Welcome to the Practice Transformation Companion! I’m Carla
Irvin and I work in Validation Programs at PTI as a URAC PCHCH Certified
Auditor.
My PTI colleague, Lisa Allen, and I recently returned from
the 27th Annual MAHP Summer Conference held at the Grand Traverse
Resort near gorgeous Traverse City. The Michigan Association of Health Plans is
a nonprofit corporation established to promote the interests of member health
plans. Their mission is to provide leadership for the promotion and advocacy of
high quality, affordable and accessible health care for the citizens of
Michigan.
Lisa and I made our first appearance at the pre-conference
session. Cynthia Whitaker, a URAC Accreditation Reviewer, gave an introduction
to URAC and its various accreditation programs. I was pleased to discuss the URAC Patient
Centered Health Care Home (PCHCH) Practice Achievement Program in action, aided
by a video featuring Country Creek Pediatrics from Rochester, the first
practice in the country to attain URAC PCHCH Practice Achievement. Lisa
followed with an introduction to Practice Transformation Institute and our
various learning programs for implementing the principles of the patient
centered medical home and other primary care transformation initiatives. The
next couple of days were spent in educational sessions and, not surprisingly, quite
a bit of the conference focused on the Accountable Care Act (ACA) and the
Supreme Court decision. Sara Rosenbaum, JD, Chair of the Department of Health Policy at The
George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in
Washington, DC delivered the Opening
Keynote: Making Sense of Federal Health Care Reform: Where Do We Go From Here?
Other session topics included Future Directions in the Michigan Medicaid
Program: A National and State Perspective and The Status and Direction of Michigan’s Insurance Exchange, among
others.
Practice Transformation Institute had a table in the Exhibit
Hall right next to our friends from URAC. Conference attendees stopped by to
hear about services URAC and PTI could provide for their companies. PTI had a
raffle for a dazzling gift basket filled with Michigan-made products and gifts.
The lucky winner was a thrilled Diane Lecerf from Meridian Health Plan.
All in all, we enjoyed this stimulating week filled with timely
updates and great conversation. With Traverse City as the backdrop, what could
possibly be better? Were you at the conference with us? PTI wants to hear your
feedback.
Carla Irvin, RN, BSN
Validation Programs, Practice Transformation Institute
