On this episode of Inside Health Care, we feature two interviews celebrating winners of two different NCQA awards: a NCQA 2022 Health Innovation Award and a 2022-2023 PCMH CCE Quality Award Winner. Later in the show in our Fast Facts segment, we discuss gender equity-related health care terminology.

In our first interview, we talk with Dr. Ava Jones, PhD and RN, the Director for Health Equity and Accreditation at United Health Care Community and State’s Florida Plan. Dr. Jones' workplace won an NCQA 2022 Health Innovation Award for the “UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Florida Housing Navigation Program.” A healthcare navigator assists plan members with advice or suggestions on how to pursue a medical issue affecting them or their family. Dr. Jones explains the nature and importance of a housing navigator.

NCQA PCMH Recognition is like a seal of approval for quality assurance. A health care practice that earns that seal can be trusted for their dedication to delivering quality care—which means they’re dedicated to their patients. And having a Certified Content Expert, or CCE, almost guarantees a practice will continue its dedication to excellence for years to come.

NCQA’s 2022–2023 PCMH Certified Content Expert Quality Award Winner Deneane Anderson works for the Capital Area Health Network, also known as CAHN, in Richmond, VA. She’s been in the medical field for the past 15 years and has been a patient advocate for the past 14 years at CAHN and operates as the Transformation Manager of the PCMH Team at CAHN. Click the link for more information about becoming a PCMH CCE.

Our Fast Facts segment in this episode celebrates Pride month with background on federal protections for those people identifying as LGBTQ+, info on gender-affirming care and gaining health insurance. We then focus on NCQA’s efforts to update HEDIS measures to include language for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we talk about acupuncture, yoga and a host of other “alternative” therapies with a health leader in the U.S. government. After that, we explore a newly announced breakthrough in digitalization exploration with NCQA’s Chief Technology Officer.

Our first guest is one the foremost experts in the U.S. on integrative medicine. He answers some difficult questions. How have some alternative therapies become legitimized? And what are the risks of unregulated therapies?

Benjamin Kligler, MD, MPH, is Executive Director of the Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation (OPCC&CT) at the Veterans Health Administration. He is a board-certified family physician, working as a clinician, educator, researcher and administrative leader in the field of complementary and integrative medicine.

At NCQA’s 2023 Quality Talks, Dr. Kligler talked about “whole health” and how it relates to his work.

In our next interview, NCQA Chief Technology Officer Ed Yurcisin breaks down our newest development in digital health, our newly-announced requirements and open source software for interpreting and executing clinical quality language (CQL) so any organization or software developer can use HEDIS Digital Content Services.

Later in Fast Facts, we observe Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month. We also discuss the NCQA has HEDIS measure, Osteoporosis Screening in Older Women, that assesses the percentage of women 65–75 years of age who receive osteoporosis screening.

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we interview a pioneering speaker and a featured presenter at NCQA’s 2023 Quality Talks event.

We first interviewed Dr. Pippa Shulman back in episode 76, which dropped in April 2022. Since then, Dr. Shulman's seen the growth and expansion of her business, Medically Home, the world’s first virtual hospital. Medically Home is a tech-enabled services company, providing all the necessary capabilities to safely shift medical care from hospitals to patients’ homes. Dr. Shulman is board certified in family medicine, preventive medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine. Dr. Shulman and her company were described in a January 2023 New York Times article titled “Your Next Hospital Bed Might Be at Home.”

Later in the show, we'll hear some fast facts regarding Stroke Awareness Month, including warning signs from the CDC and info about NCQA's Heart/Stroke Recognition Program (HSRP).

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we interview two upcoming speakers at NCQA’s 2023 Quality Talks event. First, we meet a global leader with a deep understanding of the need for health equity. Following that, we have an in-depth discussion with an amazing tech expert on digital transformation in the health care ecosystem.

Dr. Garth Graham is Managing Director and Global Head of Healthcare and Public Health at Google/YouTube and Google Health. Among other significant positions, he’s the former HHS US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health. He also headed up CVS Health from 2018-2020, making sure to provide testing and vaccinations to as many under-served communities as possible.

Dr. Aaron Neinstein is an Endocrinologist and Technologist headquartered at the University of California, San Francisco. In his many roles, he’s also Senior Director at the UCSF Center for Digital Health Innovation. He’s a foremost expert in digitalization and moving IT and AI into the health care realm.

In our Fast Facts segment, we discuss Alcohol Awareness Month with some stats from the NIAAA’s free booklet, “Rethinking Drinking: Alcohol and Your Health.” And if you’re in crisis, you can contact SAMHSA via their National Helpline, by texting 9-8-8, calling 1-800-662-HELP or going to their national “helpline” website. We also mention NCQA’s “Unhealthy Alcohol Use Screening and Follow-Up” measure, part of our HEDIS measure package.

