Resource Search Results

Health Center Investments in Enabling Services Associated with Better Outcomes (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This factsheet provides analysis of the health center data from the 2015 Uniform Data System (UDS). The data highlights that enabling services staffing and costs are associated with better national quality measures, including higher rate of HbA1c < 8%, higher rate of controlled hypertension, higher cervical cancer screening, and higher child immunization rate. More Details...

Staff Orientation to the use of Health Information Technology (HIT) to achieve the Triple Aim - Part I: Part 1 of 3: Effectively Using Data to Improve the Patient Experience (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: A custom, health-center focused eLearning module for onboarding and orienting clinical and administrative&nbsp;health center staff to&nbsp;the Triple Aim and their important role in collecting accurate and timely information to support informed decision-making.&nbsp; The first aim &ndash; Patient Experience &ndash; is addressed in this module with a focus on the many staff a patient interacts with during a visit who impact the patient&rsquo;s care.&nbsp; ** Please note that viewing issues have been identified when using the Internet Explorer 11 browser. The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers. The series is best viewed in either Chrome, Firefox, or&nbsp;IE Edge browsers. More Details...

Data Dictionary Tool and Template: Organizational tool for your EHR and analytics platform data indicators (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This&nbsp;Data Dictionary provides a single point of reference for data mapping and interpretation for all of the indicators in your quality reports. Organization of the data definitions in this tool provides a reference for the team of all such definitions that impact reports and alerts in the analytics application. This&nbsp;Data Dictionary provides a single point of reference for data mapping and interpretation for all of the indicators in your quality reports. Organization of the data definitions in this tool provides a reference for the team of all such definitions that impact reports and alerts in the analytics application. For example, it provides a format to document all items in a given report, and related EHR data. That application may be the EHR or an analytics platform that is tied to the EHR. Anyone with questions about where data is being pulled from for any indicator can reference the Data Dictionary without analyst security privileges or expertise within the analytics tools. The Data Dictionary should be curated by analysts and made available on a shared drive or company intranet. Download the Excel tool below to see a full example and additional instructions.&nbsp; Also, see the companion Quality Report Inventory tool here. More Details...

Demystifying Predictive Analytics: Factsheet on Predictive Analytics for Health Centers (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Using predictive analytics in health care is an emerging field, especially for health centers. This tool will provide a brief explanation of the purpose of predictive analytics, the ingredients necessary to apply these methods, and ways that health centers are using this approach to improve results. The objective of this resource is to help health center leadership and staff understand how and when predictive analytics can help them, and to think about how predictive analytics might fit into their data-driven QI program. This one-page brief outlines the basics of this complex topic. We define predictive analytics and describe how health centers are adopting this innovation. Sources and uses of data for making predictions are discussed, and specific applications of predictive analytics are described.&nbsp; Specific health center examples are offered to illustrate the potential of predictive analytics for health centers. More Details...

Increasing Access To Care Through Contracting for Dental Services: Promising Practice (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This promising practice describes how a community health center in Wisconsin utilized contracting with local dentists to expand dental services at the health center. More Details...

Advancing Health Care Through Care Coordination (2017). Resource Type: Archived Webinar. Description: Care coordination emphasizes collaboration between providers to increase quality of care and ultimately improve patient outcomes. In addition, this model can help reduce the overall cost of care by reducing medication errors, repetitive tests, and prevent hospital admissions. During this webinar, panelists share information about their care coordination efforts and offer important considerations for health centers hoping to start, improve, or expand care coordination programs. More Details...

