What's New at the Center?
The Center for Practice Innovation Final Project
Michael Barr and Paula Woodward were busy in May re-visiting seven of the CPI practices. The purpose of the visits was to capture on film some of the lessons learned during the two-year project by interviewing lead physicians, staff and patients. The practices were chosen based on a broad range of problems encountered and/or addressed during the project. The following physicians were interviewed: Arvind Cavale in Feasterville, PA; Christopher Mays in Olney, MD; Faith Protsman in Gilroy, CA; Jacqueline Fincher in Thomson, GA; Barbara Magera in Charleston, SC; Mohammed Ismail & Zahid Nazir of Waterford, NY; and Keith Michl of Manchester Center, VT.
Over forty-five hours of interviews were obtained that are presently being distilled to just one hour. While the post-production process is tedious, the jewels being plucked out are absolutely priceless. Although our sample size of patients was small (15), each of the patients stated how important access (scheduling, telephonic and electronic access), courtesy, and friendliness were to them. The following comment was made by one observant patient, “…the front office staff makes or breaks an office – just like a wife makes or breaks a husband!” Other comments included, “…he never makes you feel rushed,” “he’s always thorough… and they treat you like family,” and finally, “I want a doctor who treats me like a person, not a number.” These are wise words for the successful practice to heed.
We anticipate the final product being ready for distribution in September. At the current time, we are planning on distributing a one-hour DVD, and uploading an “expanded” version to the website. The expanded version will contain two appendices containing the very interesting practice histories as well as the minimally edited physician interviews.
Results of Project Being Submitted for Publication
Some of the rich experiences and lessons learned about small practices during the CPI project have been explored in two articles currently being submitted for publication. Michael Barr, Will Underwood, Paula Woodward, and Johns Hopkins researchers Jill Marsteller, and Chun-Ju Hsiao co-wrote a description paper entitled, “Improving Quality of Care and Practice Management in Small Internal Medicine; Practices: Lessons from the Center for Practice Innovation” and a safety paper tentatively entitled, “Patient Safety Improvements in Small Internal Medicine Practices.” The descriptive paper has already been submitted for consideration, and we are currently working on the final draft of the safety paper.
CPI Inspired Internal Medicine 2008 Courses
Two IM08 programs were developed based on small practice needs “discovered” during the CPI project. A two-day course called “Focus on the Practice – Challenges, Choices and Change” was among the pre-session offerings. Among the great panel of speakers, CPI physician Georgia Newman of Oberlin, OH delivered a presentation about the challenge and impact of changing telephone systems to improve quality and efficiency. The evaluations were extremely positive!
Drs. Christopher Mays and Jacqueline Fincher, along with their respective office managers Dawn Cook and Pam Shivers, gave presentations during a regular session course entitled, “Innovation in Practice: Exploring the Impact of Practice Redesign, Quality Improvement, and Information Technology on the Economics of Physician Offices.” This course also received high ratings. Clearly, physicians are interested in hearing how other practices cope with common problems.
EHR Partners Program
In response to member needs for guidance in the selection and implementation of practice-based Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, ACP has developed the EHR Partners Program. The EHR Partners Program is a service offered exclusively to members and is a collaborative effort between ACP and participating certified EHR companies (the “EHR Partners”). Current EHR Partners are listed in the table below. Additional EHR Partners are expected to be added as this program matures.
Using the tools provided by the EHR Partners Program, ACP members can review information on EHR systems that have been certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT). CCHIT certification focuses on baseline criteria for functionality, security and interoperability. The EHR Product Selector Tool, developed exclusively for ACP members, is an interactive comparison tool to assist physicians in narrowing their EHR choices. Physicians can:
- search for EHR partner systems that match a selected set of criteria or
- choose among the set of EHR partners to compare across criteria.
The tool was unveiled during Internal Medicine 2008 to much enthusiasm. To access the tool here.
Finally:
While the “Center for Practice Innovation” ceased to exist as of June 30, 2008, the staff and cumulative knowledge continue as part of the larger Center for Practice Improvement and Innovation. The goal of the new center is to provide support for ACP membership. ACP staff members are actively exploring ways to re-design ACP materials and tools to meet your needs and make them more usable. Staff members are also developing new, robust tools designed to help you with technology and improved outcomes.
Those involved in the CPI project have collectively taken quite an amazing journey during these past two and a half years. Thanks to the generosity of the Physicians’ Foundation for Health System Excellence who funded this project with a $1,000,000 grant, the enormous challenges faced on a daily basis by small internal medicine practices have been documented. Your voices have been heard at the highest levels of the College and, in turn, pressure has been placed at the highest levels of government on your behalf.
In spite of the hardships, your optimism for the future remains. That optimism may waiver some, yet it endures. Your love of being a physician and helping patients in physical and mental pain continues to guide you.
Thank you.
Page updated: 8-5-08
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