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Practice Support Newsletter
June 2024
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 June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month
Measure of the Month: MIPS Cognitive Assessment
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month. To recognize this important topic, the measure of the month is the Dementia: Cognitive Assessment. All dementia patients with two or more visits within a 12-month period should have an assessment of cognition performed and the results reviewed. Additional resources regarding this measure and the cognitive assessment are available by accessing the links below:
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 Coding Corner – Care Planning Assessment: CPT® Code 99483
Patients determined to have cognitive impairment should receive comprehensive care planning. There are nine service elements of 99483 that are evaluated within the care planning visit. The comprehensive care plan may be completed at the annual wellness visit or during a separate clinical visit. The Alzheimer’s Association has a resource page for additional information and helpful tools to learn more.
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 Marketplace Consumer Alert
There has been increased conversation related to Medicaid patients in our region being unknowingly signed up for marketplace plans. The North Carolina Department of Insurance recommends the following steps:
- Hotline representative advised that the patient should take these steps if they know agent they spoke with:
– Call 955-408-1212, option 6 for a live representative.
– Ask for consumer services.
- To get the plan cancelled, the patient must call the Federal Marketplace and file a report: 1-800-318-2596.
– They will research it and can cancel the policy if no claims have been filed.
– This fraud investigation could take up to 45 days for resolution.
- There could be tax implications for the patient if it goes unresolved.
- NC DOI advised that practice should not file a claim to the marketplace plan if patient denies signing up for plan.
Additionally, the US Office of Inspector General has tips for consumers and a printable flyer that can be posted in the practice.
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 Regulatory Reminders – Medication Administration Errors; You CAN Prevent Them!
Immunize.org offers a great resource to educate staff on common vaccine administration errors and how to prevent them.
One common error is administering a vaccine outside of the ACIP recommended age/dose schedule.
- Here is how to avoid this error: If you are unsure whether it is acceptable to use the vaccine in a certain situation, check the package insert. For example, DTaP-IPV (Kinrix, Quadracel) is only approved and recommended for the 5th dose of the DTaP and the 4th dose of IPV in children age 4–6 years. MMRV (ProQuad) is approved and recommended for children age 12 months through 12 years. Unless ACIP has made an off-label recommendation, you should use a vaccine as licensed to ensure its efficacy and safety. You can look up package inserts and Emergency Use Authorizations utilizing this link from Immunize.org or on the FDA website.
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 How Are We Doing?
The South Piedmont AHEC Practice Support Team wants to make sure we are supporting your needs. If we have had a recent meeting with your practice, you may receive a survey from NC AHEC. Please take a few moments to respond. In addition to questions about your practice type, topics discussed and how satisfied you are with our service, you will also have a chance to provide other feedback. We want to know what we could do differently to support your practice, what suggestions you have for webinars and training materials and what your needs are from Medicaid. In addition to the survey, you may receive a call from NC Medicaid. We encourage you to take the time to answer their questions.
You are important to us, and we want to provide a service that meets your needs!
The survey will come from our statewide Practice Support Program Specialist, Tracey D’Addezio, and will look like the email below. |
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Dear Practice Manager,
You are receiving this on an annual base after your 1:1 in person or virtual contact with one of our coaches. We would like to help your practice succeed with support from NC AHEC.
This short quick 5-minute survey is used to constantly improve NC AHEC and share your feedback with NC Medicaid.
Provider Survey Link
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or your local area AHEC location.
Thank you so much for your valuable time,
Tracey
Tracey D'Addezio, MBA, PMP
Program Specialist
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 North Carolina’s SUN Buck Program
Beginning this summer, SUN Buck will provide families with a one-time payment of $120 in food assistance benefits per eligible child. Benefits will be issues on debit-like cards that can be used to buy healthy food at grocery stories, farmers markets, and some online retailers. SUN Bucks is a new program that will provide grocery-buying benefits to qualifying families with school-aged children during the summer months when schools are on summer break.
Many children will automatically qualify for SUN Bucks, but some will need to apply. For additional information and access to printable flyers in English and Spanish, visit the SUN Bucks Resource page. |
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 NC HealthConnex Audit Reminder – Due June 30th
If you are a Participation Account Administrator (PAA) for NC HealthConnex, you will need to log into the NC HealthConnex portal to complete your Quarter 1, 2024 audit by June 30th. The audit involves reviewing “Break the Seal” and “Patient Search” portions of the data along with reviewing access of users. If users need to be removed, the request can be sent to hieasupport@sas.com and if there is unusual activity it must be reported to the NC HIEA. Each PAA at the practice should have received an e-mail reminder in early May; this email contains additional FAQs. Page 15 of the PAA Reference Guide may also be helpful. As always, feel free to contact your South Piedmont AHEC Coach for support. |
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South Piedmont AHEC Class Spotlight
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 Integrating Behavioral Health Screening into Primary Care
One of the first steps in integrating physical and behavioral health in your practice is incorporating behavioral health screening tools into your clinical workflows so that you can identify your population needing services, match services with the individual’s level of need, and measure progress. During this training we will cover common behavioral health screening tools used in primary care settings and tips for integrating them into your workflow using case examples. The target audience is those considering integration, students/learners, and providers/staff in settings where integration is already underway.
Please register on the South Piedmont website.
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South Piedmont AHEC – Formerly Charlotte AHEC
Part of the NC AHEC Program
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