< PreviousTribalNetAgency Updates - I.H.S.The Indian Health Service (IHS) is working diligently to ensure the successful implementation of ICD-10. ICD-10 is for medical coding and billing. It is the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revi-sion, Clinical Modification (CM) together with the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Procedure Coding System. ICD-10 will replace ICD-9 nationwide for use by all providers, payers, and inter-mediaries effective October 1, 2015. ICD-10 code sets are more detailed and updated with current medical knowledge and practices, and will result in more ac-curate billing and improved quality of care. The num-ber of codes under ICD-10 has increased significantly to allow for more precise descriptions of conditions and procedures, and the alphanumeric format of the codes is slightly different to accommodate the larger number of codes. According to Medicaid.gov, there are more than 68,000 codes in ICD-10, versus the 13,000 available under ICD-9. ICD-10 contains a more modern and consistent code set. ICD-10 impacts all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) covered entities, which must meet the Octo-ber 1, 2015 implementation deadline.Since today’s medical billing processes are mostly automated, the update to ICD-10, at its most basic lev-el, requires updating and testing of software to ensure it is transmitting the new codes properly. However, given the number of steps in the billing process, the number of health care providers and medical coders involved, and the large number of impacted software applications, upgrading and testing are very complex. These codes enable accurate and complete billing. It is not a small effort to get ready for ICD-10, and it is more than just a technology change. For technology professionals working on this transition, cms.gov/ICD10 is one place for helpful resources.The IHS released upgrades to its award-winning Electronic Health Records (EHR) and began install-ing the upgrades at hospitals and clinics in June 2015. We expect to complete all upgrades before the deadline. By August 2015, system upgrades were installed at more than 270 federal, tribal and urban facilities out of approximately 400 facilities, with an aggressive schedule of upgrades being performed daily. However, installing new software is not the only challenge. According to Medicaid.gov, one of the most im-portant concerns in the transition from ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM codes is that there is no simple mapping or translation from the former to the latter. There are some one-to-one correspondences, but often there are one-to-many, many-to-one, many-to-many, or no correspondence at all. To help facilitate the transition, the IHS implemented the use of Systemized Nomen-clature of Medicine – Clinical Terms (SNOMED-CT) in 2014 to help clinicians input information to be used later in ICD-10 coding. The mapping is not exact, but is a valuable aid in helping clinicians utilize the EHR.Implementation of ICD-10 is more than just a systems or software upgrade. The new coding system is a change in the health care delivery setting. In ad-dition to installing new software, health care facilities must ensure the clinical environment is ready for the overhaul. IHS has been testing this, and a great deal of staff training on the new codes has already been completed. Communication among health care providers and medical coders today will help drive best practices and timely clinical documentation as we transition to ICD-10.20IHS readies for ICD-10CDR Mark Rives, D.Sc. Chief Information Officer Indian Health ServiceConsidering An Integrated Solution?Considering An Integrated Solution?TANFTANFMembers & ClientsMembers & ClientsGeneral AssistanceGeneral AssistanceTreatmentServicesTreatmentServices477 Reporting477 ReportingIndian Child WelfareIndian Child WelfareEnrollmentEnrollmentFosterCareFosterCareTribal CourtTribal CourtContact us for a full list of modules, more information or to schedule a demonstrationwww.handelit.com 877.742.5554 info@handelit.comRiteTrack’s 477 Reporting Module produces statistical reports and 477 plans in addition to planning education goals, employment goals and services needed.The Foster Care Module manages foster home licensing status/details, placements, payments, and respite care. It also includes intake reporting, active effort tracking, intake referrals, and treatment planning.RiteTrack is known for integrating information from multiple social services onto one database, and can be implemented incrementally—one department at a time—in a phased approach.RiteTrack is now offering two, newly standardized modules: 477 Reporting and Foster CareFeatured Columns - HealthOur grandmothers and grandfathers understood and communicated with the four directions through daily prayer. They understood each direction has a unique significance.East is from which light comes, and therefore the direction of illumination. It