Joint Member Advisory & Provider Advisory
Council Meeting: Minutes, January 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Senator Inn – Augusta
12:00 – 4:00pm

Attendees: Kelly Bickmore, Annette Adams, Carla Stockdale, Kathy Vezina, Pam Jacobson, Kathy Ray, Louise Haddock, Eric Meyer, Cheryl Collins, Greggus Yahr, Tracy Hemond, Geoff Greene, Joan Smyrski, Doug Patrick, Claudia Bepko, Karen Mosher, Simonne Maline, Leticia Huttman, Vicky McCarty, Karen Evans, Troy Henderson, Eric McVay, Richard Weiss, Marya Faust, and Sara Godfrey

Announcement

DHHS requested that providers use the Contact for Service Notification in APS CareConnection® to track and report people without MaineCare who need CI, ACT or DLSS services.  A memo from DHHS will be sent out tomorrow and APS will have an announcement on Friday.

State of the ASO

The Member and Provider Advisory Councils were key in helping the ASO to become established in 2008.  2009 will bring depth to the work of the ASO and the Councils in such areas as outcome data, access to care questions and understanding wait lists. 

Comments from the Commissioners Office

Associate Commissioner Geoffrey Green spoke to the need to improve services and outcomes, and that DHHS supports the collaborative work done by the MAC, PAC, APS Healthcare and other stakeholders to pursue those ends.

Member Presentation

Simonne Maline.  The MAC goals and accomplishments in 2008: 

• Common Understandings that the council developed for its meetings:
  • turn cell phones to silent or off
  • speak up
  • wait for others to finish speaking
  • maintain a positive attitude
  • this is an advisory group not an advocacy group
  • direct feedback back to APS
  • respect all opinions even if you don’t agree
  • what personal information is shared, stays at the meeting
  • chocolate should be at every meeting
• Activities included
  • Ensuring that the MAC understood APS Processes
  • Review APS paperwork and communications to make sure the writing is member-friendly. 
  • Quality Improvement Recommendation:  The MAC recommended that APS Healthcare send a letter to members when a request was “renegotiated” by the provider and APS.  The Original process was that providers were responsible for notifying Members.  APS adopted this recommendation of the MAC. 
  • “Mythbusters” column in the APS Healthcare Member Newsletter relied on the MAC to ensure that members had accurate information about APS Healthcare and the ASO. 
  • The MAC was able to have direct input from DHHS staff to gain better understanding about changes in PNMI bed-hold policy.  This in turn allowed MAC members to better educate members.
  • Future plans: to increase membership and involve family members of children and young adults.  There is discussion about how the council can communicate more frequently as there is so much to pack in with a quarterly meeting. 
  • From council member Karen Evans “it’s nice to see concerns heard and action taken and thank you to APS for all that you do.” 
    

Provider Presentation

Kathy Vezina and Louise Haddock

• PAC Purpose:  To help providers with needs, questions, and trainings about the Maine Behavioral Health ASO.  Over the last year there have been many good ideas about what was needed, many positive actions have been taken and great progress has been made. 
• The PAC Mission:
  • Ensures the ASO is focused on behavioral and fiscal outcomes
  • Provide feedback on ways to increase efficiency and effectiveness of services
  • Involve providers in clinical program development through education and support
  • Provide input to strengthen, support and coordinate with other existing programs
  • Review quality data: all dashboards were reviewed and discussed.
• 2008 Achievements:  In collaboration with APS Healthcare staff, the council:
  • Developed APS Service-Specific clinical guidelines
  • Provided feedback on retrospective review processes
  • Assisted in development of training processes
  • Provided feedback on implementation of various processes, forms and transitions 
  • Several conference calls were formed that have been helpful for all providers 
  • There are many ongoing issues that still need to be worked on and the PAC will continue to improve and clarify issues/changes going forward.
    

Keynote Speaker

“Healthcare-A Look Ahead”
Cheryl Collins, Senior VP - Operations APS Healthcare – Keynote speech

Recognitions