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Welcome to the Alliant Quality HQIC Newsletter!
We’re thrilled to be working together to make health care better. Over the next four years, the Hospital Quality Improvement Contractors (HQICs) will be working to improve behavioral health outcomes with a focus on decreased opioid misuse, patient safety with emphasis on reduction of harm, and care transitions with a focus on high utilizers.
This monthly newsletter highlights the latest insights, resources, and evidence-based best practices. Our hope is that this newsletter makes it easy for you to stay on top of trends and allows you to provide the best possible care for those you work with and serve.
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Alliant Quality Report Card: How Are We Doing?
During our Learning and Action Network (LAN) events, we share ideas to "use tomorrow" to affect change. We are curious to hear if you were able to apply the knowledge and skills shared.
Hospitals, during the February LAN event, Developing a Business Case for Infection Prevention Resources: What We Learned From COVID-19, we included the following "use tomorrow" intentions.
Click here if you were able to:
- Prioritize problems to be addressed and solutions to propose.
- Articulate references to effectively support the business case.
View Previous LAN Recordings | View Upcoming LAN Events |
Patient Safety Organization (PSO)
Hospitals participating with a Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor (HQIC) are able to meet the PSO requirement since the HQIC is involved with implementation of evidence-based initiatives to improve health care quality through the collection, management and analysis of patient safety events that reduces all cause preventable harm, prevents hospital readmissions and/or improves care coordination. Hospitals (greater than 50 beds) would meet these patient safety standards outlined in 45 CFR 156.1110.
Upcoming Submission Deadlines
New Deadline Extensions:
CMS is extending the Q3 2020 and eCQM data submission deadlines for certain quality programs in response to the Public Health Emergency. Please see the December 17, 2020 and February 8, 2021 memos that outlines the extended deadline dates.
Q3 2020 Reporting Deadlines for Hospitals
Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program:
- HCAHPS: March 17, 2021
- Population and Sampling: March 18, 2021
- Clinical, PC-01, and HAI: March 18, 2021
The Q3 2020 Hospital IQR Program Checklist, available on the Quality Reporting Center website, will assist you in meeting your Q3 2020 Hospital IQR Program submission deadlines.
Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program:
- Population and Sampling: March 1, 2021
- Clinical: March 1, 2021
PPS-Exempt Cancer Hospital Quality Reporting (PCHQR):
- HCAHPS: March 17, 2021
- HAI: March 18, 2021
Q4 2020 Reporting Deadlines for Hospitals
Hospital IQR Program:
- Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS): April 7, 2021
- Population and Sampling: May 3, 2021
- Clinical, PC-01, and HAI: May 17, 2021
Hospital OQR Program:
- Population and Sampling: May 3, 2021
- Clinical: May 3, 2021
PCHQR:
- HCAHPS: April 7, 2021
- HAI: May 17, 2021
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Upcoming Learning and Action Network (LAN) Events
Opioid Use Disorder: Closing the Loop Between Hospital and Community
Tuesday, March 23 at 2:00 p.m. ET
This presentation will dive into barriers of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) diagnosis and treatment in the hospital setting. We will cover various tools on screening for OUD while hospitalized, building a partnership within the community, and how treatment referral and peer support can be a key tool in the success of patients with OUD.
Register Now
View All Upcoming Events Here
Past Learning and Action Network (LAN) Events
Developing a Business Case for Infection Prevention Resources: What We Learned From COVID-19
Recorded on February 23, 2021
In case you missed it, this webinar provided information to assist the Infection Preventionist in developing an effective business case in order to maintain day-to-day operations and continue to respond effectively to COVID-19. Key takeaways include:
- Align goals of infection prevention program with organizational goals
- Prioritize problems to be addressed and solutions to propose
- Articulate references to effectively support the business case
Watch Video | View Slides
View All Previous LAN Event Recordings
Upcoming Partner Events
Simple STEPPS For Engaging Physician Partners to Sustain Your Safety Culture
Wednesday, March 10 at 1:00 p.m. ET
Join American Hospital Association (AHA) Team Training for this free webinar featuring Jason Cheng, D.O., Safety and Human Factors Education Co-Chair from the Kaiser Permanente Health Systems Southern California Region. We will discuss how to improve physician engagement by facilitating healthy conversations around errors and mistakes with an emphasis on how both cognitive bias affects us on an individual level, and how system and teamwork failures affect us on a team level.