is the direction for birth and rebirth. Rebirth can mean learning new things or gaining a new level of understanding. It is the direction of guidance and leadership. The gifts of the east include clear speech that helps others understand, light, purity, truthfulness, childhood, innocence, and uncritical acceptance of others. South is the direction of the sun at its highest point. It is the place of summer, fullness of youth, physical strength, and vigor. Symbolically, it is a time of preparing for the future, of getting ready for the days ahead. The south is also a place of the heart, of generosity, of sensitivity to the feelings of others, of loyalty, and of love. The most difficult and valuable gift to be south in the south is the capacity to express feelings openly and freely in a way that does not hurt others.West teaches that its greatest lesson to be learned is to accept ourselves as we really are, as both spiritual and physical beings, and to never cut ourselves off from the spiritual part of nature. Gifts of the west include darkness, contemplation, deep inner thoughts, and the unknown.North is the place of winter and the white snow that reminds us of the white hair of our elders. It is the place of true wisdom and survival. Survival sometimes means physical survival; that there is enough food and wood to keep us warm. It can also mean emotional and mental survival against loneliness and depression, keeping our spirit and heart strong. Gifts of the north include our elders, insight, wisdom, moderation, and justice. It is important to remember our teachings and hold them dear to our hearts so we can pass these on to the next seven generations. There are many great lessons to be learned from communicating with the four directions. One lesson or key point that stood out for me, is how praying to all of these directions provides great healing. This healing connects us to Mother Earth. It connects us with those who have passed on before us, and encompasses every aspect of health for our citizens. While each direction has a specific significance, we pray to all the directions to be complete.How can we continue this type of complete healing in today’s society with far-reaching communication so we can heal the entire person — body, mind, and spirit?Here at Pokagon Health Services, we try to remember our teachings and take the whole person into consideration when helping them on the road to recovery and optimal health. We assess them holistically, body, mind, spirit, and emotions, striving to help them find a great balance in life and move down the good path. We do this through all of the services we offer. We provide primary care medical services — first prenatal visit, well child visits, immunizations, general medical care, obesity and nutrition counseling, and many others. Dental services we provide include, dental hygiene, general dental care, dentures, crowns, and bridges. Counseling services are available in behavioral health for all ages. We also offer community outreach services, including home visits and transportation services. Pharmaceutical services are provided, as well.Communication is challenging with so many different services offered and so many different professionals, each looking at a distinctive aspect of the patient. Most people have all of these services at multiple locations with little,if any, collaboration between each provider. Most health care professionals have made the transition to electronic health records Using IT for Improved and Connected Care22TribalNet“This ability to act as a patient-focused team is vital if we are to truly resolve the issues which burden our citizens.”MATT CLAY, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH SERVICES, POKAGON BAND OF POTAWATOMI INDIANSMatt ClayDirector of Health ServicesPokagon Band of Potawatomi IndiansFeatured Columns - Health(EHR) or some form of digital tool. However, most of the above services are using a service-specific electronic system, and in many cases, people still utilize a phone to call, if they are communicating at all. This is not a very effective way of treating the entire person for optimal health.If your focus is to truly get patients down the path to good health, we must be successful in our efforts to bring all methods of healing together for the entire body. Here at Pokagon Health Services, we are fortunate to have an EHR which allows us to communicate with all of our health professionals in a confidential and safe manner. More importantly, it allows each provider to perceive the bigger picture of all common patients. This ability to act as a patient-focused team is vital if we are to truly resolve the issues which burden our citizens. Still living by our grandfathers’ teachings, just doing it with a modern methodology. Matt Clay is the director of health services for the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians. He was formerly director of IT and chairman of the Health Board, and currently sits on the Land Use Board. Matt has been involved with many projects including, restructuring of the Department of IT, building a new health facility, among many department specific technology upgrades. Matt enjoys the challenge and looks forward to new projects in the future.Gain critical insights into the unique technology needs of the tribal community.