When you think of serious, disabling health conditions, you probably don't think about back pain. However, back pain is a common condition that up to 80% of people in the U.S. will experience in their lifetime. In fact, it is the leading cause of disability globally.
FAQ for current or prospective program participants
I have seen this patient for back pain before, can I still enroll them?
How long has it been since you, or another healthcare provider, has seen this patient for back pain? If the patient has not received care for 6 months, and this is a new flare for them, they are eligible for enrollment.Another clinician saw this patient, and sent them to me, are they eligible?
Unfortunately, this patient is not eligible for enrollment. This program is focusing on the first-contact the patient has with a healthcare provider for their back pain. Something as simple as a comment from someone in their office can impact the patient's perception of their condition and their prognosis.My patient has been enrolled in MIBAC before. Does this mean they aren't eligible now?
As long as the patient has not been seen by any healthcare provider for their back pain in the past six months, and this is a new episode or flare, you can re-enroll this patient.My patient is not tech savvy and is unable to complete forms online. How can I capture their information?
Paper copies of the forms can be kept at your office for patients in this scenario to fill out, then they are faxed to the Coordinating Center where someone from our team enters them into the MIBAC registry.Someone mentioned chart reviews or audits, what is that and why is that being done?
The important thing to remember is that participation in MIBAC QI means contributing data to a statewide registry. That does not mean that anyone else sees your PHI outside of the coordinating center they don't! However, deidentified data is combined to analyze in aggregate, and for that information to be useful it must be validated.For example, if in the future there is a measure based on providing exercise guidance to patients on the first visit. You are very detail-oriented and follow the instructions for how to document this. A colleague is less clear on the process, and her assistant programs the EMR to put on every note that an exercise program was provided. If this is not validated, your ability to be accurately compared to the average performance rate will be skewed, even if you are exceeding the true goal.
We are in no way questioning your integrity! We want your participation to be meaningful in the efforts to identify the key components for better outcomes for patients with back pain - so like all CQIs - chart reviews are a necessity.
I am seeing the eligible patient at 6:00 pm and won't have time to stay to complete the form. What do I do?
You have two business days to complete the form and send it to the Coordinating Center (this will be via a link or fax).I was told that I am eligible for value-based reimbursement, how do I tell if I am receiving it?
VBR that is earned will not be identified specifically in the claim. Rather, the amount is used to adjust your per item reimbursement. Please contact us at [email protected] if you have questions.How many patients do I enroll?
As many as possible! The requirement to earn incentives/VBR is 10 patients per clinician per year.I enrolled the patient but they are not showing up on the dashboard as complete. Why?
Depending on your start date, you may be performing the enrollment directly into the PatientIQ platform, through the link, or via fax. If you are going directly into the PatientIQ platform, it is likely that you did not click "submit" at the bottom of the clinical form. Please do not go back in to edit the record as this will file the form as late and will not "count" as an eligible patient. Instead, email us at [email protected] and we will correct the entry for you.Does each patient have to complete a survey for the patient to "count" toward my 10 patient requirement?
That was our initial plan. Once we started, we realized the complexity of tracking this and measured the average survey completion rate. Our expectation is changing to "50% of patients must complete the baseline survey(s)". This will be measured annually and will look back at a 12-month period (although if you just started participating, that time will be shorter). For PCPs, totals are calculated at the end of April, and for Chiropractors they are calculated at the end of October.How do I improve my patient survey response rate?
Based on our experience, patients respond the best when the clinician themselves asks for their participation and explains the "why". Additionally, capturing the baseline surveys in your office either on paper or on an iPad has shown to be a best-practice. We have a patient flyer that you can use for verbiage - see "clinician resources" in the menu bar for the most current copy of the document.I am confused about what a question means, what do I do?
Send us an email. Either use the link below, or email us directly at [email protected]. We can help. There are also resources in your provider portal that may answer your question.My internet is down and I cannot submit the form in time. What do I do?
Let us know! We can enter the information into the system for you as long as we can verify that the patient's note was electronically signed within 2 business days (in your electronical health record).My relative is a clinician and wants to participate. How does he start?
Have them visit "Join MIBAC" in the top bar. There is a participation agreement in the section that will automatically get pushed to us at the Coordinating Center, and we will reach out to them with details.Do I need to be in a Physician Organization to participate?
Not necessarily. Primary care physicians do need to be in a Physician Organization that is participating in MIBAC (talk to your PO lead for guidance). Chiropractors may participate as long as they are Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan participating providers.Who sees my performance data?
Only the coordinating center. Information shared with Blue Cross is "met" or "not met" when performance goals are set (not yet - in the future). Your information, including PHI, patient outcomes, etc., is only shared in aggregate.I am a chiropractor. Do I need to do less imaging to participate in MIBAC?
At this time, no. We are simply collecting data. Once we have enough data, we will look for correlations between what is done for the patient at the first visit and favorable outcomes. Then, we will look deeper into those scenarios and test them out. We just want to know what you are doing today, so we can learn and educate the medical community about what works the best and provides the best outcomes for our patients.MIBAC is a Collaborative of first-contact clinicians working together using a multi-disciplinary approach to evidence-based care for back pain statewide.
FAQ for new or prospective program participants
It is our belief that by evaluating practice patterns, following emerging research, communicating more effectively with our patients by following a biopsychosocial approach, and sharing our knowledge throughout our great state, we can accomplish our goals.
The goals of MIBAC are to achieve more effective care patterns, better outcomes for patients, and increased satisfaction for clinicians and patients.
Hoy D, et al. (2014). Retrieved from: https://ard.bmj.com/content/73/6/968.
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Clinicians Participating in Quality Improvement
Physician Organizations Participating in Quality Improvement
Physician Organizations Participating in MIBAC Overall
Independent Chiropractors Participating in Quality Improvement
MIBAC is funded by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). Although they provide funding, the views and opinions of the collaborative do not express the views of BCBSM. We are grateful for their ongoing support.
If you are a first-contact spine care provider, practice, or physician organization and would like more information about the program and how you can get involved, please contact us using the link below.
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