Hepatitis C Infection: Updated Information for Front Line Workers in Primary Care Settings
Hepatitis C is a viral infection caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that produces liver inflammation and damage. In 2014, a total of 2,194 cases of acute hepatitis C were reported to CDC from 40 states. An estimated 2.7-3.9 million people in the United States have chronic hepatitis C. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Uniform Data System (UDS), in 2016, 695,822 patients were tested for Hep C in 1,367 Health Centers in the United States and its territories. An enormous public health danger lies in the fact that many infected patients are unaware of their condition. This webinar will review the ABCs of HCV infection as well as HCV drug therapy management in primary care.
Increasing Health Literacy in Dental Settings: Key Recommendations for Practice
Nearly nine out of ten U.S. adults have difficulty understanding and using everyday health information that is generally available in health care facilities, retail outlets, media and communities. Fourteen percent of Americans have below basic health literacy. People with low health literacy are often less likely to seek preventive care, comply with prescribed treatment and maintain self-care regimens needed to control chronic diseases, including dental diseases. These facts emphasize the importance of providing information to dental patients that is clear and easily understood. What is health literacy? What makes a dental clinic/organization health literate? What role is the American Dental Association playing in improving health literacy? Participants learned answers to these questions and more during the session.
Navigating Barriers to Treatment for Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Primary Care Settings
Hepatitis C is a viral infection caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV) that produces liver inflammation and damage. In 2014, a total of 2,194 cases of acute hepatitis C were reported to CDC from 40 states. In the United States, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a leading cause of liver-related deaths, cirrhosis, liver cancer. The advent of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) to combat Hepatitis C (HCV) is a major development in curing the deadliest infectious disease in the United States. Unfortunately, despite the important individual and public health potential of these medications many public and private payers choose to limit access to DAAs due to their cost as well as other concerns. This webinar will outline the financial impact of hepatitis C virus on US healthcare, common restrictions of HCV treatment among payers and the successful acquisition of DAA therapy.
Promoting CDC Tips from Former Smokers to Public Housing Residents
The National Center for Health in Public Housing (NCHPH) is working with the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health (CDC OSH) and their national tobacco education campaign contractors at the PlowShare Group to increase access to smoking cessation counseling in patients served at Health Centers. NCHPH is recruiting 3-5 Health Centers located in or immediately accessible to public housing developments to participate in a pilot project that promotes the use of the CDC Tips campaign materials. Tips From Former Smokers® (Tips®), launched in 2012, features individuals living with the serious health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. During 2012–2015, the CDC’s Tips® campaign was associated with over half a million sustained quits among U.S. adult smokers, and over 9 million quit attempts. Participants in the pilot project will receive free technical assistance and coaching on how to make the most of these materials. This webinar provided background on the smoking rates for public housing residents, the recent requirement for public housing buildings to implement a smoke-free policy, and an overview of CDC Tips materials and resources (such as Tips print ads and videos) tailored for health care providers and organizations that serve public housing residents. It also provided details on the pilot project and information on how to apply.
NCHPH Tips Campaign Pilot Project Kick Off Call
This is a joint call with all Pilot participants to go over the basic components of the project, walk through the CDC Tips Campaign website and identify the specific resources you would like to include at your site, discuss the evaluation measures, as well as answer any questions.
Smoke Free Public Housing Webinar
The National Center for Health in Public Housing and two PHPC Health Centers recently presented a webinar on smoke-free public housing hosted by HRSA. The purpose of the webinar was to provide information on how PHPCs and PHAs can work together to support smoke-free policy implementation and improve health outcomes within their communities. This webinar highlighted innovation and promising practices from Health Centers in Alabama and New York and identified helpful smoking cessation resources for PHPCs.
The Impact of EHR Use on Health Center Staffing and Productivity
With the evolution of technology and the growth of Health Center Programs in the United States, the use of Electronic Health Record (HER) technology to improve the provision of patient care in a Health Center setting has grown tremendously in recent years. However, At least 70% of physicians using EHRs continue to attribute their administrative burdens to their EHR use. A recent research Report from GWU Health Workforce Research Center shows how the introduction of new technology influences staffing models, staff roles and workflow, and how these changes in turn influence productivity, coordination between providers and quality of care. This webinar will present the recent study conducted by GWU and its findings, and will provide the perceptions of EHRs effects on staffing and productivity from a Public Housing Primary Care Program Perspective.