• Objective research• In-depth analysis• Trusted advice© 2015 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. For more information, email info@gartner.com or visit gartner.com. Produced by Marketing Communications Plan strategically. Deliver seamlessly.Engage with Gartner experts at our booth:Bob Ringdahl Vice President, Executive PartnerLee Weyers Senior Account Executive, Strategic Accounts OrganizationMeet with Gartner experts Bob Ringdahl and Lee Weyers at booth #17 and visit gartnerinfo.com/tribalnations to learn more. Meet Your VendorsArctic IT - A Doyon Government Group CompanyMeet Your VendorsDave BaileyVice President 973-934-3203dbailey@arcticit.comLessa PeterTribal Engagement & Marketing Manager907-261-9560lpeter@arcticit.comSteve Dike, Don Lionetti, Dave Bailey, Aimee Agnew.In TribalNet’s Meet Your Vendors feature we typically highlight experienced providers in the industry that have dedicated teams for tribes. In this piece we are pleased to be talking with a company whose team is not only dedicated to tribes and 100% Native-Owned, but is a highly recognized information technology company and Microsoft GOLD certified CRM and ERP Partner. Arctic IT provides services to both the tribal government and tribal enterprise spaces, having over 10 years of experience working with tribes throughout the United States. Headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, Arctic IT also has offices in Federal Way, WA, and Alexandria, VA. With a dedicated team of professionals located across the Nation that knows the unique needs, opportunities and sets of challenges IT leaders at tribal organizations and enterprises are faced with, Arctic IT has the knowledge and expertise your organization needs to be successful.MEET Dave Bailey - Vice President & Lessa Peter - Tribal Engagement & Marketing ManagerPartnershipWe are both a Microsoft GOLD CRM and ERP Partner as well as a Federally Managed Partner and wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the strong relationship we have with Don Lionetti, Microsoft’s leading account manager for tribal governments. He is 100 percent dedicated to tribes and his knowledge and experience has been pivotal to the opportunities we’ve had in the tribal space. We truly value our relationship with the Microsoft team and look forward to continuing our work to provide solutions contributing to the success of Native American organizations for years to come.Champions & Trend Setters!Tribal Enrollment/Membership & Financial Management SolutionsINFO TECH RESEARCH GROUP CHAMPION AWARD WINNERS FOR THE 3RD YEAR IN A ROW!! 24TribalNetMeet Your VendorsMeet Your VendorsTRIBAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING• Manage Funds, Grants, Indirect Expenses, Revenue and Rates• Encumbrance Management, Commitments and Budget Management• Due To, Due From, Central Treasury Cash Management Options• Project Accounting, Fixed Assets, Requisition and Purchase Orders• Full Payroll and HR Suite, Web Based Time and Expense EntryTRIBAL MEMBERSHIP AND SERVICES• Vital Statistics, Blood Quantum, CDIB, BIA Forms Submission• Family Tree, Heritage, Tribal Relationships and Affiliations• Full Audit Trail, Roles Based Security, Field Level Security• Membership Card Printing, Contact and Correspondence Tracking• Voting & Elections, Mail Merge, Labels, Member Photo Mgmt.• Case Management for Child and Family ServicesOur platform solutions assist programs PER CAPITA AND LOAN MANAGEMENT• Manage Multiple Distribution Types and Schedules• Control Eligibility, Banking Information, Vendor Record Integration• Manage different types of Loans, Terms, Finance Charges• Fully Integrated with Dynamics GP Accounting for Cash Receipts• Direct Deposit Bank Integration & Bank Rec through Dynamics GP• Full Audit Trail, Reporting, and SharePoint 2010 IntegrationTRIBAL EDUCATION MANAGEMENT• Scholarship and Program Application Process Management• Student Master Record integrated to the Membership Module• Eligibility Status, Income, Tribal Affiliation, all in one window• Reporting on Age, Grade, School, Dates, Degree, Performance• Fully Integrated to Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook• Full Document Management integrated with SharePoint 2010GRANT AND CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION• Manage the Grant Application Process• Grant Reporting and Contract Performance• Financial Systems integration for Budget vs. Actual• Grant Dashboard for visualizing Efficacy• Contractor and Vendor ManagementKey Products & Services We have extensive experience specifically with tribes. We bring that to the table