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52
NOV / DEC 2013
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Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS
The NQS, developed in 2011 by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices (HHS) as part of the Affordable Care
Act (ACA), sets priorities to guide efforts
to increase access to high-quality, afford-
able health care for Americans. The three-
pronged approach established by the NQS
focuses on improving the overall quality of
care, supporting resources that improve
health at the community level, and re-
ducing health care costs.
The strategy highlights six pri-
orities to achieve these aims:
safer delivery of care; engaging
patients in their care; promot-
ing care coordination; uti-
lizing the most effective
practices for the leading
Louisiana has consistently ranked among
the lowest in the nation in terms of health
care quality and health outcomes and
among the highest in per capita health costs.
However, by developing a framework that
meets the challenges specific to care quality,
health outcomes, and health care costs,
Louisiana is making strategic health care
improvements that align with the priorities
set by the National Quality Strategy (NQS).
causes of mortality; establishing commu-
nity-level resources to enable healthy living;
andmaking quality care more affordable for
individuals, families, employers, and gov-
ernments by establishing new health care
delivery models.
The Louisiana Health Care Quality Fo-
rum, as part of its focus on quality improve-
ment, is working to build an infrastructure
founded in health information technology
(IT) and the patient-centered medical home
(PCMH) model of care to address these pri-
orities for the state, says Marcia Blanchard,
Vice-President of Operations.
“The Quality Forum’s approach has been
to use the National Quality Strategy aims
and priorities, as they complement the
Triple Aim, as a platform for our organiza-
tional goals for improving the state’s health
care system,” says Blanchard. “The Quality
Forum’s transformational priorities are in-
creasingly focused on the development of
best practices for the utilization of technol-
ogy and data to achieve improvements and
reduce costs across the continuum of care.”
She notes that the state is working to
align measures to collect data, measure
improvement, and enhance public report-
ing. In addition, she says, Louisiana is mak-
ing significant progress in efforts to share
appropriate data with clinicians who are
undertaking quality improvement efforts
and with consumers making care decisions.
“The Quality Forum is making key invest-
ments in the development and delivery of
comprehensive analytics as a platform for
quality improvement programs,” she ex-
plains. “In our current evolving health care
environment, there is a growing emphasis
on trusted and actionable data as a driver
for true improvements across health care
systems. The assembly and organization of
this data can be leveraged to identify and
address the issues our state faces in terms
of health care delivery and health outcomes
while reversing the trend of rising costs.”
Quality Investments
In Louisiana’s Health:
Supporting the National
Quality Strategy
QUALITY
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Cindy Munn