Four States Partner to Serve as Quality Innovation Network
Lincoln, NE (PRWEB) March 24, 2014 -- The Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota are pleased to announce the formation of a new regional Quality Innovation Network (QIN). The Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, CIMRO of Nebraska, North Dakota Health Care Review, Inc., and the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care have aligned to form a new not-for-profit organization - the Great Plains Quality Innovation Network. Each of these organizations has a long history of working collaboratively together, serving as their state’s QIO and improving the quality and efficiency of health care in the region.
The development of Great Plains Quality Innovation Network reflects recent changes to legislation that impacts the structure of the QIO program. The QIO body of work will be split into two separate contract structures - one for medical case review, performed by Beneficiary Family Centered Care QIOs (BFCC-QIO), and one for quality improvement and technical assistance QIOs, performed by Quality Innovation Network QIOs (QIN-QIO). Beginning in August 2014, the QIN-QIO program will include an increased emphasis on patient engagement, regional collaboration via multi-state contracts, and a sharper focus on quality improvement. Great Plains Quality Innovation Network has submitted a proposal to CMS to serve as the QIN-QIO for the four-state region of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
While the Quality Innovation Network structure requires a multi-state region approach, much of the work will be performed on a statewide level. Each of the four QIOs will continue to offer tailored education, tools and resources to healthcare providers in each state. Opportunities and successes will be collected in each respective state and extended throughout the four-state region. This alliance will also offer greater opportunities to collaborate with and learn from providers across state lines while maintaining access to local QIO resources.
The QIN-QIO program will include three primary areas of focus, with tasks in support of each goal outlined below:
Prevention and treatment of chronic disease
o Improving cardiac health and reducing cardiac healthcare disparities
o Reducing disparities in diabetes care
o Improving prevention coordination through Health Information Technology
Patient safety
o Reducing healthcare-associated infections in hospitals
o Reducing healthcare-acquired conditions in nursing homes
o Improving care coordination
Better care at lower cost
o Quality improvement through physician value-based modifier and feedback programs
o Quality improvement through hospital value-based purchasing
If awarded the QIN-QIO contract, Great Plains Quality Innovation Network will oversee the administration of the contract throughout the four-state region, with the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, CIMRO of Nebraska, North Dakota Health Care Review, Inc. and the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care all serving as subcontractors.
Letters in support of Great Plains QIN’s proposal to CMS were provided by the State Offices of Rural Health, the Hospital Associations, the Long-Term Care Associations, the State Health Information Exchanges and the Medical Associations in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Great Plains QIN is comprised of a close-knit group of states that share a commitment to quality of care and ensuring patients receive the right care, at the right time, every time. Each QIO brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and relationships to the partnership as well as similar provider make-up, core issues and geography. This joint venture provides the opportunity to pool these resources and common elements into an organization that can best serve the needs of healthcare providers and Medicare beneficiaries in the region.
Great Plains QIN looks forward to sharing progress with the community about this exciting collaboration in the months to come.
Keri McDermott, CIMRO of Nebraska, +1 (515) 986-3966, [email protected]
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