for every client we encounter. What we also want to stress to our customers is that the software is exactly its name…a Tribal platform. We meet knowing that you have needs unique to your tribal organization and we expect it. With the flexibility of the software, we craft solutions to meet those needs and make it happen. We build on a reliable set of tools within Microsoft CRM, which is extremely flexible and provides a large value for tribes at a low cost. Our ERP accounting software can also integrate to CRM to provide support such as payments to tribal members and manage finances of employees, programs and enterprises.” – Dave Bailey“We also want to ensure that we empower tribes to be self-sufficient. We train your team to self-support and build on for the future.” – Lessa Peter“Arctic IT’s expertise in how tribal governments work and the ability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM to support our unique requirements gave us a huge amount of assurance that we would have success… I know that we made the right choice for our system.”- Dustin Stark - IT Director Choctaw Nation Join us for a Tribal Platforms webinar in the month of November at arcticit.com/category/webinars/ for a chance to win a Surface 3!25Fall 2014IT Leaders Q & A - TribePala TribeQ & A with Hamed Hemmati, Director of IT, Pala TribeI started with the Pala Tribe seven years ago as a network administrator and now am serving in the director of IT role. I have seen the number of people, locations, and hardware and software that we support grow immensely in the time I have been in this department, all with a staff of just three people. When I started, the IT department was responsible for maintaining Microsoft Office for less than 50 users and managing one file server. We had five buildings and everyone had individual email accounts. We now have over 130 employees at the tribe and 18 buildings all connected via fiber. We’ve moved to an exchange server and are in the process of deploying VOIP for a unified communication system stretching across all of our campus. My team provides service and support for all government functions in the tribe such as; tribal administration, GIS, emergency management, fire/public safety, post office, radio station, education, and child care. The tribe also owns some non-gaming enterprises that we are involved with deploying, and maintain technology at, such as the motocross raceway.What can you tell us about your team and your background?What was it like moving from a technical role into a leadership one?I still remain hands-on and don’t remove myself from projects just because of my position. I think it’s important to be involved and remain aware of what’s happening with the projects even if you aren’t the person that’s hands-on in every instance. At the leadership level I also deal more with the tribal council than I did as a network administrator on things like strategic planning and the role IT plays in some of the tribe’s businesses. 26TribalNetWhat projects are on the horizon for your team?I would say we have three main projects or areas of focus for the rest of 2015. Security is a topic that is always on our minds, we will be continuing to work on the balance of ensuring that our network is secure while not impeding on user ability/access. We are changing our badging system to include QR codes and microchipping for every area of the tribe from things like employee and visitor badges to accessing the fitness center. Last is a project that will not only foster improvement but could also potentially increase revenue, the deployment of a new A/V system that would be available for use within a rental space owned by the tribe.IT Leaders Q & A - TribeWe would like to thank Hamed for taking the time to meet with us for this article- he welcomes your questions and comments and can be reached at: hhemmati@palatribe.comHamed was a writer for the Fall 2014 issue of TribalNet’s magazine where he talked about the importance of securing tribal assets with surveillance. The focus of the article was on the need for education and awareness of how surveillance can be put in place to serve the needs of the community short-term and long-term.You can go on TribalNet’s website to view the past issue and take deeper dive into that topic with Hamed at www.tribalnetonline.comITConnect provides technology infrastructure and services including Passive Optical Networks (PON), Network Management, IP Surveillance, VoIP Telephone Solutions, Cloud Services and Video Conferencing Solutions.We have a “Solutions Centric” approach to working with our customer that focuses on identifying their objectives and finding a solution that meets those objectives.Please visit us at our booth and learn more about Passive Optical Networks (PON). This latest technology in network cabling is not only more cost effective than traditional copper cabling it also provides more bandwidth to your devices. You will never have to re-cable your