Clinical Documentation Excellence Awards: July and August 2024
Recognizing Exceptional Clinicians
We are proud to present the Circle of Excellence Award winners for July and August 2024. Our Circle of Excellence Awards are given monthly to an outstanding advanced practice provider (APP), primary care physician and specialist nominated by their CDE educators. Along with there cognition here in the OHN Newsletter, these clinicians will also receive the CDE Circle of Excellence lapel pin pictured above, an Ochsner Ovation forExcellence from CDE Leadership and an acknowledgement on our CDE SharePoint site.
Our July recipients are:
Addy Reine, MD, Primary Care
Dr. Reine, a site lead physician at Ochsner Health Center – LaPlace Medical, was nominated by her CDE Nurse, Lisa Ballard. Dr. Reine began with the Focus Program in August 2023, and her documentation has been excellent from the beginning with her support of MEAT (Monitor, Evaluate,Assess, Treat). Her HCC Reconciliation Rate at the time was above the system average of 79.98%, with Dr. Reine already achieving 87.64%, and she achieved a BPA Action Rate of 70.85%, nearly double the system rate at the time. She primarily uses problem list charting and also has experience using the newer “change diagnosis” button within the BPAs. Dr. Reine has always been very engaged in meetings and took her education seriously by making immediate adjustments to her documentation. Dr. Reine continues to show her engagement in the Focus Program by utilizing the CDE point of care tools that are provided. Her current KPIs are a testament to her work, with an HCC Reconciliation Rate of 82.19%,which is above the system average of 76.44%; a BPA Action Rate of 72.85%, with a Suspect Acceptance Rate of over 51%; and a CDE Encounter Action Rate of 90.05%.
Sean Roberts, MD, Nephrology
Dr. Roberts is a senior physician and site lead nephrologist at Ochsner Health Center – Covington, and he was nominated by his CDE Specialty Nurse, Brianna Savoie. Dr. Roberts began his education with the CDE Team in August 2022, before the SPEED (Specialty Provider Evaluation, Education and Development) program commenced, and he was introduced to SPEED in October 2023. From early on, Dr. Roberts was open to education and highly engaged, asking questions about his Encounter Action Rate (EAR) metric and what he needed to do to meet his goal. He exhibits his dedication routinely, in one instance even asking about the highest EAR in the Nephrology department, wanting to know what number he needed to reach to be at the top of the metric. Shortly after his first meetings with the CDE Team, Dr. Roberts’ clinic partner resigned, so he was very busy in the Covington Nephrology specialty, taking on that additional patient load. That did not deter Dr. Roberts, as so far this year, he has an EAR over 66% on more than 550 BPA alerts. While his EAR is not the highest in the Nephrology specialty just yet, his count of diagnoses documented is higher than the total number of alerts most clinicians have received this year. With all factors considered, these metrics are remarkable, and Dr. Roberts’s engagement and dedication to the Clinical Documentation Excellence work has drastically helped increase performance across all of Nephrology in 2024.
John Passman III, PA
Passman, a physician assistant at Ochsner Health Center – Bogalusa, was nominated by his CDE Nurse, Lauren Tallo. He began educational sessions with the CDE Team inJanuary 2023 and started the Focus program in January 2024. Passman’s interaction with the Best Practice Advisory tool started at 44% in January and rose to 80%by June, nearly doubling the system average for BPA Action Rate. His HCCReconciliation Rate has steadily improved throughout the program, reaching 76 the midyear mark. In addition to improving his KPIs, his chart reviews are clear and concise, providing proper supporting documentation for each of his submitted HCC diagnoses.
Our August recipients are:
William Baird, MD, Primary Care
Dr. Baird, Assistant Regional Medical Director and a senior physician at Ochsner Health Center – Prairieville, was nominated by his CDE nurse, Cheye Rothwell. Dr. Baird began our CDE Focus program in April 2023 and has continued to provide excellent documentation throughout. Dr. Baird is always open-minded, dedicated, engaged and pleasant during meetings and routinely strives for excellence and provides good feedback from a provider’s point of view on a variety of CDE Epic tool packages, workflows and best practices. His BPA Action Rate, Reconciliation Rate and Recapture Rate have continuously remained above the system’s average, and he finished 2023 with a Reconciliation Rate of over 95%––3 points above the system average and 9 points over his goal. His Recapture Rate was over 89%, more than 2 points above the system average and more than 4 points above goal.
William Davis, MD, Rheumatology
Dr. Davis, a senior physician and Rheumatology Service Line Chair at Ochsner Medical Center – New Orleans, was nominated by his CDE Rheumatology Specialty Nurse, Jessica Glaspell. While Dr. Davis has a plethora of official titles here at Ochsner, he is also an advocate for his patients, his peers and our SPEED (Specialty Provider Evaluation, Education and Development) program. Dr. Davis began in the SPEED program in February 2024, and from that point forward, he has shared its messaging with his department during their monthly meeting. He has taken it upon himself to ensure all of his associates understand the value of the SPEED program in ensuring that we have the resources necessary to continue to provide the excellent care our patients deserve. He is in continuous communication with the CDE Team to inquire how he can help in any way. Not only is he an advocate of the program, but he is also one of the top performers in the SPEED program, with a CDE Encounter Action Rate of over 71%, significantly surpassing his goal of 50%.
Edward Hymel, NP
Hymel, a nurse practitioner for the Family Practice & Internal Medicine department at Ochsner Health Center – Belle Meade, was nominated by his CDE Nurse, Lisa Ballard. He was initially nominated for the APP Circle of Excellence Award due to his excellent documentation and use of the Best Practice Advisory tool. When Hymel began his CDE education, he was using “blanket statements” as MEAT(Monitor, Evaluate, Assess, Treat), as he was originally instructed, but he quickly converted to add specificity to each diagnosis as MEAT. Our goal in enhanced Annual Wellness Visits (eAWVs) is to maintain a CDE Encounter Action Rate at or above 80%. Hymel is at 97% in both V28 and V24 models. He has a year-to-date BPA Action Rate of 84% and a Suspect Acceptance Rate of 40%. He is thorough in his Advanced Care Plannings and health maintenance screenings and was not missing any required components of the eAWVs reviewed.
