Robert Zakar gives back to community

Health Advocate Earns NCQA Certification For HEDIS® Certified Measures

Recurring recognition underscores commitment to industry-leading analytics as foundation of Health Insights Dashboard™

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., July 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Advocate, a leading provider of integrated health advocacy, well-being and population health benefits programs, announced today that its Health Insights Dashboard™ has received the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Measure Certification™ for the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures for the seventh consecutive year. Health Advocate utilizes HEDIS measures within the Dashboard to create a unique, tailored experience for its clients and their members across all of the organization's comprehensive data-driven solutions.

"Health Advocate remains committed to the highest levels of innovation, quality and integrity within the data analytics process, and we're proud to have once again been recognized among this select group," said Abbie Leibowitz, M.D., F.A.A.P., Chief Medical Officer, Founder and President Emeritus, Health Advocate. "Earning NCQA Measure Certification is a rigorous process and validates our continued efforts to leverage data to improve quality of care for our members and ensure they get the right care when they need it most."

The logic algorithm within the Health Insights Dashboard™ earned NCQA Measure Certification for Breast Cancer Screening, Cervical Cancer Screening, Colorectal Cancer Screening, and Persistence of Beta-Blocker Treatment After a Heart Attack metrics. Of note, Breast Cancer Screening meets the new reporting method requirements for that measure, incorporating digital clinical data via an Electronic Clinical Data System, aligning with the industry's continued shift toward digital measures while improving efficiencies in reporting.

The Health Insights Dashboard™ is an in-depth, customizable analytics and reporting platform offered to hundreds of Health Advocate clients. Among its attributes, the Dashboard provides:

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Insights into key performance indicators, risk assessment and predictive modeling

The ability to more effectively target population health needs and identify and implement interventions

Actionable information to improve workforce health and reduce medical costs

As a key component of Health Advocate's industry-leading work in population health management, the Dashboard's algorithms are at the heart of the company's wellness and chronic care programs, identifying candidates for program participation and tracking outcomes.

About NCQA

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA's HEDIS® is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA can be found online at ncqa.Org, on Twitter @ncqa, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.Com/company/ncqa.

HEDIS® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).NCQA HEDIS Compliance Audit™ is a trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

About Health AdvocateFor more than 20 years, Health Advocate has been making healthcare easier for thousands of organizations and millions of their employees and members nationwide.

Our solutions leverage a unique combination of expert-led, compassionate support using powerful predictive data analytics and a proprietary technology platform to engage members in their health and well-being.

Health Advocate's members enjoy an award-winning, personalized concierge service that addresses nearly every clinical, administrative, wellness or behavioral health need. Our clients benefit from high levels of engagement, improved employee productivity and health, and reduced medical costs, while simultaneously streamlining and enhancing their health benefits offerings.

For more information, visit us at www.HealthAdvocate.Com.

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6109406723

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SOURCE Health Advocate

The Impact Of COVID-19 On Colorectal Cancer Screening And Outcomes

Colorectal cancer (CRC) accounts for many deaths due to malignancy. Screening is known to enable early detection and the removal of precancerous lesions, reducing the cancer burden.

The effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on such programs is explored in a recent paper published in eClinical Medicine as part of The Lancets Discovery Series.

Study: Potential global loss of life expected due to COVID-19 disruptions to organised colorectal cancer screening. Image Credit: mi_viri/Shutterstock.Com

Introduction

CRC screening is carried out for asymptomatic individuals with no risk factors for this cancer. Primary screening depends on a fecal test, with a subsequent diagnostic colonoscopy if indicated by a positive test, or primary screening by colonoscopy.

Most organized programs for CRC screening are in wealthy countries, while pilot programs have been set up in Asia and South America. Organized screening is supplemented by opportunistic screening, done on an individual or sometimes through an insurer.

COVID-19 interrupted the smooth running of these programs to varying extents. Studies such as the present one are important in planning for future disruptions due to an overwhelming public health emergency when cancer screening and such non-emergency medical programs tend to be put on the back burner at individual and policy levels.

In Australia, where the program was not officially stopped, even temporarily, the number of participants in organized screening dropped by over half. CRC being a slow-growing lesion, the full impact of paused screening or of individual unwillingness to take advantage of such programs may take time to manifest.

Computational modeling may be very useful in shaping policies during such periods when decisions must be taken despite the lack of objective data.

The current study is one such attempt, where the scientists looked at screening programs for CRC from 29 countries worldwide. They examined participation rates and changes in screening practices in 2020 because of the pandemic.

