HomeImproving Healthcare for Populations & Communities
Electronic health records (EHRs) give physicians a powerful tool for preventing errors, measuring performance, and sharing information with patients and other providers. As more practitioners adopt EHRs and make them part of the patient care process, they also are relying on them to coordinate individual care and manage population health.
Information & Quality Healthcare (IQH) as Mississippi’s Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) is an ally in this effort. From August 2011 through July 2014, physician practices are encouraged to take advantage of IQH assistance with clinical data reporting and to join in local improvement initiatives that leverage EHR functionality in increasing rates of preventive services and decreasing cardiac risk factors.
New Ways to Work Together
The latest in improvement science, including new models for accelerating and spreading change, has changed the QIO program’s approach. This means providers have more and different ways to be a part of QIO initiatives. QIOs are also functioning differently. Rather than limiting their role to technical assistance, they are convening statewide learning and action networks (LANs) that recognize everyone has knowledge that can contribute to better care. By participating in a LAN, healthcare providers can harness the power of a 24/7 community for addressing common challenges, connect with a peer facility for mentoring, and be the first to know about improvement breakthroughs. Through participation, they can then replicate them in their own facilities or practices.
IQH program initiatives for improving population and community health through effective use of health information technology currently include:
- Increased rates of preventive screenings
- Reducing cardiac risk factors
- Supporting more and better clinical quality data
- Connecting EHRs to quality improvement
For more information about improving health for populations and communities, contact IQH.
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