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June 2024
News & Updates

LHP's recent collaborative learning series for obesity treatment

By Albert Chaffin, MD
Medical Director, Legacy Health Partners

LHP recently hosted Starving for a Solution: Managing the Chronic Disease of Obesity with Modern Medicine. This informative session was led by Kenna Wood, DO, Jessica Potter, PharmD, and Valerie Halpin, MD and a recording of the event is now available!

Attendees appreciated the spectrum of expertise from medication management to pharmacy to surgery:

“I appreciated having three different types of providers share their unique expertise on this subject.”

- Collaboration series attendee

 

“This event provided thoughtful and timely commentary from physicians practicing in this space, with real world examples of how to navigate a sensitive topic that has several evidence-based therapies but still so many barriers in place. The Q&A was robust and highlighted how many are approaching the financial barriers to obesity care. I look forward to attending more Clinical Collaboration events in the future.”

- Dr. Annie Paulsen, Internal Medicine, The Portland Clinic

Hear the latest on anti-obesity medications (including GLP-1 and GIP agonists) for adults and adolescents as well as other traditional treatments to support informed conversations with your patients. We are also developing a clinical guideline as an upcoming resource to help providers with daily decisions when they see their patients with obesity. These guidelines are created using subject matter experts to ensure the latest evidence-based medical practices are at your fingertips. If you have not checked out our library of other guidelines, visit the LHP Team site.

Image of clinical collaboration event


One of the many benefits of being an LHP member is being able to attend these events and earn CME and/or MOC credit. New this year – by attending these events or watching the recording, you can also get credit for completing a LHP Learning Module, which is a provider measure for 2024. Here are the instructions for claiming your CME credit after watching the full recording.

Our next clinical collaboration series will take place in October and will focus on women’s health and managing menopause. Stay tuned for registration information – you won’t want to miss out!


Quality Corner: Celebrating the success of our LHP practices

We shared LHP’s 2023 performance highlights last month and now we’re thrilled to feature some top-performing practices to celebrate their achievements and acknowledge their contributions to our network. Practices in LHP are always looking for ways to streamline processes and workflows and improve care and outcomes for their patients. By acknowledging high-performing practices, we also create opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and collaboration. We are proud of the health care providers, clinic staff, and practices in our network for their dedication and excellence. 

Read the full story to view top performers, learn from each other’s best practices, and seize the chance to be recognized for your exceptional work by applying to this year's LHP Quality Awards; an opportunity to earn money and recognition for the work you are already doing to improve quality and efficiency.

Guidelines for patient-owned medications in the hospital

For providers/clinics who do procedures or surgeries at the hospital: Patients and families should NOT bring their home medications to the hospital as it is causing safety and regulatory issues. This is especially true of controlled substances.

  

PATIENT BELIEF: Patients/families bring

their Patient Own Medications (POM) with the beliefs that it will:  

  • Inform the healthcare team of the patient's current medications. 
  • Ensure that they can continue taking their home meds and the same formulation (e.g., XL form).  
  • Reduce the costs of the hospitalization.  

 

HOSPITAL REALITY:  

  • We don’t need pill bottles to reconcile medications. CareEverywhere lets us access rich prescribing information without physical pill bottles. We don't always resume home medications when the patient is in the hospital. 
  • Special formulations are usually not available in the hospital formulary, but we can use alternatives if continuation is necessary while in the hospital.  
  • We don't charge medications separately in the hospital - they are included in the DRG. 
  • Often the pharmacy will have to purchase an additional supply of the POM if the supply runs out, significantly increasing purchase costs for special formulations. 

 

REGULATORY ISSUES: DEA prohibits hospital pharmacies from storing any controlled substances that were not purchased by the hospital (this includes automated dispensing cabinets (Omnicell and Pyxis) so we need your help to determine how to store them on the floor if patients bring in POM.  

  

ACTION REQUESTED:  

  • For Planned Admissions: 
  • Encourage your patient to keep medication at home at clinic visits, preadmit appts, Preadmit phone calls, etc. 
  • Let your patients know they do not need all their home medications and the hospital provider will ensure they have the necessary medications during their stay.  
  • For Unplanned Admissions: 
  • Ask to have the medications taken home by family members/caregiver/etc. as soon as possible.  
  • If the patient has old or unused medications, tell them and/or their family member about drug take-back kiosks where they can drop off the medication.   
  • This is something only the patient or family member can do as the patient says; by law, Legacy staff can't do this for the patient. 

 

Please inform your patients that, if necessary, they can temporarily and securely switch to other medications while they are here, even if they usually take special formulation medications (long-acting, brand names, etc.).

 

Utilization Corner: How to impact high-tech imaging trends and improve quality of care

Imaging tests such as MRI, CT, and PET are valuable tools for diagnosing and treating various health conditions. However, overuse of imaging can contribute to the rising total cost of care and affect the quality and safety of patient care. According to LHP network data, high-tech imaging rates have increased significantly in the past year, and we are here to support you and your patients in choosing the right care at the right time at the right place. Click to learn more about imaging trends, network performance, and resources that are available to make informed and evidence-based decisions for imaging. Thank you for all you do to provide high-quality and cost-effective care to the patients in our network.

Specialty Spotlight: Oncology

Our cancer specialists are here for your patients. Legacy Health’s award-winning cancer program ranks among the best in the nation, and we have amazing wrap-around services to help your patients from now through recovery. 

 

As part of the OHSU Knight–Legacy Health Cancer Collaborative, two of the strongest institutions in our community have come together to treat cancer. Legacy Health and Oregon Health & Science University give you the benefits of their combined resources.

 

By working together, your patients benefit from the strength of both leaders in cancer care — convenient locations close to home, the latest treatment and diagnostic options and more access to services. 

 

See our list of talented oncology specialists who are part of the LHP family.

 

Brain Cancer

Breast and Melanoma-Surgical Oncology

Colon & Rectal Cancer

Gynecological Oncology

Head and Neck Cancer

Lung Cancer

Medical Oncology (Part of the OHSU Legacy Cancer Collaboration)

Radiation Oncology

Randall Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Program

Randall Children’s Pediatric Hematologists and Oncologists


Announcements, deadlines, and reminders

  • LHP recently launched 2024 data and reports in the LHP Reporting Suite so practices can track and monitor quality outcomes and utilization patterns for their patients. These online resources for dashboards, reporting, and tools provide actionable data at your fingertips so you can coordinate with providers within the LHP network to control costs, improve performance on value-based contracts, and improve coordination of care.

  • In case you missed it: Last month, we launched this year’s LHP video library to complete the annual Clinical Integration Education video by September 30 and choose one learning module by December 31. Completing both activities helps providers participate in our network and stay informed about resources and relevant topics as you continue your learning.

  • Medical Home recognition is an LHP membership requirement for primary care practices. If your primary care practice is recognized by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) for Oregon’s Patient-Centered Primary Care Home (PCPCH), it may be time for you to reapply to maintain your status if your most recent certification date was in 2022. If you need additional support through the recognition process, ask your Provider Outreach and Engagement Advisor about our quality improvement consulting services. Read our article from March to review the changes coming to PCPCH recognition criteria starting in 2025.

  • Submit kudos below if you have had a positive experience with another LHP member or want to recognize someone on your staff who goes the extra mile day-to-day. When praise and achievements are submitted, they will be featured in LHP communications for network recognition and celebration. 
Submit your kudos