Newswise — ALEXANDRIA, VA— The American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) today announced participants in a collaborative dedicated to finding best practices in managing patients with heart failure (HF). AMGF, with support from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, is providing funds for quality improvement initiatives focusing on care management for patients with HF, a chronic disease that affects 5.1 million people in the U.S.(1) Recipients are medical groups, IPAs, academic practices, and integrated delivery systems that responded to a request for proposals distributed in June 2015.
The Best Practices Learning Collaborative is designed for organizations that are striving to improve the care of patients with HF. Working together, participants will improve care, deliver better value to patients, increase efficiency, and improve the health of their patients with HF. Particular attention will be paid to the reduction of HF-related readmissions. The collaborative is intended to leverage key learnings and facilitate a how-to approach to treating patients with this chronic condition.
The following medical groups received $10,000 educational grants to support their quality improvement efforts through participation in the Best Practices in Managing Patients with Heart Failure (HF) Learning Collaborative:
Centura Health, Colorado Springs, CO Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH Cornerstone Health Care, High Point, NC Mercy Clinic East Communities, Washington, MO NorthShore University Health System, Evanston, IL OhioHealth MedCentral Health System, Mansfield, OH Summit Medical Group, Berkeley Heights, NJ TriHealth, Cincinnati, OH University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA USMD Health System, Irving, TX University of Utah Medical Group, Salt Lake City, UT Valley Medical Group, Ridgewood, NJ
In addition, six medical groups have been invited to participate in the collaborative on an unfunded basis:
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Pearland, TX Mount Kisco, Mount Kisco, NY Premier Medical Associates, Monroeville, PA PriMed Physicians, Cincinnati, OH Springfield Clinic, Springfield, IL Watson Clinic, Lakeland, FL
The groups will participate in a kick-off meeting held in Orlando, Florida, on November 11-13, 2015. The meeting will provide an opportunity for groups to network with their peers and to officially present their team’s project to the collaborative.
The HF Learning Collaborative is supported by an Advisory Committee of physicians and quality improvement experts to help guide the development of the collaborative:
Robert W. Brenner, MD, MMM, Valley Health System Mae Centeno, DNP, RN, CCNS, ACNS, Institute for Chronic Disease and Care Redesign, Baylor Scott & White Health Leonard Fromer, MD, Group Practice Forum Kim Newlin, RN, CNS, NP-C, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association (PCNA) Ravi Ramani, MD, UPMC Integrated Heart Failure Randall C. Starling, MD, MPH, Cleveland Clinic
“In today’s healthcare environment, quality outcomes in treating patients with chronic conditions will increasingly affect provider organizations’ bottom line,” said Donald W. Fisher, PhD, CAE, president and chief executive officer of the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and secretary of the AMGF board. “Participation in the AMGF Best Practices in Managing Patients with Heart Failure (HF) Collaborative will give these groups mission-critical experience in engaging primary care and specialty departments in performance measurement and improvement for patients with heart failure and addressing the risk factors that contribute to this disease.”
The program offers a shared learning environment where participants can exchange strategies and experiences as they work to improve the care provided to patients with HF. Through a yearlong series of activities, participating organizations will have the opportunity to test approaches and design care processes that are relevant to their clinical and operational models. As a result, best practices will be developed and shared around the work of the collaborative groups. The collaborative begins in November 2015 and ends in November 2016.
About AMGFThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) supports AMGA members in their efforts to enhance population health and care through integrated delivery systems. The coordinated healthcare delivery model practiced by member groups is becoming the model of choice for quality, cost-efficient care. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, AMGF supports critical research, demonstration projects and learning collaboratives that translate into the innovative practices that enable AMGA members to produce continued, positive improvement in patient outcomes and care experiences. These activities enable them to remain on the vanguard of quality health care. www.amga.org/foundation
About AMGAThe American Medical Group Association (AMGA) represents some of the nation’s largest, most prestigious medical practices, independent practice associations, accountable care organizations, and integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA's mission is to support its members in enhancing population health and care for patients through integrated systems of care. More than 170,000 physicians practice in AMGA member organizations, providing healthcare services for 120 million patients (approximately one in three Americans). Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for these organizations, providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs, publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. www.amga.org
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2015. Heart Failure Fact Sheet. Available atwww.cdc.gov/DHDSP/data_statistics/fact_sheets/fs_heart_failure.htm.
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