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Healthcare Journal of NEW ORLEANS
I
NOV / DEC 2013
53
Cindy Munn is
Executive Director,
Louisiana Health Care
Quality Forum
of care to empower patients with the infor-
mation necessary to make informed deci-
sions about their health is another valuable
quality initiative in Louisiana, says Bobbie
LeBlanc, PCMH Program Manager.
“PCMH extends well beyond the walls
of a doctor’s office. It is about arming the
patient and the patient’s family with access
to community-level resources, a person-
alized health care team, and preventative
care. To achieve lasting improvements in
health outcomes, patients must have effec-
tive communication with their providers
and patient-centered coordination of care,”
LeBlanc says. “The patients should always
be the most important people in health care,
and the PCMHmodel ensures that they are.”
As the nationmoves forward with the im-
plementation of the ACA, says Blanchard,
the spotlight on quality improvement in
health care will shine even brighter. By
making strategic investments in data-driv-
en care delivery improvements, health IT,
and patient-centered care models, Louisi-
ana is well-positioned to accomplish lasting
change in care quality, health outcomes, and
costs for its residents, she says.
“Since the passage of theAffordable Care
Act, the emphasis on quality has increased
exponentially,” Blanchard says. “Through
designed coordination of its initiatives, the
Quality Forum is following the National
Quality Strategy guidelines to implement
evidence-based practices that will meet the
long-standing health care challenges faced
by Louisiana.”
n
The Quality Forum, in collaboration with
health care stakeholders across the state,
is focusing on the development of value-
based services such as emergency depart-
ment utilization, population healthmanage-
ment, quality measurement reporting, pre-
dictive analytics, and point of care decision
support through the Louisiana Health In-
formation Exchange (LaHIE), according to
Brian Richmond, Chief Technology Officer.
These services are still in development and
pilot phases, but when complete, they will
enable health care providers and hospitals
to capitalize on data assets, he notes.
“For example, patient readmission rates
are among the biggest cost drivers for hos-
pitals, and it’s an issue that has been tar-
geted for improvement under health care
reform,” Richmond explains. “Through
predictive analytics, a hospital can review
the medical history and previous treatment
processes of a readmitted patient and iden-
tify the areas in which improvements can
be made, and the end result will be reduced
costs for the hospital and improved out-
comes for the patient.”
Blanchard adds, “Managing this kind of
complex data can be a daunting challenge
for providers and hospitals. By developing
these analytics services and making them
available through LaHIE, we are improv-
ing the workflow of these providers and en-
hancing the quality and safety of the care
they provide while reducing negative health
outcomes and health care costs for the resi-
dents of the state.”
The state’s use of health IT is another facet
of its multi-prong approach to the NQS, ac-
cording to Nadine Robin, Health IT Program
Manager for the Quality Forum. As Louisi-
ana’s only Regional Extension Center (REC),
the Louisiana Health Information Technol-
ogy (LHIT) Resource Center has helped to
spur electronic health record (EHR) adop-
tion among the state’s health care provid-
ers and hospitals. This technology, a critical
component of the NQS, enables health care
providers and facilities to more accurately
track patients’ progress across the contin-
uum of care, she says.
“Multiple studies have shown that ex-
tremely high percentages of doctors and
hospitals that have implemented EHRs are
reporting better patient care and improved
clinical practices,” Robin notes. “For these
providers, it’s not just about reducing costs–
although EHRs are designed to do that, too–
it’s about providing better health outcomes
for their patients.”
Not only are EHRs designed to improve
health outcomes for patients, they may also
contribute to reduced costs by eliminating
the need for redundant medical procedures
and tests for patients and by reducing the
administrative burden on clinical staff,
Robin adds.
“But perhaps the most important value
of EHRs, in terms of the National Quality
Strategy, is their potential to improve overall
quality of care for the patient,” Robin con-
tinues. “Apatient in a rural hospital can have
his or her critical test results reviewed by a
specialist who is hundreds of miles away. A
primary care physician can follow-up with
a patient after a hospital discharge and po-
tentially prevent a readmission. A pharma-
cist can identify a patient’s medicine aller-
gies and prevent a patient from receiving a
possibly lethal prescription. These are very
real, very valuable quality improvements
for patients.”
An increased focus on the PCMH model
Bobbie LeBlanc
LHCQF, PCMH
Program Manager
Nadine Robin
LHCQF, LHIT
Resource Center
Program Manager
Marcia Blanchard
LHCQF, Director of
Operations
Brian Richmond
LHCQF, Chief
Technology Officer