Provider Spotlight: Clint Allred, CRNA, Anesthesia Associates of Boise
Clint Allred, a full-time CRNA for Anesthesia Associates of Boise, was the grand prize winner of our recent Patient Experience Week giveaway. He is performing in the top 25% of anesthesia providers nationally. We asked Clint about his best practices for providing exceptional patient care, and we’re excited to share his responses.
Clint completed his nursing education at Weber State University in 2006, and then attended the University of Tennessee for CRNA training. He has been practicing in Boise since 2011.
What best practices do you and the staff you work with follow that you attribute to your positive scores?
Clint Allred: There is a huge push in our profession to unite with our surgeon colleagues and work toward “enhanced recovery after surgery ” protocols. We have known that there are a lot of different ways to manage the anesthetic of a patient, and each patient requires a different anesthetic. The downside to this is the fact that everyone does something different so the continuity of care is sometimes lacking.
To correct this discrepancy, we created a quality committee within our group. This committee was tasked with reviewing literature along with some of the bigger medical institutes, and then sitting down with anesthesia providers from within our group and developing some protocols for the surgeries that we provide routinely. This initiative at least put all of us on the same page to start with. These protocols deal not only with the patient during surgery, but also some interventions before surgery to improve their outcomes. Since installing these protocols, it has been incredible to see the patient, surgeon, and nurse satisfaction elevate. Every anesthetic still needs to be tailored just right, but this has really helped us be proactive in our decision prep.
What is one example of how you improved your relationship with your patients and/or the care you provide?
Clint Allred: It has amazed me how a little bit of effort goes a long way in ensuring comfort for our patients. It can be something as simple as a warm blanket in the cold metal OR, or talking with the patient on their level trying to take time to explain things.
One thing that we have instituted is in our pediatric population. The inhalational anesthetics that we use have a pungent smell. Kids really hate inhaling that odorous gas. So, we bought a bunch of Lip Smacker chapsticks and then bring the mask to the kids and let them pick out a flavor. They paint the inside of the mask with the flavor they selected and it negates that bad smell when the mask is on their face. Little things like these efforts don’t really take a cumbersome amount of time or energy. They just require a little effort and can really improve the relationship with patients.
What is one thing you avoid doing in order to provide a better experience for your patients?
Clint Allred: The biggest thing I have had to make a conscious effort to try and avoid is just going through the motions with my patients preoperatively. I have always taken pride in the quality of anesthesia care that I provide, but I realized when my son had surgery, that I really needed to change my approach to patients before they even have anesthesia. The day of surgery for patients is an overwhelming experience. Even before you get to the surgery and recovery phase, so much is thrown at them. I found that because administering anesthesia is a routine part of my life, I was just doing the bare minimum to educate and put my patients at ease. We would then whisk them away and go provide anesthesia. My experience taught me that taking an extra five minutes to sit down and talk with the patients about what they were going to experience, both for them and their family members, went a long way to easing their anxiety.
How do you best use your SurveyVitals data for your own personal improvement?
Clint Allred: SurveyVitals definitely serves as a reminder to keep those goals and changes, instituted in my own personal practice, in the forefront of my mind daily. Obviously, I won’t make everyone happy all the time. I used to just shrug my shoulders and act like it didn’t matter. However, what I did find is that when I changed my attitudes and practice – all of a sudden the SurveyVitals data meant something to me. It is a way to drive and improve my practice. I still won’t make every patient happy all the time, but I can take pride in my work and raise the bar for my patients.
blake August 6th, 2019 Categories: Anesthesia, Best Practices, Client Spotlight, featured, Patient Experience
Tags: anesthesia, Best Practice, CRNA, Improvement, patient experience, Patient feedback, Patient Satisfaction, QualityMIPS 101 for Anesthesia Providers
***Updated January 2020***
Are you an anesthesia provider participating in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)? Let us tell you how the SurveyVitals solution might help you fulfill certain reporting requirements.
What is MIPS?
The Merit Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is one of two tracks in the QPP, the quality payment incentive program implemented by CMS. A small percentage of clinicians will qualify to participate in the Alternative Payment Models (APM) track, but most anesthesiologists will fall under the MIPS track.
You will receive a performance-based adjustment to your Medicare fee schedule in 2022 based on your MIPS performance in 2020. The amount of the adjustment, either positive, negative, or neutral, is based on an eligible clinician or group’s Composite Performance Score (CPS). The CPS is calculated using data across four categories of measurement.
Who participates?
If you bill Medicare Part B more than $90,000 in allowed charges per year and provide over 200 covered professional services under the Physician Fee Schedule for more than 200 unique Medicare patients a year, then you are part of the QPP. If you do not meet all three criteria, you could be exempt from participating in the program in 2020 under the the low-volume threshold exemption. Clinicians who meet the low-volume threshold may still opt in to MIPS if they meet at least one criterion.
To determine if you are required to participate in MIPS, CMS has provided a resource to check your status by entering your NPI into an eligibility “calculator.”
How are measures reported?
