Quality Support Services, Maine Network for Health… We are a regional Quality Improvement resource for facilitating and leading quality improvement initiatives in physician practices, health centers and hospitals.

WHAT WE DO

Provide onsite Quality Improvement coaching for existing or new teams working on various redesign strategies to improve patient care, patient safety and overall quality of healthcare delivery.

Conduct Readiness Assessments and onsite consulting with focus on infrastructure, processes and clinical/service outcomes related to quality improvement; we use NCQA or BTE criteria and Clinical Microsystem as major assessment tools.

Host work groups that provide specific tools and resources that will assist healthcare organizations to measure, learn and improve using current models and best practice standards in primary care (Patient Centered Medical Home, Open Access Scheduling, Diabetes, Heart/Stroke and COPD).

Engage physician practices and health centers using a team approach to obtain national recognition as a Patient Centered Medical Home. To accomplish this, we offer an initial free consultation with key personnel to get things started.

Deliver short-term workshops, web-based presentations and other educational forums on pertinent topics and issues that impact physician practices. This includes the latest information on various recognition programs, including Maine Health Management Coalition’s Pathways to Excellence (PTE), Bridges to Excellence (BTE) and National Committee of Quality Assurance (NCQA).

Lead Collaboratives (IHI’s model) designed for physician practices and other healthcare organizations that focus on practice redesign, clinical guidelines, technology advancements and all components of the Chronic Care Model (CCM).

Assist with technology initiatives driven by hospitals or practices in response to recent EMR Meaningful Use funding available in 2010 and beyond. Workflow redesign and implementing any new technology will add value to the patient experience and to the practice’s overall efficiencies.

BENEFITS

QI coaching is a value added resource for your current teams who are working on various improvement efforts. Coaches teach others on the team for usually three to six months in duration. This role can help organize and facilitate team meetings, develop a strong work plan and provide various QI tools and resources.

Readiness assessments of your organization will strengthen your practice by understanding your strengths and areas for improvement as a first step. This gap analysis will address barriers and opportunities for change as part of your strategic planning process.

Work groups bring other practice managers or team members together to follow a schedule of activities that have a determined purpose, usually six months in duration. Sharing and learning is a foundational element with education, training and an abundance of resources available based on the work group topic. (PCMH, Diabetes, Heart/Stroke and Open Access).

Educational workshops provide information virtually so that staff can remain at the practice without traveling to a specific location. MNH and other physician hospital organizations host WebEx’s that focus on a variety of topics about best practices implemented in primary care. Education staff is critical in advancing quality in the healthcare industry.

National standards help you redesign your practice to provide better patient care. Using them as a guide for practice change, the benefits to meeting national standards include improved provider and staff satisfaction, improved patient safety and satisfaction, and improved clinical outcomes. NCQA’s PPC-PCMH national recognition is highly recommended by MNH.

Collaboratives are an educational opportunity for practice staff to build team skills, learn and apply best practices and strategies, and measure and track outcomes over time. Usually held over 12-18 months, the teaching-learning process benefits the entire healthcare team.

Collaboration with statewide groups and other physician hospital organizations, Quality Support Services staff offers current information on emerging trends in primary care, on pay for performance incentives and other issues that impact primary care. Keeping up to date is important to your financial future.

Technology advancements (EMR, Registry, E-prescribing, Secure email, etc) along with process improvements will enhance your work life, staff and provider satisfaction, and patient satisfaction with increased efficiencies and services.

ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND RESOURCES (Partial listing)

NCQA Assessment Tool (PPC-PCMH) – Standards 1-9
Clinical Microsystem 5Ps: Purpose, Patterns, Professionals, Patients and Processes
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) resources
BTE (Bridges to Excellence) assessments
Office Practice Survey for Primary Care (PCPs and Specialists)
IHI: Planned Care for All Conditions
IHI: Access & Efficiency
Patient Experience Surveys
Staff Satisfaction Surveys

CURRENT OR RECENT QUALITY-FOCUSED INITIATIVES

Patient Centered Medical Home “Pilot”: This three-year initiative sponsored by Maine Quality Counts is a payment reform effort that supports the transformation of 26 practices to Medical Home status. MNH quality advisors/coaches are working with four practices in our eastern Maine region to achieve NCQA’s recognition at Level 1, 2, or 3.

NCQA Work Group: This work group focuses on preparing for application to PPC-PCMH over six months of meetings, educational workshops, onsite visits, chart reviews and face to face meetings. MNH Quality Advisors are working with three practices from Dover-Foxcroft, Bangor and Newport.

Behavioral Health Integration: MNH is project manager for this three year grant received by Quality Counts, effective January 2010. Its purpose is to recruit practices and health centers interested in integrating behavioral health specialists with primary care at some level and measuring the outcomes using current metrics.

Clinical Pharmacy Services (CPS) Integration: MNH recently co-led an internal team at PCHC (Bangor) as part of HRSA’s Clinical Pharmacy Services Collaborative project. This effort compliments the medical home concept and uses the pharmacist as an important team member in the care of patients with chronic conditions. Educational outreach and medication management are two key elements in CPS.

Open Access Scheduling: Through Maine Practice Improvement Network, quality advisors have led efforts in moving practices to a more open access scheduling (or sometimes called ‘same day access’) strategy so that patients can get an appointment with their provider on the same day the patient wants or needs to be seen. This removes triaging and holding slots for acute only appointments.

Chronic Care Technology Grant: MNH held positions as project director and collaborative coordinator for two 12 month Collaboratives in Penobscot and Aroostook counties. Topic: Using Technology for Patient Care Management. We coached 20 teams focused on improving patient safety and quality of care, improving the transfer of patient information across the healthcare system and improving timeliness, efficiency and effectiveness of services. Funding was provided by AHRQ to The Aroostook Medical Center.

MAJOR PARTNERS/RESOURCES