Our group practice tops PSHA Community Checkup
August 11, 2011
For the fifth report in a row, Group Health’s group practice received the most top ratings on quality care measures in the Puget Sound Health Alliance (PSHA) Community Checkup, which was released last week. Our ratings, based on a reporting period from July 2009 through June 2010, improved—despite the fact that part of that time we didn’t have access to quality data reporting due to work on other high-priority organizational commitments.
The Community Checkup reports on performance related to the treatment of asthma, diabetes, depression, prevention of certain diseases, and the use of antibiotics and generic medications.
On the 19 measures, Group Health ranked:
- Above regional average: 12
- At regional average: 7
- Below regional average: 0
The report covers the year of July 1, 2009–June 30, 2010 and reviews 80 medical groups and more than 300 clinics in Western Washington.
Medical home contributes to quality scores
During the measurement period, we were spreading the medical home model to all Group Health Medical Centers locations. “When our patients come to us for care, we’re able to identify their holistic needs—including preventive and chronic conditions—in addition to treating the acute purpose of their visit,” says Alicia Eng, interim vice president for Primary Care.
If the patient has a chronic condition, the doctor and patient develop the treatment plan together and the patient may work with a nurse educator, complex care manager, or other team member to help achieve their goals.
Clinical pharmacists also work routinely with care teams to identify patients with diabetes, asthma, and high cholesterol who could benefit from medications. They join with our physicians in encouraging the use of generic medications, which save the patient money in co-pays.
Specialty contributes to prevention
Consultative Specialty Services has also pioneered new ways to integrate with primary care teams to deliver higher quality care. Teams are now reconciling medications, providing more coordinated after-visit summaries, and assisting patients who are due for preventive screenings by encouraging them to schedule—and helping them schedule—those appointments.
“Our next great leap will be in the area of the 'proactive' specialty encounters where quality care gaps are visible to the specialty teams. As part of those visits, specialty will do its part to remind patients to get the care they need,” says Marc Mora, MD, medical director for Consultative Specialty Services.
Depression score climbs in latest PSHA results
One score that improved this year is the rate of patients sticking with their antidepressant use after three months. Primary Care acted to make depression measures more visible to clinicians, especially when their patients have a major health problem.
In addition, Behavioral Health Services Director of Clinical Operations Julie Lindberg led up the development of a group psychotherapy program which includes ongoing eight-week skills sessions to help patients learn about and control their experience of anxiety and depression.
Over the past year, BHS expanded these groups from about four to 40 across its locations. The program, which was designed by frontline staff using lean tools, is being evaluated using patient-completed outcome measures which have consistently shown good results.