Prioritization Matrix: A framework for selecting QI activities or project (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: It is sometimes difficult to know what target metric to focus on when beginning a quality improvement project. A prioritization matrix is a management tool that uses a simple framework to compare multiple options side-by-side using standard criteria.&nbsp;This version includes four criteria and can be adapted for your purposes. What is it and how can it help me? It is sometimes difficult to know where to start when approaching several opportunities to improve care process that emerge from a quality improvement project. A prioritization matrix is a management tool that uses a simple framework to compare multiple options side-by-side using standard criteria. &nbsp; Download one of the prioritization matrix tools below. One is for selecting a target for a QI Project (e.g., hypertension control, colorectal cancer screening, immunizations, etc.) The other is for selecting among potential improvements identified. These are word documents that you can further edit for your own purposes. &nbsp; Prioritization Matrix for Selecting Target for QI Project Using the Guide to Improving Care Processes and Outcomes in Health Centers or beginning another QI project, a number of potential targets will be identified (e.g., hypertension control, diabetes control, colorectal cancer screening, no show rate, etc.) List those potential enhancements in the Opportunities to improve target performance column in this matrix. Rate each possible target according to the scale provided. You can also leave a column blank if you don&rsquo;t find it relevant, just be sure to leave it blank for all options. When rating External requirement consider whether this target metric is related to required reporting, such as UDS, or even more that one reporting requirement? If yes, rate it a 3, otherwise, rate as a 2 for something that is desired or is tangentially related, or a 1 if it is not required for external reporting. When rating Cost consider how substantial the financial investment would be for addressing the target being considered? If the financial investment is relatively low, then rate it a 3. Rate a 2 if a moderate financial investment would be required, and rate a 1 if the activity would require a substantial financial investment, (i.e., the cost is high). When rating Difficulty, you may consider whether you currently have the staff, referral relationships, or other key components that are critical to addressing that target. For example, if you do not have an OB/GYN or someone appropriate to conduct pap tests on staff, and you don&rsquo;t have an existing referral relationship with a provider who completes pap tests in your community, then targeting cervical cancer screening for improvement would be difficult. When rating Impact, consider how large of an impact addressing the target could have. For example, are there a large number of patients with the condition or in need of the screening? Is current performance particularly low such that a change could result in significant improvement? Once all potential enhancements are listed and ratings are in each column, add all columns together to identify the items that are likely to have the biggest greatest impact with the most efficiency. Those potential enhancements that have the highest score (=external requirement + cost + difficulty + impact) may be the best enhancements to try first. &nbsp; Prioritization Matrix for Selecting Improvement to Test Using the Guide to Improving Care Processes and Outcomes in Health Centers or beginning another QI project, a number of potential targets will be identified (e.g., hypertension control, diabetes control, colorectal cancer screening, no show rate, etc.) List those potential enhancements in the Opportunities to improve target performance column in this matrix. Rate each possible target according to the scale provided. You can also leave a column blank if you don&rsquo;t find it relevant, just be sure to leave it blank for all options. When rating External requirement consider whether this target metric is related to required reporting, such as UDS, or even more that one reporting requirement? If yes, rate it a 3, otherwise, rate as a 2 for something that is desired or is tangentially related, or a 1 if it is not required for external reporting. When rating Cost consider how substantial the financial investment would be for addressing the target being considered? If the financial investment is relatively low, then rate it a 3. Rate a 2 if a moderate financial investment would be required, and rate a 1 if the activity would require a substantial financial investment, (i.e., the cost is high). When rating Difficulty, you may consider whether you currently have the staff, referral relationships, or other key components that are critical to addressing that target. For example, if you do not have an OB/GYN or someone appropriate to conduct pap tests on staff, and you don&rsquo;t have an existing referral relationship with a provider who completes pap tests in your community, then targeting cervical cancer screening for improvement would be difficult. When rating Impact, consider how large of an impact addressing the target could have. For example, are there a large number of patients with the condition or in need of the screening? Is current performance particularly low such that a change could result in significant improvement? Once all potential enhancements are listed and ratings are in each column, add all columns together to identify the items that are likely to have the biggest greatest impact with the most efficiency. Those potential enhancements that have the highest score (=external requirement + cost + difficulty + impact) may be the best enhancements to try first. More Details...

