CALL FOR APPLICATIONS -- 2010 COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum is actively soliciting individuals to serve on its four core committees. Please click here for a listing of the committees and guidelines for application submission. The deadline for submission is 6 p.m. (CST), Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010.
Upcoming CMS conference call on EHR Incentive Programs
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will host a conference call specifically for Louisiana Providers, Partners, and Stakeholders on the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Programs. The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum encourages you to participate. The call will take place on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 from 9 - 10:30 AM Central Daylight Time.
Topics will include:
· Background of EHR Incentive Programs
· Who Is Eligible to Participate?
· How Much Are the Incentives?
· What Are the Requirements/Meaningful Use?
· What You Need to Do to Participate
· Timeline of the Programs
· Resources
Pre-registration for the call is not required. The call in phone number is (800) 603-1774 and the conference ID is 96020172.
For a copy of the full agenda, please click here. For more information, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Quality Forum Seeks Informational Responses Regarding Technical Infrastructure for Health Information Exchange
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum is seeking informational responses regarding creation and implementation of an interoperable health information exchange structure for the State of Louisiana. The Quality Forum is seeking this information on authorization from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
This Request for Information (RFI) is in support of the Louisiana Health Information Exchange (LaHIE) vision to establish a framework to exchange patient health information for the purpose of improving quality. LaHIE will support the coordination of patient-centered care, public health management (population health), and clinical quality improvement. LaHIE’s mission is to be the neutral entity for facilitating authorized sharing of information among all stakeholders to improve the health of Louisiana’s citizens. The development of LaHIE will advance secure connectivity and serve as a sustainable, interoperable data exchange platform for health-related information. To view the RFI in PDF, please click here. To view the RFI as a Word file, please click here.
Responses to this RFI will be received and reviewed completely. A detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) may be prepared and released based on the review of the responses and other information. A demonstration of the proposed solution may also be requested of respondents in addition to the RFI response, and as part of the qualifying process. All RFI responses must be sent by email to Jay Ducote at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Responses are due by Friday, Sept. 3, 2010.
If questions should arise regarding the LaHIE RFI or how to submit it, please direct questions by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with “RFI Question” in the subject field. All questions and answers will be distributed to all respondents according to the schedule.
To see a list of questions that were submitted to the RFI and their answers, please click here.
HHS Issues Final Rules to Support Meaningful Use of Electronic Health Records
Quality Forum Offers Assistance to Providers in State
The Final Rule for Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology has also been posted and can be found here.
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum and the Regional Extension Center stand ready to provide resources and assistance to providers as they take steps toward adopting, implementing, upgrading and meaningfully using a certified electronic health record.
To read a copy of our press release, please click here. For more information, please contact Linda Morgan, Marketing & Communications Director, at (225) 300-4824 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum Sponsors Health Care Quality Summit
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum is sponsoring an informational summit entitled Improving Health Care Through Partnerships in Quality Measurement and Public Reporting: A Quality Summit for Payers, Employers, Providers and Consumers on Friday, Oct. 22, 2010 (7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) at the Hilton Capitol House Hotel in Baton Rouge, La.
This event will bring together national leaders to share their perspectives on measuring, reporting and interpreting quality data. Confirmed featured speakers include:
Robert J. Margolis, MD: CEO, HealthCare Partners and Immediate Past Chairman of the Board, NCQA
Nancy Foster: Vice President, Quality and Patient Safety Policy, American Hospital Association
Judith Hibbard, PhD: Senior Researcher, Institute for Policy Research and Innovation, University of Oregon
Dennis White: Senior Vice President of Value-Based Purchasing, National Business Coalition on Health
Samantha Collier, MD: Senior Medical Official (Retired), Healthgrades
For complete information, please view our Save the Date. If you have questions, please contact Micaela Coner at (225) 300-4831 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum is conducting a survey to assess the population currently being served by patient-centered medical homes in the state. Please assist us in our effort to continue to lead the country. If you represent a patient-centered medical home, we ask that you take a few minutes to complete this survey.
Quality Forum Awarded $10.6 Million Grant to Develop Statewide Health Information Exchange
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum will receive $10.6 million in stimulus funds to guide the planning and implementation process of a health information exchange for the State of Louisiana. The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of funding opportunities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
To view the joint press release from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Louisiana Health Care Quality
Forum, click here.
To view the press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, click here.
For more information on the Health Information Exchange, or to get involved, e-mail us at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Quality Forum Awarded $6.2 Million Grant to Establish Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Forum has been awarded a $6.2 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish a health information technology (HIT) regional extension center. The new center will help over 1,000 doctors, facility administrators and other health care providers to build an HIT enterprise within their practices or clinics.
Click here to read the full story.
