Obesity
Mark Your Calendar: WCHQ Plans Obesity Summit in Fall, 2022
The Obesity Advisory Group announced their plan to hold an Obesity Summit October 13, 2022, sponsored by Novo Nordisk. National and local speakers will present on the importance of a data-driven approach to obesity, how to talk to patients about obesity, and emerging research. WCHQ members will begin reporting on two obesity measures in Spring, 2022. It is expected that the data will be presented at the Summit to further inform the work in this area.
The measures are:
• Obesity Prediabetes and Diabetes HbA1c Control
• Obesity Prevalence within the Population
A work group comprised of payers and providers continues to meet to develop plans for capturing claims and clinical data with the goal of evaluating the outcomes of obesity interventions. If you are interested in joining these conversations, contact Jen Koberstein.
Behavioral Health
WCHQ Health Systems Contribute to Wisconsin State SuicidePrevention Plan
WCHQ Behavioral Health Improvement Team met with the state lead at Mental Health America to understand how Wisconsin health systems can provide input into the state suicide prevention plan. Leah Rolando, suicide prevention program coordinator, met with the team and shared the current state plan and information about the work of Prevent Suicide Wisconsin.
Wisconsin’s suicide rate rose 40 percent between 2000 and 2017 and one in six Wisconsin high school students reported experiencing suicidal ideation.
The goals of the state suicide plan include:
• Enhance and increase protective factors;
• Increase access to care for at-risk populations;
• Implement best practices for prevention in health care systems; and,
• Improve surveillance of suicide and evaluation of prevention programs.
WCHQ members suggested a survey be developed and sent to all health systems to understand what they are currently doing to implement best practices within their organizations. The health systems will continue to coordinate with Mental Health America to develop next steps to determine ways they can continue to be involved.
For information about the WCHQ Behavioral Health Improvement Team, contact Jen Koberstein.
Chronic Disease
Members Encouraged to Help Update Toolkits
Over the past three years, the WCHQ Diabetes & Hypertension Toolkits have been downloaded over 1,400 times. It’s time for a refresh to create an updated toolkit that combines these two topics into one Chronic Disease toolkit.
To date, Bellin, Gundersen, Marshfield Clinic, Prevea, Primary Care Associates, ProHealth, ThedaCare and several stakeholder organizations have expressed interest in assisting with toolkit updates. Meeting participants were encouraged to provide feedback through an individual Padlet Board login that enables members to view and interact with posted comments.
A few overarching topics that are being considered for inclusion in the Toolkit:
• Pre-diabetes, diabetes, hypertension;
• Member highlights;
• Importance of control, strategies and resources; and,
• Potential for including disparities, telehealth, and a literature review.
Toolkits can be a valuable resource for quickly disseminating key resources and best practices. Consider contributing to the toolkit and providing feedback. Contact Sheryl Pierce for more information.
Current Toolkits:
Diabetes Toolkit - https://www.hipxchange.org/DiabetesCare
Hypertension Toolkit - https://www.hipxchange.org/HypertensionCare
Oral Health
Oral Health Collaborative Committed to Medical and Dental Integration
WCHQ Oral Health members met in November and reaffirmed their commitment to increasing the integration between medical and dental treatment. Diabetes places the oral cavity at additional risk for infection which increases the need for comprehensive oral health care. The group discussed the new WCHQ oral health measure that looks at the percentage of patients with diabetes who received a comprehensive or periodic oral evaluation or a comprehensive periodontal evaluation during the measurement period.
The group will continue to work on measures related to diabetes and it plans to draft a de novo measure on diabetes and oral health later this year.
If you are interested in more information on oral health, contact Jen Koberstein.