Register Now
Past Partner Events
Racial Disparities at Every Stage of COVID-19: Infections, Hospitalizations, Death Rates… and Now the Vaccine
Recorded on February 12, 2021
During this webinar, we discussed how existing racial disparities and health inequities in our country have amplified the effects of COVID-19. From infection rates, hospitalizations, and deaths, communities of color have been impacted by COVID-19 at higher rates. Now, after more than a year since the world woke to a spreading viral pandemic, an effective COVID-19 vaccine offers protection and a promise of normal life. But a final-step challenge persists – getting the vaccine into the arms of people who need it most.
Listen to the Conversation
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Behavioral Health
Trends in US Emergency Departments Visits for Mental Health, Overdose, and Violence Outcomes Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A recent cross-sectional study of almost 190 million Emergency Department (ED) visits found that visit rates for mental health conditions, suicide attempts, all drug and opioid overdoses, intimate partner violence, and child abuse and neglect were higher in mid-March through October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the same period in 2019. The authors highlight the overdose trends in recent years and the role that clinicians and health systems can play to save lives.
Read More
Identifying Risks When Prescribing Opioids
When deciding whether to initiate or continue opioid therapy, it is important to carefully weigh the potential benefits against potential risks. Prescription guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) can help make those choices.
View Fact Sheet
Patient Safety
APEX Diabetes Education
Alliant Quality has partnered with Edcauses.org, the APEX Community, and the Network of National Library of Medicine to provide patient facing information on chronic conditions. Find the first presentation, given by the Georgia Diabetes Coalition, on our website.
Watch Video
Vaccine Information Statements
Federal statute requires documentation of a variety of information when immunizations are given, including the Vaccine Information Statement (VIS). The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) has resources to help ensure you’re providing patients with the most up-to-date information.
View Webpage
Pressure Injuries
The American Journal of Critical Care offers continuing education (CE) articles on specific care research through the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Learn more about avoidable and non-avoidable Hospital Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPI) and receive CE credits.
Access Article
Patient Safety Awareness Week: March 14-20
Patient Safety Awareness Week is an annual recognition to raise awareness of providing safe care to patients in healthcare settings. During the week of March 14-20, we celebrate the achievements of all patient safety professionals improving safety and reducing patient harm in the healthcare system. Two patient safety goals of the Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor (HQIC) initiative are to:
1) Reduce adverse drug events by 13%; and 2) Reduce overall patient harm by 9 by the year 2024.
The focus will be on hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) or conditions that patients develop while in the hospital for a treatment or procedure. HACs, which are preventable, include adverse drug events, infections, and pressure injuries which can cause harm to patients not to mention added hospital days and costs. To reduce these HACs and other adverse events in hospitals, patient safety topic-specific tools and resources are available on the AHRQ, IHI website.
Learn More From AHRQ | Learn More From IHI | Get Ideas to Recognize this Week from IHI
AHRQ Safety Program for Improving Antibiotic Use: Acute Care Cohort Final Report
Click on the link below to view the final report of the acute care cohort. Time Period: September 2, 2017–June 1, 2019.
Download the Acute Care Cohort Final Report
AHRQ Safety Program Helps Hospitals Decrease Antibiotic Use and Reduce Infections
A new study found that hospitals using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Safety Program decreased their use of antibiotic medications and reduced C. difficile infections—a potentially deadly condition of the colon and digestive system.
Read the Press Release
Quality of Care Transitions
Inter-Facility Infection Control Transfer Form Including COVID-19 Info
This updated Inter-Facility Infection Control Transfer Form includes new fields for hospitals and receiving facilities to document and communicate COVID-19 infection history and date of diagnosis, COVID-19 treatments received, and COVID-19 vaccination status. This form also includes important details surrounding current infections or colonization with drug resistant organisms or pathogens of interest, antimicrobial therapy, and invasive devices. Please consider using this form to enhance communication regarding patients as they transition between facilities.
Download Form
Assessing Social Determinants of Health
Implementing a process for assessing social determinants of health is an important element of a program designed to reduce unavoidable readmission. According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, "the Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients’ Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) is a national effort to help health centers and other providers collect the data needed to better understand and act on their patients’ social determinants of health. With data on the social determinants of health, health centers and other providers can define and document the increased complexity of their patients, transform care with integrated services and community partnerships to meet the needs of their patients."
