The Drumbeat - May 14, 2012
As we move from "Phase I: Capability Development" into "Phase II: Building Improvements", we have rolled out this bi-weekly email distribution. The Drumbeat will feature various hospital spotlights (shared stories), posted IHC recorded webcasts, upcoming local/national educational opportunities, and other resource content which all align with your improvement work in the HEN focus areas. We hope you enjoy this communication piece and look forward to providing you with the necessary information needed to succeed.
Click here to subscribe to the bi-weekly email. Let us know if you would like to share a story related to the HEN focus areas and be featured in the hospital spotlight! Please provide any feedback you may have as we look to make this a successful improvement experience.
Hospital Spotlight: "Zero Harm" Kickoff Event
Great River Medical Center kicked off their "Zero Harm" initiative with leadership engagement. Read their story »
Hospital Spotlight: Buena Vista Regional Medical Center
Utilizing Lean PI techniques, BVRMC implemented a concentrated Improvement Project focusing on Falls Prevention. They focused on specific interventions including standardized risk assessments, Teach Back techniques, and visual displays. Click here for more on BVRMC...
Hospital Spotlight: Grundy County Hospital
Grundy County Hospital implemented the use of the TeachBack method as a fall reduction strategy in 2009. Since then, they consistantly lowered their fall rates and injuries caused by falls. Click here to see Grundy County's progress...
HEN Update: Shifting from Phase I to Phase II
05/14/2012
Can you believe we are 25% of the way through the Partnership for Patients (PfP) Hospital Engagement Network (HEN)? Our self-entitled Phase I of the PfP required a concentrated period of engagement and capability development. Through these last six months we have excelled with the following accomplishments in Phase I: “Capability Phase”:
- By mid-March, 100% of Hospital Charters were signed and submitted;
- Convened the first set of HEN Learning Communities to set the stage for the Partnership;
- Hospitals developed awareness on where they stood with the selected evidence-based HEN metric set;
- Constructed hospital and care-continuum teams to lead clinical focus area improvement strategies;
- Over 90% of hospitals completed the Organizational Assessment Tool (OAT) to assess the readiness of the hospital in the Partnership’s ten focus areas;
- Developed and completed hospital specific work plans based on your current strategies associated with readmissions and the nine Hospital-Acquired Conditions (HACs).
The initial capability phase has placed Iowa on the national forefront for engagement and strategic undertaking of the Partnership for Patients initiative. Iowa hospitals and health care organizations have been asked to participate in national meetings to spread the successful work being done in our region. As we recognize the success of Phase I, we must now embrace the opportunities of Phase II. From now until June 1, 2013, we will embark on a deep dive of clinical process improvement work in the ten identified areas. A look at Phase II: “Improvement”:
- Launch of the IHC Partnership for Patients Reporting Database, developed by the Iowa Hospital Association. This was sent out to hospital quality contacts on May 4th and is now up and running on the IHC website;
- Complete hospital work plans on the Reporting Database and begin submitting initial metric data by June 1st. Keep in mind the metric data submitted is for internal process improvement work only, and will not be publicly reported;
- Continue monthly reporting of metrics and driving aligned quality improvement work with each hospital’s specific focus area;
- Participation in upcoming IHC educational offerings and resources. The next set of HEN Learning Communities is on June 5th and 6th in Altoona, IA. On-site Lean process improvement training is available at no cost to your facility at any time during the Partnership program.
Keep up the fantastic work and I look forward to the next phase of our journey!
~Tom Evans, MD
Partnership for Patients Campaign Kicks Off Hospital Engagement Network (HEN)
01/17/2012
Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the national Partnership for Patients initiative to make healthcare safer and less costly by targeting and reducing the millions of preventable injuries and complications from health care acquired conditions. The Partnership for Patients set two crisp aims: reduce hospital acquired conditions by 40% and reduce preventable hospital readmissions by 20% by 2013. Iowa’s hospitals rallied behind this call to action, with 100% of hospitals pledging their commitment to the Partnership.
Shortly after the launch of the campaign, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center launched a nationwide public-private collaboration termed the Hospital Engagement Networks (HEN) to identify and create innovative solutions designed to reduce patient harm and improve care coordination. CMS awarded 26 organizations a two-year contract to help identify the key improvements and spread initiatives across their defined population.
The Iowa Healthcare Collaborative has been awarded the sole Iowa-based contract to serve Iowa hospitals in this campaign. IHC will work with the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) and Telligen, Iowa’s Medicare quality improvement organization, to implement the program and serve as subcontractors.
