A tool kit for providers

Sessions will be held on Tuesday, January 16, at the Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center auditorium at 10 a.m. to noon and 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

YAKIMA -- On Tuesday, January 16, the Department of Social and Health Services will brief Central Washington health care providers on a new "tool kit" aimed at helping them identify and deal with Medicaid patients whose narcotic or other drug use may need attention.

The tool kit will include background information on specific patients whose drug use may raise questions, as well as a new Medicaid Web site for providers with information on chronic pain treatments, screenings, treatment referrals, and prescribing guidelines.

The initiative was coordinated between Medicaid's medical care programs and the Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. Later this year, the team plans to bring mental health treatments into the program, too. The tool kit was devised by Medicaid's Chief Medical Officer, Jeffery Thompson, M.D.

DSHS will actually launch the tool kit program with participating providers in Yakima County by sharing 12-month prescription histories, Emergency Room treatment, and inpatient histories from Medicaid billing records. Because patients often are seeing multiple providers and clinics, individual doctors may not be aware of the complete prescription histories.

ASSIGNMENT EDITORS/NEWS EDITORS: Dr. Thompson and other team members will be available for interviews during the break between the two Tuesday sessions in Yakima. To schedule an interview during that period, please contact Jim Stevenson, Medicaid Communications Director, at 360-902-7604 (Pager: 360-971-4067).