Massachusetts Initiative to Improve Transition to Adult Healthcare for Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

Sunday, November 8, 2020, 7:30 PM - Monday, November 9, 2020, 5:00 PM

Please note that registration for this course is now closed. If you missed the registration deadline, and would still like to register please email us at cmedepartment@childrens.harvard.edu. 

Transition from pediatric to adult care healthcare is a growing area of focus as patients with congenital and pediatric acquired illnesses live longer into adulthood.  Individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) require additional supports during the transition period given their unique vulnerabilities and the systemic barriers that exist.  

To address this challenge, stakeholders from across Massachusetts have come together in task forces to explore solutions regarding workforce development, optimizing clinical care, practice infrastructure, and financing models. On November 9, 2020, efforts of the task forces will be presented. Participants in our interactive summit will hear didactic presentations which include family perspective, see posters, and participate in round tables and QI workshops.  They will leave with more knowledge of best practices as well as ideas for implementation of improvements.  

This course is dedicated to the memories of Dr. Peggy Bell and Dr. Carolyn Bridgemohan.

Course Format

This course will be conducted as an interactive virtual conference via zoom. 

Initiative Background

The Massachusetts Initiative to Improve Transition to Adult Healthcare for Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities began among pediatric providers who specialize in the care of patients with NDD at Boston Children’s Hospital in 2017, and the group has expanded significantly to include individuals from a variety of pediatric and adult disciplines, institutions, healthcare settings and state agencies, and patients/families. Given the general understanding that barriers are fairly well identified, the group identified four task forces would be created to look at potential solutions.  These task force have been meeting and collaborating over the last year and include:

• Workforce Development explored requirements for the current workforce and training opportunities to enhance the preparation of current and future physicians, nurses, social workers and other healthcare clinicians in the knowledge and skills necessary to care for adults with NDD.
• Optimizing Clinical Care worked towards the development of clinical pathways and practice guidelines to facilitate high quality care for adults with NDD.  This enables all healthcare providers throughout the state to best care for this vulnerable population.  
• Practice Management and Clinical Infrastructure explored current, and proposed best-practices for, care coordination, team structure, and practice infrastructure. This included shared resource materials to be utilized across the state.
• Financing the Solution presented and evaluated current practices and models, as well as strategies for incentivizing providers and adult healthcare systems to take on patients with NDD. They looked at optimizing billing strategies, coding recommendations, and potentially innovating unique funding models that could better serve this population

Who Should Attend? 

Any invested stakeholders who wish to improve healthcare transition for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities within Massachusetts, including:

• Pediatric primary care and adult primary care (internists and family medicine).
• Pediatric sub-specialists dealing with neurodevelopmental disabilities (developmental behavioral pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, child psychiatrists, etc.) and Adult sub-specialists dealing with patients w/ neurodevelopmental disabilities (neurologists, psychiatrists, etc.) This includes MDs, NPs, PAs, psychologists, and neuropsychologists.
• Medical, nursing, and allied health professional training programs. 
• Social workers at primary and specialty clinics in both pediatric and adult practices. 
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapist whose practices are primarily including individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities.
• Administrative leaders/directors in both pediatric and adult primary and specialty care that work with individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities. 
• Clinicians and staff from academic and community health centers. 
• Thought leaders in both public and private insurance payments..
• Relevant staff from state agencies including Department of Developmental Services (DDS), Department of Public Health (DPH), and Department of Mental Health (DMH). 
• Advocates for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities including special needs attorneys, legislators, and advocacy organizations. 
• Individuals and families of individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

1. Identify models for best practice in pediatric to adult health care transition for individuals with NDD in Massachusetts.
2. Describe quality improvement strategies to implement changes in practice.
3. Engage in solution-focused collaboration with stakeholders across Massachusetts.

Thanks to the generous contribution of an anonymous donor we are able to offer affordable pricing for participation in this day-long event:

• All professionals: $35.00
• Students/Trainees: $25.00
• Patients/Family Members (no CEU's): $0.00
• Other (no CEU's): $0.00

Please use an email address you check frequently when registering for the course. This email will be used to communicate important conference information and access instructions.

If you have questions about registration, please contact cmedepartment@childrens.harvard.edu.

Online Conference Access

After registering online, conference attendees will receive an automated email confirming their successful registration. Prior to the start of the course, attendees will receive an additional email from cmedepartment@childrens.harvard.edu which will contain final instructions for accessing the virtual course.

Physician
Boston Children’s Hospital designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in this activity.

AAPA accepts AMA category 1 credit for the PRA from organizations accredited by ACCME.

Nurse
Boston Children’s Hospital designates this activity for 6.5 contact hours for nurses. Nurses should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Psychology
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibly for the content of the programs.
This course has been approved for 6.5 continuing education credits. 

Social Work
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Boston Children’s Hospital is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. Boston Children’s Hospital maintains responsibility for this course. Social workers completing this course receive 6.5 ACE CE continuing education credits.

CME - AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (6.50 hours), Non-Physician (Attendance) (6.50 hours), CNE (Nursing) (6.50 hours), PA (Physician Assistant) (6.50 hours), American Psychology Association (APA) Psychology Credits (6.50 hours), Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Social Work Credits (6.50 hours), General Attendance (6.50 hours)