAP


After a two day session in DC meeting with members of congress regarding healthcare, you can rest assured that NAPNAP and its leaders are focused on important issues pertaining to the health of children. Karen Kelly Thomas, Jean Martin and Michelle Beauchesne are some of the leaders that participated in this event. Hearing their perspectives about important issues such as nurse education funding through Title VIII and Medical Home provided insights into solutions for some of today’s healthcare issues. Ann Sheehan, Karen Duderstadt and Andrea Kline work hard all year long to educate and support the members of NAPNAP in the area of advocacy.

After talking with Marcia Knutson from Representative Jim Moran’s office and Aryana Khalid representing Senator Mark Warner, I am confident that in Virginia, the members of Congress understand and support funding for the education of nurses. There was a solid understanding of the issues and strong support from the Virginia congressional leadership. Representative Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania has worked hard for healthcare and the integration of nurse practitioners. She was presented with an award by NAPNAP for her work to get the language of the healthcare bill to include nurse practitioners along with physicians as providers of healthcare.

On the topic of obesity, NAPNAP’s HEAT program (Healthy Eating and Activity Together) received strong support among congressional offices and leaders. The HEAT program is complimented by the recently announced plan of First Lady Michelle Obama, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin to help Americans lead healthier lives through better nutrition, regular physical activity and educating communities to support healthy choices.

There was also a positive response for the role of nurse practitioners in Medical Homes. According to Massachusetts General Hospital for Children:

“Medical homes are clinical practices committed to organizing and coordinating care based on child and family needs and priorities. Building on the accepted attributes of primary care, effective medical homes provide care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family- centered, co-ordinated, compassionate and culturally effective.”

In addition to providing comprehensive and technically expert clinical care, the medical home also provides:
• care planning
• care coordination
• population or “panel” management
• physical and operational modifications to address physical and cultural needs
• continuous quality improvement

Many models of the medical home, particularly for children with special health care needs, include parents and youth in the process of improving care.

As a strong believer in nurse practitioners, I am excited to see the awareness of the role of the nurse practitioner increase as a part of the healthcare solution. As physicians, hospitals, and policies continue to embrace the role of nurse practitioners, the access of children to quality healthcare will improve. A recent USA Today news article said that nurse practitioners are "gaining traction because people are seeing how cost-effective they are," according to Rebecca Patton, president of the American Nurses Association. "The primary care physician shortage is going to drive it." Nurse practitioners are collaborators with physicians in the ongoing quest to provide quality healthcare for all. If you would like more information on the role of nurse practitioners in pediatric care please visit
www.napnap.org.


To inquire about jobs visit Melnic Consulting Group or contact:

Jill Gilliland
800-886-7906
jill@melnic.com