Illinois Department of Public Health

Illinois State Flex Program

What is one Core Competency your state Flex Program is working on developing through Flex activities?

Selected Core Competency: Understanding Policies and Regulations 

Keeping up to date on changing healthcare policies and regulations is always a challenge for rural hospitals. Regulations change rapidly, and combined with staff turnover complicates staying in compliance with the new regulations. Flex works to support the hospitals by providing education opportunities. Credentialing and provider verification is an area that is a challenge for many of our hospitals. Illinois Flex sponsored a day long in-person workshop that focused on these issues. A review of current regulations and best practices were part of the session. Flex also updated three of the Illinois manuals that provide guidance for the Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). Additionally, the Compliance Manual, Quality Manual and the Swing Bed Manual were all updated during the 2023-2024 grant year.

What is one activity your state is funding through SHIP?

Illinois is funding ICD-11 training with Small Rural Health Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) funds. The state is working with ArchPro Coding to provide multiple training sessions on the impending ICD-11 to all sixty-one Illinois SHIP hospitals. This specific project was selected, in part, because it is a SHIP requirement. However, the project is viewed to be valuable in ensuring hospitals are informed and prepared for the transition to ICD-11.The training addresses a vital component to the overall revenue cycle management of the hospitals. The training sessions will cover an overview of ICD-11, the ICD-11 package and its advantages, gap analysis/needs assessment, recommendations for implementation processes, and more. The training sessions will also highlight opportunities for improvement with the current ICD-10. Many small rural hospitals in Illinois have scarce resources, and trainings such as these may not be a top priority in their budgets. Leveraging SHIP funds to provide training to all Illinois SHIP hospitals is extremely helpful. Additionally, there is no limit to the number of staff members a hospital can have participate in the trainings, helping to further maximize the impact of the sessions.