Anesthesiologists have the option to report as an individual, within a group, or within a virtual group.
| Individual | Single NPI tied to a single Tax Identification Number (TIN) |
| Group | Single TIN with two or more eligible clinicians, including at least one MIPS-eligible clinician, as identified by their National Provider Identifiers (NPIs), who have reassigned their Medicare billing rights to the TIN |
| Virtual Group | Combination of two or more TINs assigned to one or more solo practitioners or one or more groups consisting of ten or fewer eligible clinicians |
Reporting mechanisms vary based on reporting type and measure category. You can find more information on reporting mechanisms here.
How are measures selected?
Anesthesia providers and groups can select measures from the list of CMS-approved MIPS measures at the QPP website. Alternatively, they may select to report on Quality performance using specialized measures developed by a Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) of their choosing. QCDR measures must be approved each year by CMS.
Quality Category
Anesthesiologists are required to report on six measures of their choosing for the quality category. One of those measures must be an outcome measure.
SurveyVitals is equipped to help anesthesia clients utilizing a QCDR to meet an outcome measure (AQI 48 – Patient-Reported Experience with Anesthesia) in the Quality category. You must sign a disclaimer in order to report your patient experience data to a QCDR. View the reporting checklist, quick facts, and important deadlines here.
Improvement Activities (IA) Category
Anesthesia providers are required to participate in a combination of IA measures totaling 40 points. “High-weighted” activities are worth 20 points, while “medium-weighted” activities are valued at ten points. Your SurveyVitals solution can help you satisfy measures in the IA category. Download our “Road-Map to Improvement Activities” or contact us at info@surveyvitals.com to learn more.
In order for a group or virtual group to attest to an improvement activity, at least 50% of the clinicians in the group or virtual group must perform the same activity during any continuous 90-day period in the performance year.
Reporting requirements for Improvement Activities are reduced for non-patient facing clinicians, which are defined as either:
- An individual clinician that bills 100 or fewer patient-facing encounters (including Medicare telehealth services), or
- A group that provided more than 75 percent of the clinician’s billing under the group’s TIN
Those considered non-patient facing must participate in one high-weighted activity or two medium-weighted activities to satisfy the Improvement Activities category (for a total of 20 points rather than 40).
Always remember to check the eligibility calculator on the QPP website to confirm you are considered non-patient facing.
Promoting Interoperability Category
The Promoting Interoperability category places an emphasis on interoperability and patient engagement with certified EHR technology. Eligible clinicians must report on certain measures from four ‘objectives,’ or claims exclusions if applicable. Scoring is performance-based at the individual measure level, for a total of up to 100 points. In 2020, organizations must use the 2015 Edition CEHRT.
Cost Category
The score for the Cost category is calculated using administrative claims data. No data submission is required.
How can SurveyVitals help you succeed with MIPS?
SurveyVitals can help you meet one Quality measure and fulfill the entire Improvement Activities category. Reference the table below to see which measures we can help you meet.
| MIPS Category | Measures We Support | More Information |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | AQI 48 (Outcome) | Anesthesia QCDR Reporting |
| Improvement Activities | High-weighted:
|
Improvement Activities Roadmap |
Want to learn how SurveyVitals can help you prepare for MIPS? Email us at support@surveyvitals.com. You can also send us a message using the blue chat icon below to speak to a member of our support team.
*Note: Information and program details are based solely upon SurveyVitals’ experience with MACRA and our interpretation of CMS rule-making and policy statements. The information presented does not reflect the views or policies of CMS or any other governmental agency and is not to be construed as practice management advice.
blake June 3rd, 2018 Categories: Anesthesia, MIPS Information
Tags: anesthesia, anesthesiologist, CRNA, improvement activities, macra, MIPS, QPP, quality category, quality payment programWorking MOCA 2.0? SurveyVitals Can Help
The redesigned MOCA 2.0 (Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology) allows anesthesia diplomates to complete a variety of new activities to meet the Part 4 Quality Improvement requirement. Diplomates are required to earn a minimum of 50 points during their ten-year MOCA 2.0 cycle by choosing and completing quality improvement activities most relevant to their practice.
Where does SurveyVitals come in?You may be able to use the SurveyVitals solution to fulfill the requirement by completing an improvement plan based on A) 360 professional reviews, or B) patient experience of care surveys. The point value for this activity is 1 point per hour spent on the activity, for a total of up to 25 points.
SurveyVitals’ Anesthesia 360° solution offers surveys for patients, practitioners, administrators, surgeons, and peers to give you a comprehensive look at patient and professional satisfaction.
Don’t know where to start? Your survey dashboard provides a detailed visual of areas scoring the lowest and receiving the most low-score alerts, allowing for quick identification of improvement opportunities. SurveyVitals’ robust reporting options allow you to easily track and measure improvement in these areas over time based on near real-time patient feedback.
How can I attest to meeting this requirement?Diplomates must attest to the activity on the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) website using the ABA-approved template found here. Your SurveyVitals data can be used to summarize both the Data Summary and the Change in Practice.
More information about the MOCA 2.0 Part 4 requirement can be found on the ABA website.
blake June 1st, 2018 Categories: Anesthesia, Product Features
Tags: anesthesia, anesthesiologist, CRNA, diplomates, Improvement, maintenance of certification anesthesia, MOCA, QualityRecent Posts
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