MAHEC IPIP

Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP)

Improving Performance in Practice Quality Improvement Collaborative Series Schedule: Next meeting in February or March 2010, registration flyer will be posted in early 2010.

The healthcare system has become very complex, with multiple competing demands and several impending changes such as pay for performance, physician recertification, electronic health records, electronic information sharing, e-prescribing, etc. Although many primary care practices understand the need for changes, most do not have the resources or infrastructure to make those needed changes. Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) is aimed at transforming the way we deliver healthcare by giving doctors the tools, systems and support they need. A national initiative now active in seven states, IPIP is designed and driven by physicians, not insurance or research. IPIP will provide in-office assistance to physician practices to improve quality of care, efficiency and satisfaction for both patients and the healthcare team. This innovative approach allows physicians and their office staff to analyze processes of care and redesign practice specific mechanisms to improve patient care - without leaving the practice setting. Practices will initially use diabetes and asthmas as the content around which to develop efficient patient-centered systems (that can then be used as they expand to other areas).

Benefits

Free, on-site support and consultation
Tool and methods for quality improvement and system changes
Access to national leaders in quality improvement
Prepare for certification and recognition programs that are usually the first step in pay for performance (e.g., NCQA Diabetes Physicians Recognition Program, Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition)
Planning for pay for performance initiatives (e.g., PQRI at CMS)
Physician Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part IV credit. See the following website for more information. http://www.abms.org/Maintenance_of_Certification/MOC_competencies.aspx
Up to 20 hours of Category 1 CME credit
Assurance of support for IPIP from highest levels including American Board of Medical Specialties
Small stipend for the practice
Help establishing a database of your patient population (via your EHR or other disease registry)
Access to (aggregate) data from other participating practices for comparison
Opportunities to meet with and learn from other practices
Improved quality of patient care
Better patient and staff satisfaction
Enhanced practice efficiency
Increased staff skills and capacity for quality improvement and patient care management

Methods

A basic hallmark of the IPIP initiative is the designated Quality Improvement Consultant (QIC); s/he will work onsite with the practice leadership team to develop a practice-specific redesign plan. The plan may utilize the resources of collaborating experts in multiple areas including but not limited to:

Implementation of systems change
Disease registries
Quality improvement principles
Work flow analysis
Advanced access scheduling
Chronic Care Model
Population-based care management
Team building and communication
Patient centered medical home

Quality Improvement Consultants and the North Carolina AHEC System

Currently, there are over ten (10) Quality Improvement Consultants (QICs) active in North Carolina. Each QIC is employed through a regional area health education center; there are nine regional AHECs in North Carolina, plus the main program office in Chapel Hill. These QICs collaborate with AHEC continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education staff at the AHECs to serve physician practices. QICs also collaborate with the state division of public health and its chronic disease initiatives, various Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) networks (Medicaid), and many others. Additional collaborators at state and national levels are listed below.

Regional Collaborative Meetings

Each region in the state holds quarterly mini-conferences (regional collaborative meetings). These meetings (held in the evening, over dinner, and usually at the regional AHEC), are designed to provide information, education, networking, and learning. National level experts associated with IPIP provide foundational information as well as initiative updates; practices also make mini-presentations to showcase their work in quality improvement. In a relaxed but interactive atmosphere, participants share information, brainstorm, and problem solve. With the guidance of the QIC and experts, each region also establishes a set of quality improvement goals for the next three months (quarterly). The first two meetings held at South East Area Health Education Center (SEAHEC) included videotaped presentations made by Warren Newton, MD, MPH (Newton is the Executive Associate Dean for Education at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Chair of Family Medicine). Newton is a major IPIP leader, both in North Carolina and nationally. See below (under More Information) for a link to view those presentations.

More Information

IPIP Overview
IPIP – What You Can Expect from Participation
IPIP Diagram (key methods, activities, areas of focus, and outcomes)
IPIP Background and Timeline
The Chronic Care Model
The Quality Improvement Model
IPIP Measures – Diabetes and Asthma
Videotaped presentations made by Warren Newton, MD, MPH (held at the South East Area Health Education Center regional meetings)

The Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view these documents. If Acrobat Reader is not installed on your computer, click this link to download it.

If you are interested and would like to learn more, please contact Nina B. Vinson, MPH Quality Improvement Consultant, at 828-771-4232 or via email.