News Blast

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories are shared by TLC Associates and serve as inspiration to improve and uplift our associates and patients. Read. Improve. Uplift. Repeat. Submit your story to tlcnewsblast@kroger.com to be published in future issues.

NP Michelle Doyle, The Little Clinic in Centerville

Less than two months after coming on board with us, Michelle Doyle, the NP at Centerville, was called by a Kroger Associate to assist with an emergency. Upon arrival, Michelle found a male down on ground in full arrest. Michelle immediately initiated CPR. When police arrived with AED, she helped place the leads on the patient and continued BLS treatment until EMS arrived. By the time EMS arrived, they were able to get a pulse on this patient. Eight days later we have received a report that the patient was released in stable condition from the hospital. The physicians at the hospital said Michelle’s quick action of initiating BLS treatment saved this patient’s life and is why he was discharged so soon after the event. Great job, Michelle! You are a true HERO without a cape and TLC is privileged to have you on our team!

From Connie Palakodeti, Regional Clinical Director – Dayton/Toledo Region

Turning No to Yes: Empowering Our CliniciansFrom Dr. Marc Watkins, CMO

There has been plenty of change this summer here at The Little Clinic. We have created new roles such as the Clinic Manager and National Clinical Director, and repositioned the Regional Clinical Director, all in an effort to empower our clinical teams to provide an exceptional clinical experience that our patients can rave about.

In order to provide an exceptional experience for our patients, we must consistently demonstrate support for our clinical teams (Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Assistants, Clinical Pharmacists, Nurses, Dietitians, Patient Care Technicians and Pharmacy Technicians). The recent organizational change has now provided focused regional leadership support to the clinical manager teams that will drive and improve support for those providing care to our patients.

Notice: This document contains confidential and privileged infor-mation that is intended only for employees of The Little Clinic.

Any disclosure, copying, distribu-tion, or reliance upon the con-tents of this document is strictly prohibited.

Inside This Issue:

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories ................................. 1Turning No to Yes ............................................ 1Problems With Update Video .......................... 3ABN Updated ................................................. 3Bug Bites & Other Injuries .............................. 4Patient Charts ................................................ 5Teacher Appreciation Day ............................... 5Friendly & Fresh Testimonial .......................... 6

TheLittleClinic.comInside Select Stores

August 3, 2016 Edition

With our new leadership support in place we are bettered position to leverage an empowered clinician mindset. The Empowered Clinical mindset (Armstrong & Lachinger, 2006) is consistent with our Customer 1st Approach and our overall strategy of changing the way healthcare is delivered in this country:

1. Empowered clinical professionals improve patient safety over non-empowered clinical teams.

2. Quality of care is directly related to the degree clinicians are empowered and take an active role in making decisions about patient’s plans of care.

3. Clinicians that feel their work environments are empowering are more satisfied, are more committed and report a high quality of care.

What is an empowered clinician?

Empowerment can be defined as a positive concept of a power or authority is given on doing something. (Chong & Labong, 2011) The importance of empowerment in our practice is that our clinicians feel they have the power to do their job, derive satisfaction from doing their job and feel appreciated. (Manoljovich, 2007) Our clinical teams must be committed to delivering an exceptional visit each time we have the privilege to provide an evaluation for a patient. Therefore, instead of turning a patient away, (unless law/regulations supersede or insurance issues) we should focus on the ability to deliver a clinical evaluation and provide professional recommendations for those we serve.

Turning NO to YES

A clinical professional evaluation is the point of difference for our team at The Little Clinic. Practicing at the top of your professional license means that you understand the practice of nursing, medicine, pharmacy, nutritional services, and will therefore make recommendations to our patients that are based in the best evidence in order to maintain the highest level of safety and quality. Our patients deserve your clinical recommendations and evaluations. These recommendations require patients to have a clinical evaluation along with an exceptional patient experience which is what patients and customers expect…this is valuable.

The value of a clinical evaluation is powerful for a patient and the clinician. Never discount or devalue the power of an evaluation. It affords you the privilege of being able to help someone who trusts you enough to seek your recommendations. Without a clinical evaluation, our patients may leave more confused about their condition, especially in an overly complicated healthcare environment. As a member of The Little Clinic clinical team you are empowered to deliver these clinical encounters and turn NO into YES.

Going forward, please take every opportunity to leverage the power of clinical evaluation in order to deliver an exceptional healthcare experience for our existing and future customers/patients. Our patients and clinicians deserve to win!

Notice: This document contains confidential and privileged information that is intended only for employees of The Little Clinic.

Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this docu-ment is strictly prohibited.

Inside This Issue:

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories ......................... 1

Turning No to Yes .................................... 1

Problems With Update Video .................. 3

ABN Updated ......................................... 3

Bug Bites & Other Injuries ...................... 4

Patient Charts ........................................ 5

Teacher Appreciation Day ....................... 5

Friendly & Fresh Testimonial .................. 6

Page 2August 3, 2016 Edition

Turning No to Yes continued...

Problems Viewing the TLC Quarterly Update Video?From Stephanie Buckley, VP Marketing

We have worked closely with our KTV contacts and believe we have resolved all issues with viewing the quarterly video. If you are a clinic user, please follow the steps below to view the video outside of Citrix. There have been issues reported from clinic staff when trying to view the video through Citrix. • Click on Start• Click on All Programs• Click on Web Favorites• Click on the KTV Shortcut If you are a corporate user (also including NCD, RCD, RAA, FMM and MCMS) you can view the video by simply clicking ktv.kroger.com and the video is located in the featured section under the welcome image. If you do not see the video in the featured section, you can search “The Little Clinic” and the video should be listed. Please send feedback to providerquestions@thelittleclinic.com and tell us what you liked, disliked, want to know more about and topics you would like to see covered in future quarterly videos. Thank you for all you do!

ABN Updated on TLC Today with ResourcesFrom Martha George, Compliance and Accreditation Manager

The ABN (532A) has been updated and is back up on TLC Today – Policies & Procedures Tab. Please notify your regions and any other interested party as I have received MANY inquiries regarding this form just today. The ABN may have more updates in the near future as the pricing is currently under review. You will be notified of any changes. I have added an article on TLC Today regarding the ABN with links to form 532A Advance Beneficiary Notice of Non-Coverage (ABN) and educational tools and guidance regarding how and when to complete the ABN, Medicare Part B Coverage, an Interactive learning tool and Medication coverage under Part B and D. PLEASE ASK YOUR RCDs TO HAVE THE REGIONS READ AND MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND WHEN AND HOW TO EXECUTE AN ABN PROPERLY. ABNs that are not filled out correctly or provided as necessary may be deemed invalid and could be cause for us to refund money.

Please let me know what you think of this resource and if you have any questions.

Notice: This document contains confidential and privileged information that is intended only for employees of The Little Clinic.

Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this docu-ment is strictly prohibited.

Inside This Issue:

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories ......................... 1

Turning No to Yes .................................... 1

Problems With Update Video .................. 3

ABN Updated ......................................... 3

Bug Bites & Other Injuries ...................... 4

Patient Charts ........................................ 5

Teacher Appreciation Day ....................... 5

Friendly & Fresh Testimonial .................. 6

Page 3August 3, 2016 Edition

Notice: This document contains confidential and privileged information that is intended only for employees of The Little Clinic.

Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this docu-ment is strictly prohibited.

Inside This Issue:

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories ......................... 1

Turning No to Yes .................................... 1

Problems With Update Video .................. 3

ABN Updated ......................................... 3

Bug Bites & Other Injuries ...................... 4

Patient Charts ........................................ 5

Teacher Appreciation Day ....................... 5

Friendly & Fresh Testimonial .................. 6

Page 4August 3, 2016 Edition

Bug Bites & Other InjuriesFrom Chris Jamieson, Medical Coder

During the summer there is an increase in visits due to bug bites and other injuries. Many of these visits are coded incorrectly which results in claim denials. Since April 1, we’ve had 1,200 claims totaling $123,000 rejected for incorrect coding just for bug bites.

In order to meet our company goal of 5% Reduction in Waste and 95% Execution, you must always code bug bites and injuries correctly the first time. Below are examples, which can be used as a guide.

Bug bites are classified by ICD-10 as an injury. Therefore, when coding a bug bite you must first code the site and type of injury. Next, you should use a secondary code to provide information on how it happened. Below is an example of how to code a bug bite:

Case #1: A patient receives a tick bite to her right thigh while playing in a tree house.Primary Diagnosis Code: S70.361A – Insect bite (nonvenomous), right thigh, initial encounter for careSecondary Diagnosis Code: W57.XXXA – Bitten or stung by nonvenomous insect

Case #2 is an example of how to code other injuries:

Case #2: A patient comes in because they stepped on a rusty nail.Primary Diagnosis Code: S91.331A – Puncture wound of right footSecondary Diagnosis Code: W45.0XX – injury by nail entering skin

Any ICD-10 code that begins with V, W, X and Y is considered to be External Cause Codes. External Cause Codes describe how the injury happened and CANNOT be used as the primary diagnosis. As in the examples above, the primary diagnosis must always describe the injury and location. If the patient has any other diagnoses you can code them as well. Also, don’t forget to code the appropriate E&M code.

