On October 17, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that they were accepting applications for a new Innovation Advisors Program to help health professionals deepen skills that will drive improvements to patient care and reduce costs. These health care improvements will benefit people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Made possible by the Affordable Care Act, this initiative will be managed by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (Innovation Center).

Under the new program, there will be up to 200 innovation advisors, including clinicians, allied health professionals, health administrators and others. They will attend in-person meetings as well as remote sessions to expand their skills and knowledge, and apply what they learn in their organizations and areas.

After an initial, intensive orientation phase, innovation advisors will work with the Innovation Center to test new models of care delivery in their own organizations and communities. They will also create partnerships to find new ideas that work and share them regionally and across the United States. Innovation advisors will be expected to commit up to 10 hours per week to the Innovation Advisors Program during the initial six months of the program, with part of that time devoted to seminars and instruction. The rest of that time will be devoted to implementing the improvement project they propose in their initial application. The innovation advisors who are selected will meet regularly to exchange insights, report on successes and discuss common challenges.

Applications for the Innovation Advisors program are due on November 15, 2011. Applications will be reviewed, and innovation advisors will be notified of their selection by mid-December 2011. More information, including a fact sheet, frequently asked questions, application, and terms and conditions can be found at: http://innovations.cms.gov/innovation-advisors-program.

Patti Cullen, CAE
952.851.2487
pcullen@careproviders.org

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