They used four different models to assess the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the number of cases and deaths from CRC. This compensated for the inability to develop customized models for each country.

"This approach to global modeling by simulating a core set of imputed screening programs and extrapolating may be useful in future global epidemiological modeling."

Excess mortality rates were used in lieu of participation data to arrive at such data in those countries where such information was not available for that year.

The researchers also simulated catch-up programs requiring additional screening in 2021 to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19-related measures and adaptations.

What did the study show?

In countries with participation data for 2020, the model results showed reduced CRC screening. The reduction ranged from just above 1% to 40%.

There were over seven million fewer fecal screening tests for CRC globally in 2020 globally. About 40% of the deficit occurred in countries with organized screening vs. The rest in countries where screening data was unavailable.

The decreased participation in screening would result in over 10,500 CRC diagnoses in 2020. These would be caught possibly in more advanced stages of the disease or during later screening rounds.

If catch-up screening were not carried out in 2021, this would mean 13,000 more cases of CRC and almost 8,000 more deaths than expected between 2020 and 2050. On the other hand, these figures would be lowered by nearly 80% and 85%, respectively, by such compensatory screening programs.

Any decrease in CRC screening would cause a higher cancer burden over 2020-2050. For instance, opportunistic screening was missed in almost four million individuals in the USA from March to May 2020. This could result in nearly 41,000 cases of CRC, with 17,000 deaths, by 2050.

Conversely, the scientists found that catch-up screening would reduce cases and mortality by 73–88% and 81–94%, respectively.

What are the implications?

The interruption of routine medical care, such as CRC screening, because of the pandemic is likely to cause an increase in CRC cases and mortality. However, properly conducted catch-up screening could capture most excess cases and prevent most excess deaths.

"Careful management of any disruption is key to improving the resilience of colorectal cancer screening programs."

The current study modeled various scenarios to cover a range of possibilities, making it likely that the observed disruption and the impact for any given country would lie within this range. Similar is the case for catch-up screening, where the rate will be somewhere between 'no catch-up' and 'full catch-up.'

Despite the administrative difficulties of catch-up screening, it is important to prioritize it in view of the loss of human health and lives.

For instance, the scientists found that mass media campaigns could be expensive and cost-effective in bringing more people into the screening net, thus avoiding unnecessary deaths from CRC.

Other measures include managing the capture rate from catch-up screening. For instance, healthcare systems could consider adjusting screening thresholds or having a longer interval for catch-up screening, thus helping those at higher risk to get the earliest care.

Despite the limitations in data availability, such modeling studies could help improve policies to reduce the impact of large-scale disruptions such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Colorectal Cancer Screening And Education

The FOBT educational materials were developed by the Community Network for Cancer Prevention, in collaboration with our community partner, Tomagwa Healthcare Ministries.

FOBT Educational Videos

Patients who are eligible for CRC screening are allowed to view a brief educational video about CRC screening in English or Spanish before visiting with their physician.

Each video is culturally and linguistically appropriate for Black or African American, non-Hispanic White, and Hispanic men & women. Because the patient selects the video he or she prefers to watch, selection data can be used to analyze whether CRC screening rates will improve, patient knowledge about CRC screening will increase, and patient attitudes about CRC screening will change.

The FOBT Educational videos can be viewed on our Online Health Library under the "Colorectal Cancer" tab.

Printed Instruction Guide

At the end of the clinic visit, a clinical team member explains this instructional guide to the patient. This printed guide is a set of easy-to-read step-by-step instructions for the FOBT. The guide is designed to help patients complete their FOBT screening in the privacy of their homes. It explains how to perform the test, how to properly store the specimens, and where to return them.

View the guide in English or Spanish.

Preparing for a Colonoscopy Videos

Patients referred to a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy can view a brief educational video about preparing for a colonoscopy in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese.

Each video is culturally and linguistically appropriate for Black or African-American, non-Hispanic White, Hispanic, and Vietnamese men and women. The videos are designed to help patients properly prepare for a colonoscopy. It explains dietary and drug restrictions, when special medicines required before the test should be taken, what to expect during the procedure, how long the procedure will take, and any physical restrictions after the procedure.

The FOBT Educational videos can be viewed on our Online Health Library under the "Colorectal Cancer" tab.

Printed Instruction Guide

The printed colonoscopy instructional guide is a set of easy-to-read instructions given to HHS patients when they are scheduled to undergo a colonoscopy. The guide is written in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese and is designed to help patients properly prepare for the procedure.

View the guide in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

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