WHAT IS IT?
In response to Section 6052 of the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treat for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT Act), the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) has developed the nation-wide Compass Opioid Stewardship Certificate Program. Funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), this program will help clinicians develop a comprehensive understanding of opioid stewardship and implementation of best practices. The program focuses on reducing the impact of the opioid epidemic by building relationships with those on the frontline of care and teaming with stakeholders to maintain an agile and responsive healthcare system.
WHY JOIN?
Based upon experience in previous CMS initiatives, IHC is uniquely positioned to provide necessary assistance to prescribing clinicians. The Compass OPSS network has developed a multi-modal outreach and technical assistance strategy that includes new tools, education, training, and reports to provide valuable and innovative support to participants.
This program will provide participating clinicians with meaningful and informative data and necessary tools to enable them to provide the best possible care to prevent and relieve pain and maximize function in patients with pain. It focuses on the latest standards in evidence-based pain care, including the use of multi-modal and multi-disciplinary approaches.
CMS encourages providers to join this network to receive support from a national network of subject matter experts and peer mentors. The skilled Compass OPSS team will use performance improvement methodologies and quality improvement tools to help providers navigate local barriers and challenges.
AS A PARTICIPANT IN THIS INITIATIVE, PROVIDERS WILL RECEIVE, AT NO COST:
- Self-study curriculum education modules providers can complete at their own pace.
- 11-part Clinical Cases Podcast that introduces a framework to approaching clinical encounters with legacy patients on long term opioid therapy.
- On-demand Medication Assisted Therapy education series.
- Live Community of Practice events where participants can learn from one another, share difficult cases and problem solve together.
- Access to CME for both on-demand education modules and live events.
- Extensive reading list of evidence-based literature.
- Toolkits and policy templates, including access to the Compass Opioid Stewardship Toolkit, filled with a comprehensive collection of resources.
- Quarterly data dashboards for monitoring of progress.
- Access to clinician experts and risk mitigation specialists for individualized coaching and case review.
- Active coaching with specialists to aid in implementation of the practice roadmap and identify individualized provider and practice needs.
- Chart and documentation review by skilled clinician experts
- Fulfillment of quality improvement requirements for continued board certification (based on state requirements).
Providers are encouraged to take advantage of all of the program benefits, but have the option to select only the program elements that fit their individual needs.
PARTICIPANTS WILL:
- Actively share experiences, challenges and lessons learned
- Commit to fostering a culture of patient safety across the continuum of care
- Participate in customer service surveys and provider assessments to capture feedback and assess provider needs
Testimonials
"Some strengths of the Compass Opioid Stewardship Certificate Program that have helped my practice include excellent available coaching from the Compass staff, implementation of risk management and harm reductions strategies, good advice and techniques for interviewing patients as well as tips on how to lower them gradually and effectively from opioids and benzodiazepines.
I consider myself fortunate to have participated in this program and have learned valuable insights in how to improve and protect my practice and my patients through safer opioid prescribing."
- Hugo De Ayala, MD
“My journey with Compass has been one of “why me” to “thank goodness me” My understanding of the many facets of pain management has improved tremendously by taking advantage of the many ways to access information on caring for people with chronic pain. The atmosphere of other providers wanting to help you be a better physician and deliver better care is very comforting. You realize you’re not on this island alone and other providers are facing the same battles. I wish more practitioners could see how helpful this community of professionals is in improving care for our pain patients.”
- William Long, MD
Next Steps
Simply register as a new user to iCompass Academy and ENROLL (Link) in the program to access all education and materials. A password is required to take the course. Eligible clinicians should have received the password in outreach materials from IHC.
the Compass OPSS Team
If you have any questions or need assistance with the program, please contact the Compass OPSS team at compassopss@ihconline.org (e-mail).