Happy Monday! Enjoy your NCMS Morning Rounds!

November 15, 2021

 

November is National Diabetes Awareness Month

More than 84 million Americans or 1 in 3 adults has prediabetes, and the majority of them don’t know they have it. Diabetes has reached epidemic proportions, and if prediabetes is left undetected and untreated, the progression to diabetes will continue to place a tremendous strain on physicians, clinical practices and health care costs associated with diabetes care and management. Through the statewide initiative in North Carolina to prevent type 2 diabetes called DiabetesFreeNC, physicians and care teams have an opportunity to support their patients with prediabetes with a free or low-cost, evidence-based National Diabetes Prevention Program.

Add your name to the growing list of North Carolina clinicians taking a stand against diabetes. Take the pledge.

Learn more here.

CMS Repeals MCIT/R&N Rule

On Friday, November 12, the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) rescinded the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology and Definition of “Reasonable and Necessary” (MCIT/R&N) final rule because of concerns that the provisions in the final rule may not have been sufficient to protect Medicare patients.  By rescinding this rule, CMS can take action that will better address those safety concerns in the future.

Read the full press release here.

NC Sentinel Network Questionnaire: Deadline extended Until November 21

A new group, the NC Center for Health Workforce, is working with NC AHEC, the Sheps Center, and other stakeholders to take action to address North Carolina’s health workforce needs. An initial step in this process is to gather your concerns about recruitment, retention and skill needs of your workforce. The NC Center for Health Workforce will use this information to work with policymakers and educators to develop responses and solutions. Click here to provide the information we can use to help!

About the Sentinel Network: 

The Sentinel Network is a tool to understand health employers’ real-time workforce needs – such as challenges related to recruitment, retention, and needed skills – and make that information available to educators and policymakers so they can take action right away. We plan to gather this information twice a year so it will be timely and actionable. For more information on how this information has been presented in other states, go to: https://sentinelnetwork.org/

Your participation is important, and your feedback is confidential.

The information you provide to the Sentinel Network will be kept confidential. Your organization’s data will be reported in aggregate form with data from similar organizations. Care will be taken to ensure that no individual organization’s responses can be identified in reports. 

Help us address your – and the North Carolina healthcare industry’s – health workforce needs. Please participate today!

The questionnaire is scheduled to close on Sunday, November 21– make sure your voice is heard!

Questions: [email protected]

In the News

FDA recalls 2.2 million Ellume COVID-19 home tests due to false positives, CBS, 11-11-21

Learning Opportunity 

Healthy Blue Office Hours, Tuesday, November 16, 11:15AM – 12:00PM

This discussion will focus on Claims Dispute.

Register here: Meeting Number: 2439 453 6839

 

If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!