Together Arkansas, an opioid response initiative developed by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC), has received the endorsement of Leslie Rutledge, Arkansas Attorney General, and Kirk Lane, Arkansas Drug Director. The online toolkit also features connections to new resources available to help fight the opioid crisis in the state.

Families in Hempstead and Howard counties have a new opportunity to get help for their younger family members. AFMC, with funding from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is recruiting and leading a consortium of organizations that are serving people in the southwest region of Arkansas. Called the “Substance Abuse Resource Assistance Coalition” (SARAC), the coalition will coordinate services for young victims of opioid and substance misuse crime, and help families find resources and services.

AFMC has received its 2020 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®) certification for health plan reporting. HEDIS is a comprehensive set of standardized performance measures widely used to measure and improve health care quality. HEDIS measures are relied on by government regulators, health plan payers, provider organizations, employers and consumers to provide information, identify quality and help compare health plan performance and make reliable comparisons between managed care plans.

Together Arkansas, an opioid response initiative developed by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC), was unveiled Wednesday, Nov. 6, at the State Chamber/AIA Annual Meeting at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.