That’s all I’ve got this week, folks. Feel free to email me with any questions at Christopher.Jamieson@thelitttleclinic.com. I also wanted to say I appreciate the positive feedback from my most recent article. I love knowing that I’ve helped clear up some confusion. Take care and I’ll see you guys next time.

Notice: This document contains confidential and privileged information that is intended only for employees of The Little Clinic.

Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this docu-ment is strictly prohibited.

Inside This Issue:

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories ......................... 1

Turning No to Yes .................................... 1

Problems With Update Video .................. 3

ABN Updated ......................................... 3

Bug Bites & Other Injuries ...................... 4

Patient Charts ........................................ 5

Teacher Appreciation Day ....................... 5

Friendly & Fresh Testimonial .................. 6

Page 5August 3, 2016 Edition

Patient ChartsFrom Heather Hudson, Medical Records Coordinator

With the busy season upon us (Sports Physicals, Biometric Screening and Flu Shots), please keep in mind that it is very important that patient’s charts are not duplicated and the correct information is entered into the system. Always look up the patient with two identifiers: 1) last name, and 2) date of birth. This is the best way to identify a patient and prevent duplicate accounts. Always double check your work and confirm the information is, in fact, correct. Update any new addresses the patient(s) may have. This information is very important not only for correct chart documentation but also for insurance audits, claim processing and claim payment. If a date of birth is wrong on a claim, this can result in a denial of payment. If you see a patient has a duplicate account and you have confirmed it is indeed the same patient, please put in an EMR request to have these accounts merged. You can do this by submitting an Infra Ticket. Just click on Log a Request, look under EMR/TLC Service Request and click on Duplicate Patient Request.

Teacher Appreciation DayFrom John Michael Grigsby, Regional Clinical Director

Teacher Appreciation Day for Gainesville, Georgia was celebrated on Wednesday, July 27 and was a great success! The event was attended by over 600 people from our local area and held booths from many of our local businesses, health and dental care offices and other vendors. We were very excited to share information about The Little Clinic services we offer! We were greeted by many attendees who stated they loved The Little Clinic of Northeast Georgia and we reached many, many more with information who did not know about our wonderful clinics. This event could not have happened without the great support of the store leadership and community support. Special thanks to our great partners for this event: Stephanie Buckley, Vice President of Marketing, Gina Homa, Clinic Manager, Kimberly Whisnant, PCT, and LaMonique Fairbanks, MCSM; and lastly the community, as they were extremely helpful and provided all necessary accommodations to make this a fantastic Teacher Appreciation Day for the Gainesville local school system.

Notice: This document contains confidential and privileged information that is intended only for employees of The Little Clinic.

Any disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance upon the contents of this docu-ment is strictly prohibited.

Inside This Issue:

5 | 5 | 95 Success Stories ......................... 1

Turning No to Yes .................................... 1

Problems With Update Video .................. 3

ABN Updated ......................................... 3

Bug Bites & Other Injuries ...................... 4

Patient Charts ........................................ 5

Teacher Appreciation Day ....................... 5

Friendly & Fresh Testimonial .................. 6

Page 6August 3, 2016 Edition

NP Betty Hahn at The Little Clinic in Mesa, Ariz.

I just wanted to share some good news with you. I went into The Little Clinic for antibiotics for my chronic sinusitis ailment. Fortunately, my experience with the front desk health care receptionist and FNP (family nurse practitioner) were very helpful - especially Betty Hahn, FNP.

While I was checking in with the front desk health care receptionist, Betty came to the front desk to make sure that my symptoms are in agreement with my sinusitis prior to my examination, so my visit wouldn’t be wasteful. That tells me she’s a woman of integrity.

During my examination Betty was very courteous, caring, compassionate and extremely knowledgeable of my current ailment. Betty’s customer service is impeccable!

Leaving The Little Clinic with Betty Hahn as my FNP left me feeling very “hopeful.”

So, if you ever need immediate medical care and your private M.D. is not available - I would strongly recommend Betty Hahn, FNP as your Family Nurse Practitioner in Mesa, on McKellip and Stapley Drive.

I promise you, you wont regret it!

- Patient review on Yelp.com

Testimonial