Securing Care Transitions to Prevent Avoidable Readmissions
How Strong Transitions of Care Boost Quality, Save Costs

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:00-1:30 p.m. (EST) About the Webinar Program Objectives Webinar Will Answer These Questions Speakers Who Should Attend Purchase Options Continuing Education Questions

When a patient moves through the healthcare system from one point to the next, the gaps between care points can swallow the patient and turn a sound care plan into a less-than-desirable situation – where poor medication adherence, a lack of follow-up care and costly readmissions prevail.

But a transition point doesn’t have to be a gaping hole. With the right workflow, follow-up care and discharge processes in place, facilities can improve the patient care process, boost health outcomes, enhance transitions and ultimately save dollars for themselves and the healthcare system.

And acute care hospitals are not the only facilities at stake. Evidence-based interventions can be applied to skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies and other downstream providers.

Join the next Case In Point Webinar, Securing Care Transitions to Prevent Avoidable Readmissions, to learn about effective discharge plans, in-facility workflow plans, communication strategies and other best practices that have proven to boost the strength of transitions of care.

Featuring:

• Juliana Tiongson, the Team Lead of CMS' Community-Based Care Transitions Program (CCTP), an initiative that will provide $500 million for collaborative partnerships between hospitals and community-based organizations. Tiongson will shed light on the CCTP and what you need to know to be an eligible applicant. Including: key points, preferences, considerations and payment structure.
   
• Karla Hall, Care Transitions Specialist with Qualis Health, will share insight into "evidence-based best practices" that healthcare professionals and team leaders can put to use to improve the processes in their own organizations. After all, it's not just a hospital issue; it's a community issue.

 

Attend from your desktop or conference room. Invite your whole team to attend at one low price of $329 per location. Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials until December 31, 2011.

About the Webinar

In mid-April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Partnership for Patient To Improve Care and Lower Costs for Americans, a quality initiative that could shave an estimated $50 billion from Medicare expenses over the next 10 years.

Part of the Partnership for Patients is the Community-Based Care Transitions Program (CCTP) demonstration project, which has set aside $500 million for community-based organizations and acute care hospitals “to help patients safely transition between settings of care,” according to CMS.

Currently, Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) are demonstrating effective ways to bolster transitions by focusing on three types of interventions:

• Hospital and community processes. The QIOs, currently working across 14 states, are implementing changes to the care processes at a system level, which includes discharge processes, health IT solutions, and post-acute transitions.
• Disease-specific interventions. QIOs are also targeting specific disease states, such as congestive heart failure or pneumonia, in order to prevent readmissions.
• Community-based resources. The QIOs are reaching out to community services or creating such services, such as palliative care options, in order to reduce readmissions.

While 20 percent of patients are readmitted within 30 days, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission estimates that more than three-quarters (76 percent) of those readmissions are preventable. As this webinar will show, strong transitions of care can help move the needle in a positive way.

Program Objectives

• Define the current environment of care transitions and their impact on quality measures like readmission rates, medication adherence and mortality levels.
• Describe community-based initiatives to bolster transitions of care, including the Community-Based Care Transitions Program.
• Explore best practices in workflow processes, discharge planning and communication strategies to improve transitions.
• Define the role of case managers, care coordinators and discharge planners in the area of transitions of care.
• Show how facilities can improve transitions, reduce readmissions and cut healthcare costs and penalties.

Our Webinar Will Answer These Questions

• What are cutting-edge initiatives doing to bolster transitions of care?
• What’s at stake when it comes to transitions of care in today’s environment?
• How can good transitions of care boost quality measures?
• Which workflow processes will enhance patient outcomes?
• What follow-up plans are leading the way in securing home and post-acute placement?
• What can I do to implement fresh workflows to boost discharge processes?
• What prominent roles do case managers and care coordinators play in transitions of care?
• How can best-practice initiatives save money for my facility?
• What can I do to avoid penalties from CMS?
• How can I spearhead an initiative at my facility and create buy-in?
• What tools are available to create favorable discharge processes?

Faculty

Juliana Tiongson Team Lead, Community-Based Care Transitions Program Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services	Karla Hall, RN, CCM Care Transitions Specialist, Qualis Health
Lori Popejoy, PhD, APRN, GCNS-BC Assistant Professor Sinclair School of Nursing University of Missouri	Robin Jones, RN Quality Improvement Coordinator, Valley Baptist Medical Center - Brownsville
Moderator: Anne Llewellyn RN-BC, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN Editor in Chief, Case Management Products Dorland Health, a Division of Access Intelligence

 

Who Should Attend

Behavioral Health Professionals Clinical Nurses Case/Care Managers Discharge Planners Directors Disability Professionals Employers

Employee Assistance Providers Geriatric Care Managers Healthcare Educators Human Resource Specialist Medical Directors Medical Management Supervisors Medical Providers

Nurse Practitioners Office Nurses Patient Advocates Physicians (in all specialties) Physician Assistants Rehabilitation Professionals Social Workers

Purchase Options

• Live Webcast Registration – $329
• Webcast Recording on CD-ROM – $329
• Live Webcast and CD-ROM – $389

Questions?

For questions regarding the Webinar or to register by phone, contact Hope Kabik at 301-354-1769.

If you are having any technical difficulties or need assistance meeting these requirements, please contact our Technical Support Center at 1-866-709-8255.

For content questions regarding this Webinar, contact Anne Llewellyn at 954-254-2950 or email allewellyn@dorlandhealth.com.

*Dorland Health does not offer any refunds for the webinar.  All sales are final.

How Does the Webinar Work?

The live audio is delivered to your location over the telephone or your computer speakers. The Power-Point presentations are presented over the Internet and are available to print out before the program. This is like a talk-radio program with visuals on the Web. You and your team will be able to have a live Q&A with all the speakers.

More details on webinar equipment and connections