Donna M. Daniel

A State-Level Application of the Chronic Illness Breakthrough Series: Results from Two Collaboratives on Diabetes in Washington State

BACKGROUND Breakthrough Series Collaboratives addressing chronic conditions have been conducted at the national level and in single health care delivery systems but not at the state level. Two state-level collaboratives were conducted: Diabetes Collaborative I (October 1999-November 2000) included 17 clinic teams from across the state, and Diabetes Collaborative II (February 2001-March 2002) included 30 teams and 6 health plans. METHODS Both collaboratives took place in Washington State, where a diverse group of primary care practices participated, and health insurance plans partnered with the clinic teams. Teams individually tested and implement changes in their systems of care to address all components of the Chronic Care Model. RESULTS All 47 teams completed the collaboratives, and all but one maintained a registry throughout the 13 months. Most teams demonstrated some amount of improvement on process and outcome measures that addressed blood sugar testing and control, blood pressure control, lipid testing and control, foot exams, dilated eye exams, and self-management goals. CONCLUSION The benefits of holding collaboratives more locally include increased technical support and increased participation, translating into wider implementation of prevention-focused, patient-centered care.

Case Studies from Two Collaboratives on Diabetes in Washington State

Two individual teams, one from a small, rural clinic and one from a larger urban health system, were able to introduce innovations in care and realize improvement in patient outcomes.

Assessing Progress toward Becoming a Patient-Centered Medical Home: An Assessment Tool for Practice Transformation

Objective. To describe the properties of the Patient-Centered Medical Home Assessment (PCMH-A) as a tool to stimulate and monitor progress among primary care practices interested in transforming to patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). Study Setting. Sixty-five safety net practices from five states participating in a national demonstration program for PCMH transformation. Study Design. Longitudinal analyses of PCMH-A scores were performed. Scores were reviewed for agreement and sites were categorized over time into one of five categories by external facilitators. Comparisons to key activity completion rates and NCQA PCMH recognition status were completed. Data Collection/Extraction Methods. Multidisciplinary teams at each practice completed the 33-item self-assessment tool every 6 months between March 2010 and September 2012. Principal Findings. Mean overall PCMH-A scores increased (7.2, March 2010, to 9.1, September 2012; [p < .01]). Increases were statistically significant for each of the change concepts (p < .05). Facilitators agreed with scores 82% of the time. NCQA-recognized sites had higher PCMH-A scores than sites that were not yet recognized. Sites that completed more transformation activities and progressed over defined tiers reported higher PCMH-A scores. Scores improved most in areas where technical assistance was provided. Conclusions. The PCMH-A was sensitive to change over time and provided an accurate reflection of practice transformation.

Unlocking the black box: supporting practices to become patient-centered medical homes.

Background:Despite widespread interest in supporting primary care transformation, few evidence-based strategies for technical assistance exist. The Safety Net Medical Home Initiative (SNMHI) sought to develop a replicable and sustainable model for Patient-centered Medical Home practice transformation. Objectives:This paper describes the multimodal technical assistance approach used by the SNMHI and the participating practices’ assessment of its value and helpfulness in supporting their transformation. Results:Components of the technical assistance framework included: (1) individual site-level coaching provided by local medical home facilitators and supplemented by expert consultation; (2) regional and national learning communities of participating practices that included in-person meetings and field trips; (3) data monitoring and feedback including longitudinal feedback on medical home implementation as measured by the Patient-centered Medical Home-A; (4) written implementation guides, tools, and webinars relating to each of the 8 Change Concepts for Practice Transformation; and (5) small grant funds to support infrastructure and staff development. Overall, practices found the technical assistance helpful and most valued in-person, peer-to-peer-learning opportunities. Practices receiving technical assistance from membership organizations with which they belonged before the SNMHI scored higher on measures of medical home implementation than practices working with organizations with whom they had no prior relationship. Conclusions:There is an important role for both local and national organizations to provide nonduplicative, mutually reinforcing support for primary care transformation. How (in-person, between-peers) and by whom technical assistance is provided may be important to consider.

How 3 Rural Safety Net Clinics Integrate Care for Patients: A Qualitative Case Study

Background:Integrated care focuses on care coordination and patient centeredness. Integrated care supports continuity of care over time, with care that is coordinated within and between settings and is responsive to patients’ needs. Currently, little is known about care integration for rural patients. Objective:To examine challenges to care integration in rural safety net clinics and strategies to address these challenges. Research Design:Qualitative case study. Participants:Thirty-six providers and staff from 3 rural clinics in the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative. Methods:Interviews were analyzed using the framework method with themes organized within 3 constructs: Team Coordination and Empanelment, External Coordination and Partnerships, and Patient-centered and Community-centered Care. Results:Participants described challenges common to safety net clinics, including limited access to specialists for Medicaid and uninsured patients, difficulty communicating with external providers, and payment models with limited support for care integration activities. Rurality compounded these challenges. Respondents reported benefits of empanelment and team-based care, and leveraged local resources to support care for patients. Rural clinics diversified roles within teams, shared responsibility for patient care, and colocated providers, as strategies to support care integration. Conclusions:Care integration was supported by 2 fundamental changes to organize and deliver care to patients—(1) empanelment with a designated group of patients being cared for by a provider; and (2) a multidisciplinary team able to address rural issues. New funding and organizational initiatives of the Affordable Care Act may help to further improve care integration, although additional solutions may be necessary to address particular needs of rural communities.

Development of a facilitation curriculum to support primary care transformation: the "coach medical home" curriculum.

Background:In an effort to improve patient care, retain high-quality primary care providers, and control costs, primary care practices across the United States are transforming to patient-centered medical homes. This is no small task. Practice facilitation, also called “coaching,” is increasingly being used to support system change; however, there is limited guidance for these programs. Objective:To develop an evidence-based curriculum to help practice coaches guide broad-scale transformation efforts in primary care. Methods:We gathered evidence about effective practice transformation coaching from 25 published programs and 8 expert interviews. Given limited published information, we drew extensively on our experience as leaders and coaches in the Safety Net Medical Home Initiative. Using these data, and with input from a User Group, we identified 6 curricular topics and created learning objectives and curricular content related to these topics. Results:The Coach Medical Home curriculum guides coaches in the following areas: getting started with a practice; recognition and payment; sequencing changes; measurement; learning communities; and sustainability and spread. Conclusions:Coach Medical Home is a publically available web-based curriculum that provides tools, resources, and guidance for practice transformation support programs, including practice facilitators and learning community organizers.