NASHVILLE, Tenn. Health systems across the country are thinking about the Triple Aim – improving health of populations, improving patient experiences and reducing health care costs. To meet this Triple Aim, health systems need accurate measurements to guide quality improvement and transformation strategies.
To that end, the Safety Net Consortium of Middle Tennessee (SNCMT) has joined the Mid-South Practice Transformation Network (Mid-South PTN), led by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and is extracting data from chosen measures for a comprehensive report, including the following:
- Quality measures:
- Preventative care and screening: positive depression screening and follow-up
- Colorectal cancer screenings
- Diabetes: A1c poor control
- Utilization measures:
- Reduction in emergency room visits
- All cause readmissions
- Back pain imaging with no red flags
According to Stacy Gourley, Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative Program Manager for the Mid-South PTN and Quality Improvement Program Manager for the SNCMT, this work is important to patient outcomes because the aims and goals of transformation put the patient at the center of care. “This effort is focused on engaging the patient in their care management,” she said. “When the patient is empowered to play an active role in their care management, the patient’s outcomes are greatly improved.”
She added, “We’ll start seeing cost savings due to decreasing hospital readmissions and unnecessary Emergency Department visits.”
The Mid-South PTN is part of the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI), a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) program, which awarded $685 million to 39 national and regional healthcare networks and supporting organizations in 2015. Its goal is to help equip more than 140,000 health care providers with the tools and support needed to improve quality of care, increase patients’ access to information and reduce costs. It is one of the largest federal investments designed to support doctors and other clinicians in all 50 states through collaborative and peer-based learning networks.
Part of that includes a $28 million award to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the Mid-South PTN, which aims to help more than 4,000 clinicians in the Southeast. The award supports a partnership between Vanderbilt, the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network (VHAN), Baptist Memorial Health Care Corporation and the SNCMT. The Mid-South PTN supports health centers and health care providers serving diverse patients populations in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas with informatics tools, training and community/stakeholder engagement to provide the best possible care to their communities.
After little more than a year in the Mid-South PTN, the SNCMT clinics are excelling in key areas of practice transformation including reporting utilization and quality measures. “As our members take advantage of support and training, coupled with data-driven decision-making, our patients will experience an even higher level of engagement and satisfaction,” Carol Westlake, SNCMT President, commented, “We are confident that improved health and wellness in our community and more cost-effective health delivery will be outcomes of this work.”
Laura Hobson, President and CEO of Faith Family Medical Center, added, “Faith Family Medical Center is pleased to partner with TCPI to regularly access and track patient data. We believe that over time, this will change provider practices and improve patient outcomes.”
“It’s going to impact these clinics in several ways,” Gourley said. “Because they can access this data, track it and improve these quality measures, they will receive incentive dollars as part of the transformation program. This will greatly impact the patient’s quality of care. Ultimately, the quality of healthcare will improve, and costs will decrease.”
About the Safety Net Consortium of Middle Tennessee
The Nashville Consortium of Safety Net Providers was created in 2000 through memorandums of agreement between all existing primary care safety net providers and six of the nine hospitals in Nashville and the Metro Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson Country (MPHD). The purpose of the consortium was to provide access to appropriate level care for the uninsured population of Nashville through the establishment of a system of information and care coordination. By September 2001, the consortium has expanded to include all dental care, mental health care and substance abuse care safety net providers. Eventually, all nine hospitals in Nashville also became members.
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Founded in 1999, the Alliance bridges the institutions of Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Its mission is to enrich learning and advance clinical research in three primary areas -- community engagement, interprofessional education and research -- by developing and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the communities they serve. Through community engagement, the Alliance serves a large community of stakeholders including surrounding universities and colleges, community organizations, faith-based outlets and community health centers. Its interprofessional education enhances students' interdisciplinary understanding and improves patient outcomes through integrated care. The research conducted provides access to experienced grant writers and materials supporting the grant application process and facilitates grant-writing workshops.