property again!!!!www.itconnectinc.com | 866_435_2828 | info@itconnectinc.com Chris DeCamp, Director of Technical Services, Win-River Resort CasinoFeatured Columns - Strategic PlanningStrategic planning is a common practice in most, if not all, successful organizations. Whether it is leveraging technology to increase productivity, streamline operations, or create new revenue streams, technology has become a major contributing factor in organizational strategic planning. This increased reliance on technology has opened up the opportunity for IT to more effectively balance the organization’s technology acquisition and life cycle management.Effectively building and aligning a long term strategic plan that addresses the organization’s strategic vision and information technology’s lifecycle management (ITLM) can be one of the most difficult tasks an IT team can undertake. How can a team strategically look five or more years down the road and know without a doubt that the technology it is proposing will even be relevant? The short answer is it can’t, but it can communicate a strategically aligned vision very confidently. Technology solutions can be adapted over time to achieve milestone goals and realize the long-term organizational strategic vision as long as the IT team is flexible and willing to adapt its plans as it goes.IT is often in a position of justifying very expensive infrastructure investments. Sometimes these investments are addressing future business initiatives; other times it is funding the very expensive task of managing the lifecycle of IT infrastructure. Most of the time there are advantageous efficiencies that can be realized by looking at both in a complementary manner. This approach often improves the likelihood that these expensive initiatives get funded.Often the organizational goals that result from long term strategic planning require very expensive IT solutions, which can become cost prohibitive and sometimes result in the organization abandoning potentially beneficial initiatives. One solution I have used to successfully overcome this is the marriage of ITLM and organizational strategic planning. When an IT department has a clear understanding of an organization’s mission, vision and values, it becomes easier to correlate necessary ITLM upgrades with future solutions required by the organization from a long term strategic position. This type of planning allows an IT department to share the cost of the new technologies required to achieve an organization’s strategic vision with necessary lifecycle management expenses. This often improves the ROI of the solutions required from a strategic perspective and adds organizational relevance to required lifecycle management initiatives.Once we have aligned ITLM and strategic vision, how do we effectively communicate the efficiencies and benefits in a manner that builds an organization-wide willingness to invest time and capital? Three of my favorite tools are:• Illustrating the long term rolling strategic plan in a Gantt chart (Image 1) that communicates the forecasted long term capital expenses associated with realizing the organization’s vision • A vision oriented ITLM line chart (Image 2) illustrating the efficiencies that can be achieved• Showing the benefit of the investments in soft or hard ROI Do You Have the Plan and the Vision?Chris DeCamp Director of Technical ServicesWin-River Resort CasinoImage 1, Sample rolling strategic capital projection Gantt.Vision-oriented ITLM line chartOrganizational Vision ITLM Goals Y2 Y3 Y4 Y5 Budget $ $ $ $ Image 2, Vision-oriented ITLM line chart Y1 $ 28TribalNetFeatured Columns - Strategic PlanningThese three tools enable us to effectively communicate the long term positive impacts associated with aligning an organization’s strategic business objectives and ITLM. The outcome of this type of communication is often the ability to successfully stage very expensive IT solutions over time by allowing the organization to level capital reinvestment on technology.The bottom line is that taking the long view is often the only option organizations have when funding the technology solutions required to see an organization’s strategic vision to fruition. Communicating the long term benefits and efficiencies of aligning an organization’s ITLM and strategic planning will often garner the stakeholder “buy in” needed to secure the current and future funding of long term strategic technology investments.Christopher has worked in the IT industry since 1996, serving in roles ranging from technical, engineering, management, and executive management. Christopher has been a part of the Win-River Resort Casino team since July of 2006. In his current position Christopher serves as the director of technical services for Win-River Resort Casino, in this role his responsibilities are directing the information technology, facilities, and housekeeping divisions as well as capital project management and construction management.Next >