Health IT enabled Quality Improvement Project Charter: The first step in a QI project. (2017). Resource Type: Publication. Description: &nbsp;A Project Charter&nbsp;serves as a reference of authority for the future of the&nbsp;project. Creating a Project Charter and getting sign off from all participants gives all involved the authority to begin the work outlined therein. The task of developing the Project Charter builds understanding, consensus, and clarity about purpose, expectations, roles and responsibilities, and communications. Why develop a Quality Improvement Project Charter? Formalizes authority to dedicate resources (such as staff time) to the QI project Defines the purpose and expectations for the QI project Identifies key stakeholders to engage in QI project Clarifies roles and responsibilities of the QI Lead and QI Team members Assures commitment and support for QI project from leadership and QI Team members Provides a sustainable framework for any QI Project A Project Charter&nbsp;serves as a reference of authority for the future of the&nbsp;project. Creating a Project Charter and getting sign off from all participants gives all involved the authority to begin the work outlined therein. The task of developing the Project Charter builds understanding, consensus, and clarity about purpose, expectations, roles and responsibilities, and communications. Download the Project Charter (Word document)&nbsp;below to use with your QI team. It is important that this be completed with your QI team and leadership. Also, be sure to be as specific as possible when completing your QI charter, as this will be your reference for all things related to your project.&nbsp; For example, rather than say you will hold monthly meetings, be specific that meetings will be the third Wednesday of the month at 9am. Another example, for the communication plan, be specific as to exactly who needs to be communicated with at what frequency, and through what channels. More Details...

Health IT and QI Workforce Development: Onboarding for Success: 11/29 HITEQ Highlights Webinar Transcription (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: A transcription of the November 29th HITEQ Highlights webinar.  After a brief introduction to HITEQ and this Resource Set, this webinar will highlight two specific tools for onboarding new staff into your health center with a focus on speeding the onboarding of Health IT and QI staff. The webinar will delve into the two onboarding tools - the Calendar and the Sample of a Staff Member’s Dashboard for Required Tasks, showing how they are meant to be used and how you can customize them for your needs. More Details...

Health IT-Enabled Quality Improvement: A Guide to Improvement: 10/4 HITEQ Highlights Webinar Transcription (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: A transcription of the October 4th HITEQ Highlights webinar. A transcription of the October 4th HITEQ Highlights webinar.  Improving care delivery is a business and mission imperative for health centers, and the HITEQ Center offers a growing collection of tools and services to support this journey. The foundation for these particular offerings is the "Guide for Improving Care Processes and Outcomes in FQHCs."  This web-based resource provides step-by-step guidance on understanding and improving workflows and information flows that drive performance on key targets such as hypertension control and colorectal cancer screening. Guide centerpieces include worksheets for documenting, analyzing, sharing and improving care processes for such targets. Strategies and tools in the Guide have been used successfully in various quality improvement (QI) initiatives, and a HITEQ Center focus is spreading this value more quickly and widely among health centers. This introductory training session introduces health centers and their partners to the Guide's proven approaches, worksheets and other health IT-enabled QI tool More Details...

Providing Civil Legal Aid Through Medical-Legal Partnerships: A Critical Enabling Service for Health Centers Serving Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA&NHPIs) (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This case study highlights how a health center serving a high immigrant and limited English proficient patient population, including Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA&NHPIs) integrated civil legal aid into its services through a medical-legal partnership (MLP) approach in order to address the social determinants of health (SDOH). Lessons learned in conducting this case study show that the MLP approach is essential to health care transformation and quality improvement. The approach encourages collaboration between health care providers and legal teams to work together to improve clinical practice and institutional policies to better respond to patients’ needs. More Details...

Guide to Improving Care Processes and Outcomes in Health Centers: An approach to quality improvement (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: The quality improvement QI approach outlined in this Guide can be used to augment current QI approaches used in your health center, or can serve as a placeholder QI methodology when there isn’t already a robust QI process in place. It provides a framework and tools for documenting, analyzing, sharing and improving key workflows and information flows that drive performance on high-stakes care performance measures, and related improvement imperatives. This webpage provides strategies and tools that health centers and their partners can use to enhance care processes and outcomes targeted for improvement, such as hypertension and diabetes control, preventive care, and many others. More Details...

Safety in the Health Care for the Homeless Settings: Consumer Perceptions and Advice (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Responding to the findings of a recent survey conducted by the HCH National Consumer Advisory Board, this resource provides recommendations for developing physical spaces that promote well-being, considerations for vulnerable populations, and strategies for providing workforce and staff support. More Details...

Using Health Center Needs Assessments To Address Legal Needs (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This fact sheet outlines how health centers can use community needs assessments to understand and meet their patients’ health-harming civil legal needs. More Details...