“This is a tremendous boost for Iowa’s hospitals and the patients who depend on us for quality and affordable healthcare,” said IHC CEO Tom Evans, M.D. “It will provide resources, support and a solid statewide framework to tackle some of the obstacles in our healthcare system that make it difficult to provide the best care in the most efficient, affordable way.”
Through the HEN collaborative model, IHC will create an interactive group of hospitals and health systems that will take part in education, analysis, information and data exchanges. The collaborative will also develop a model to track hospitals’ process and outcomes data and measure their performance on improvement goals
IHC’s vision is to create an Iowa healthcare culture of continuous improvement in quality, safety, and value that provides the most effective and efficient care in the nation. IHC believes this vision is possible because of the dedication and commitment you have made to your work in healthcare. While much of the work will focus on hospitals’ internal operations, the ultimate goal is very patient-centered: “Better care, more satisfied patients and improved health care outcomes that lead to an even healthier Iowa,” said Evans. “We can’t wait to get started.”
The Impact on Iowa's Hospitals
Hospitals and the healthcare community will continue to receive the proven and dedicated efforts IHC has provided in the past. Over the next two years, the HEN will focus on 10 key areas that will seek to improve hospital performance on the following quality markers: adverse drug events, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated blood stream infections, injuries from falls, adverse obstetrical events, pressure ulcers, surgical site infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, venous thromboembolism, and preventable hospital readmissions.
The HEN will include 116 of Iowa’s community hospitals, as well as five hospitals accross state lines affiliated with Alegent Health System. Each hospital leader will designate contacts to lead hospital-based improvements and serve as the point contact with IHC. Hospitals can expect to receive increased access and participation in quality improvement processes that will influence the future of healthcare. Some of the opportunities include:
- Participation in face-to-face Learning Communities throughout the year to share and spread best practices in the applicable areas
- Topically-focused webinars from content experts
- A web-based metric reporting and tracking database, developed by IHA, will provide real-time information to lead process improvement interventions
- An Improvement Advisor will be assigned to each hospital to serve and assist with the work currently being done at the hospital
- Leadership resources to help improve the culture of safety
- Learning networks that will allow hospitals to share success stories and struggles in an effort to raise the standard of healthcare
- Access to a Lean Process Improvement expert through educational opportunities and on-site coaching
- Technical assistance, through Telligen, for hospitals that would like to have content improvement experts work with hospital staff
- Resources to assist hospitals in physician engagement strategies
Iowa has a reputation for delivering high quality care to patients. The HEN will provide a voice for those best practices and successful interventions already deployed by hospitals. IHC hopes to serve as a resource for hospitals to spread these interventions and provide evidence-based best practices to facilitate the improvement process. The HEN will possess a unique advantage with the ability and willingness of Iowa hospitals to collaborate and engage in a statewide effort to provide the most effective and efficient healthcare in the nation.
IHC Hosts National Partnership for Patients Roundtable
06/08/2011
On Tuesday, June 7, the Iowa Healthcare Collaborative (IHC) welcomed Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Dr. Carolyn Clancy. Dr. Clancy joined Iowa physicians, hospital officials, industry representatives, and other key health care advocates at the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) Education Center in Des Moines for a roundtable discussion on the Partnership for Patients national campaign. The Partnership focuses on reducing readmissions and reducing hospital-acquired conditions, something that is not new to Iowa’s physicians and hospitals. Nearly 30 of the state's key healthcare representatives attended the event.
Already, more than 1,500 hospitals nationally have pledged their commitment to this initiative. The IHA, Iowa Medical Society (IMS) and IHC Boards have all endorsed the campaign. The regional director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Judy Baker and the regional administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Jeff Hinson were also in attendance. This roundtable is a part of a series of events around the country to feature models of excellence as a part of the Partnership. The roundtable highlighted Iowa’s exceptional ability to bring together the state’s major healthcare stakeholders and discuss how the national scope aligns with Iowa’s care providers.
A press event succeeded the roundtable, where the Tom Evans, MD, President & CEO of the IHC announced that 100% of Iowa’s health systems and hospitals have signed the pledge. Dr. Clancy and Judy Baker recognized Iowa as the first state in the Nation to accomplish this charge.
However, this is just the beginning of the journey. IHC, in partnership with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, will be launching a statewide readmission reduction strategy later this year to assist the healthcare community in working to enhance the quality of care for Iowans. The strategy will showcase the best practices and champions in the state, while aligning and equipping Iowa physicians and hospitals with the framework needed to move forward.
Click here for the slides of Dr. Clancy's presentation.