The resources and strategies defined on the PRAPARE website are designed to assist facilities and providers to identify the drivers of poor outcomes and higher costs.
Visit Website
Readmissions
A Business Case for Palliative Care
Typically Palliative Care (though some organizations have renamed the care as Advanced Illness Management or Advance Chronic Illness Care) includes all forms of non-hospice care for those who have advanced chronic diseases and are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital shortly after discharge. The case management, monitoring, and attention to the patient's needs/barriers and goals has shown the ability to improve the quality and even quantity of life without frequent returns to inpatient hospital care. The National Center for Biotechnology Information makes a business case for utilizing this type of care post-discharge for some patients with advanced illnesses.
Learn More
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COVID-19 Care
National COVID-19 Resiliency Network (NCRN)
Alliant Health Solutions is partnering with Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) on a national initiative to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations. As an NCRN community partner, we invite everyone to join, engage, and subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates and information. It will take a collaborative effort to combat the negative impact of this pandemic.
Subscribe Now
Mandatory Vaccination Legislation
As the COVID-19 Vaccine becomes more widely available, the conversation around mandatory vaccination policies is coming to the forefront. Currently, lawmakers in 23 states have proposed bills to ban employers from requiring employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19. It is important to stay apprised of these bills as they come up for discussion and debate in state legislatures. For example, the bill proposed in Kansas (SB213) was written in such a way that it would prohibit all employers from taking action against an employee based on vaccination status. As written, it would have prevented healthcare organizations from implementing and enforcing existing mandatory vaccination policies for influenza, an infection prevention best practice that many hospitals have been leveraging for nearly 10 years. Fortunately, most of these bills are not gaining ground, but it is important to stay aware of their presence and work closely with your hospital associations to understand their implication on your individual organization.
Read More About the Bills | Read About the Kansas Bill (SB213)
April is National Minority Health Month
HHS Office of Minority Health has announced #VaccineReady as the theme for National Minority Health Month this April.
Learn More
Populations in Need of Extra Precautions During COVID-19
COVID-19 has affected all communities in all areas of our nation. From the very beginning, it was obvious that certain people suffered more severe consequences of infection. The CDC has resources/recommendations for extra precautions.
Learn More
COVID-19 Vaccine Resources
Alliant Quality COVID-19 Vaccine Resources
Curated resources and best practices to support long-term care facilities, clinics, providers, and staff as they navigate vaccine distribution.
Alliant Quality COVID-19 Vaccine Resources
IAC Express
The IAC newsletter is released weekly and will contain the latest news from trusted resources about the vaccine. Don't miss their video of the week.
Subscribe Now
IAC "Ask The Experts"
Do you have questions about the vaccine? The IAC has established an "Ask the Experts" COVID-19 Vaccine information page with great FAQs for providers.
View FAQs
COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet From Louisiana Dept. of Health
Information and resources about vaccine hesitancy in the African American community.
View Fact Sheet & Resources
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National Academy of Medicine: Clinician Resilience
The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated clinician burnout, and clinician well-being is essential for safe, high-quality patient care. The National Academy of Medicine has curated a collection of resources focused on clinician resilience and well-being.
View Resources
How Healthcare Workers Can Support Each Other
The current burden on healthcare workers is unique. While the general public can provide support from afar, it’s important that people on the frontlines help each other with the mental burden of this pandemic. In situations like this, the support of colleagues can make a huge difference in your day-to-day wellbeing.
Read More
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Archbold Medical Center Mobile COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Set Out to Expand Access
Archbold Medical Center staff provided COVID-19 vaccines to a group of very appreciative community members at the Boston polling site building Friday afternoon. Archbold has been operating a vaccine clinic within the hospital for several weeks, and has provided 6,650 doses so far. The Boston event was a test-run of a concept where Archbold will partner with various groups within its service area who can help reach those at high risk and may not be able to come to the hospital itself for a vaccine. This may reflect transportation issues or access to the methods of communication being used to announce availability of vaccines.
Learn More
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Hospital Quality Improvement Project Collaborators
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For more information about Alliant Quality, visit the website: www.alliantquality.org
For questions or information about free technical assistance, please contact:
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