Health IT Staff Resume Screening Tool: A template for Human Resources and Hiring Managers (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This is a list of key words and phrases that can be used to pre-screen resumes for HIT/QI jobs to help quickly identify candidates for an additional screen. More Details...

Health IT Staff Recruitment Strategies: A template for Human Resources and Hiring Managers (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This resource provides ideas about the latest recruiting tips used by community health centers as well as leading organizations from other industries. Review the strategies and identify ones that could work in your organization.&nbsp; Adapt them as necessary to fit your particular needs and resources. This resource provides ideas about the latest recruiting tips used by community health centers as well as leading organizations from other industries. Review the strategies and identify ones that could work in your organization.&nbsp; Adapt them as necessary to fit your particular needs and resources. More Details...

Health IT Interviewing Questions: Examples for Human Resources and Hiring Managers (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This resource provides a list of sample questions that can be used to interview job candidates. The questions are organized into four categories: 1) questions for HIT staff positions; 2) questions for quality improvement staff positions; 3) questions for either position; and 4) questions for senior HIT or Quality positions. &nbsp; This resource provides a list of sample questions that can be used to interview job candidates. The questions are organized into four categories: 1) questions for HIT staff positions; 2) questions for quality improvement staff positions; 3) questions for either position; and 4) questions for senior HIT or Quality positions. &nbsp; These questions are intended to be a menu of items that an organization can pick or choose from, adapt to meet their organization&rsquo;s needs, or use to generate additional/new questions. More Details...

Motivating Factors for Engaging in Health IT Enabled QI: Guidance for Health Center Leadership and Partners (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This white paper explores what is bringing a health center to the world of Health IT Enabled QI and lays out some motivating factors and barriers as well as what skill areas may need further consideration in planning next steps. Health centers across the country have a high EHR adoption rate and most have been using an EHR for several years. However, we know that the proliferation of EHRs and their companion reports have not always lead to accurate and robust data that can be used for quality improvement. Many challenges have been identified, including provider workflow and training issues, challenges with scalability, and limitations to data that can be extracted from various EHR systems. In response, a need has been identified for tools and resources that can guide health centers and those working with health centers through some key skill areas in the pursuit of Health IT Enabled QI. More Details...

Engaging the Data Creators: Involving Front-Line Staff in the Health IT Enabled QI Process (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: This brief discusses the importance of including frontline staff such as front desk, intake staff, and medical assistants in Health IT Enabled QI process, as they are often the &lsquo;data creators&rsquo; or the ones entering the information into the system. Real world examples as well as suggested approaches and further resources are included. The data that is generated within health centers through entry into the EHR or practice management system and used for myriad purposes such as decision support, reporting, and quality improvement is often input by front-line staff. This may include front desk staff who enter information on intake forms, medical assistants who enter height, weight, and vital signs, among others. Another way to look at it is the information that health center leadership, providers, and payers are using to make decisions is often &lsquo;created&rsquo; by entry level staff that may have less training and higher turnover. For these reasons, it is critically important to consider these &lsquo;data creators&rsquo; in quality improvement activities that are undertaken. More Details...

Accessing your Data: Questions to Consider with your EHR Vendor (2016). Resource Type: Publication. Description: Intended to assist in ensuring full use and understanding of capabilities of current system and assessing the need for additional population health management or data integration tools, this checklist describes the steps health center quality improvement and IT staff can take to ensure they are maximizing the population health management and other capacity of current systems. It Included are questions around the system itself, report generation, training, and resulting data, as well as considerations before and after you contact your vendor. This checklist describes the steps health center quality improvement and IT staff can take to ensure they are maximizing the population health management capacity of their current EHR system. It is intended to assist health centers in ensuring they are utilizing the full capabilities of the current system and assessing the need for additional population health management tools. Included are questions around the system itself, report generation, training, and resulting data, as well as considerations before and after you contact your vendor.&nbsp; It&rsquo;s important to note that these questions are just meant for consideration. Not all of the features or aspects discussed will be relevant for your health center, and no system nor approach will check all the boxes. Use this to guide your thinking and discussions so you are able to get a robust understanding of what your EHR is capable of, and what you may need to find elsewhere or find other ways to address. Download the&nbsp;checklist below. More Details...