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we’ll hear from two health care innovators. One developed a unique yet powerful approach towards resolving historic gaps in health equity. The other champions artificial intelligence as a key solution in the drive towards streamlined patient-centered care.

And...both of them will be featured speakers at NCQA’s annual Quality Talks event, set for May 3, 2023, in Washington, DC.

Nzinga Harrison, MD, is Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Eleanor Health, a tech-enabled, population-based provider of comprehensive, whole-person, substance use disorder care and mental health care. She is a vocal advocate and activist who emphasizes the need for U.S. health care to address systemic and ingrained harms of racism and marginalization faced by many communities in this country.

This interview begins with Dr. Harrison to explaining one of her most profound concepts: that Racism can be considered – and treated – as an addiction.

Suchi Saria, PhD, stands firmly at the crossroads of Artificial Intelligence and Modern Medicine. She is the Founder and CEO of Bayesian Health, and works at Johns Hopkins University, serving both as the John C. Malone associate professor and the Director of the Machine Learning, A.I. and Healthcare Lab.

In this interview, you'll learn how A-I, Machine Learning, and even ChatGPT can soon propel us into a world of resolved Equity disparities and improved patient-centered outcomes.

In our Fast Facts segment, we observe National Minority Health Month by exploring disparate asthma diagnoses in African-American populations. We also explore NCQA's asthma-based HEDIS measure, Asthma Medication Ratio [AMR].

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we hear from a digital entrepreneur who’s dedicated to getting the most out of health tech.

Dr. Liz Kwo is Chief Medical Officer of Everly Health and an upcoming speaker at NCQA's 2023 Quality Talks event. Dr. Kwo is an expert in development and implementation of digitalization to improve diagnostics-driven health care. Her work—and her career—have been molded and guided by experiences both joyful and tragic. Today, she is dedicated to using all available technologies—old or new—to place the patient, and not the clinician, at the center focus of care.

Later in the show, we observe Kidney Health Awareness Month in our regular Fast Facts segment by talking up some new features of NCQA’s amazing Kidney Health Toolkit.

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we hear from a digital scientist and researcher eagerly finding tech solutions to promote immediate change in health care.

Jennifer C. Goldsack is founder and CEO of the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advancing digital medicine to optimize human health. Jen earned her master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford, England, her masters in the history and sociology of medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, and her MBA from the George Washington University. And she’s the first Olympian to appear on the podcast, a rower for the U.S. at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Jen will also be a speaker at NCQA’s 2023 Quality Talks event.

Later, in our Fast Facts segment, we observe Endometriosis Awareness Month, with important information from Endometriosis.org. We also discuss NCQA’s Cervical Cancer Screening measure, or CCS, part of our HEDIS measures. CCS contains a number of assessments for women who had cervical cytology and/or high-risk HPV testing within the last few years.

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In celebration of the 100th episode of the Inside Health Care podcast, we take a moment to tell stories of health equity and health digitalization. Through clips from six interviews over the past few years, we explore the evolution of these two concepts—both now pillars of NCQA programming.

Thanks to all our podcast guests of the past 5½ years. We’re grateful for the discussions to come, including talks about gender equity, birth equity, remote care, hospital at home and behavioral health. And we’ll continue to explore them all... on Inside Health Care.

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On this episode of Inside Health Care, we offer two interviews. NYC Health + Hospitals leaders, Dr. Eric Wei and Dr. Ted Long, discuss hospital worker burnout, including suicide, and the need for awareness, mitigation and prevention.

After that, Inland Empire Health Plan Chief Quality Officer, Dr. Edward Juhn, talks about “algorithmic bias,” a software-based anomaly that may adversely affect population health metrics that drive research on equity. Both interviews were recorded live at NCQA’s inaugural Health Innovation Summit, held in late 2022 in Washington, DC.

Later, in our “Fast Facts” segment, we observe American Heart Month, with hints for keeping your heart healthy from NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. We also tell you about an NCQA HEDIS measure, Cardiac Rehabilitation, that assesses the percentage of adults 18 and older who attended cardiac rehab after a cardiac event like a heart attack, heart transplant or heart bypass.

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On this episode of “Inside Health Care,” we hear from Tracy Parris-Benjamin, Director for Community Health and Health Equity at Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, about its 2022 NCQA Innovation Award-winning program “Neighbors in Health.”

“Neighbors in Health” is a statewide Community Health Workers program delivered through a collaboration of payers, hospital systems and community-based organizations. Community Health Workers, in consultation with a Personal Health Assistant, support members while empowering them to take greater control of their health. The program also provides education and training to Community Health Workers, helping them earn certification and training in a number of necessary health care-related skills.

Later in the show, we observe February’s National Children’s Dental Health Month. I include tips on oral care for children from the American Academy of Pediatrics, as well as from the American Dental Association and its Mouth Healthy family-oriented website. I also mention NCQA’s Annual Dental Visit [ADV] HEDIS measure.

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