QIOs in Action

Qualis Health Launches Educational Videos on Care Transitions

Qualis Health, the Medicare QIO for Idaho and Washington, produced two brief online videos in support of the Care Transitions project in Whatcom County, Washington. The videos were produced to promote the initiative, extend the reach of the evidence-based interventions and reinforce local partnerships and community support among key audiences. Within the first month, the videos were viewed more than 500 times. Watch the videos at: http://www.SteppingStonesWhatcom.org/learn/videos.cfm

MPRO’s Patient Coaching Initiative Reduces Readmission Rates by 50 Percent

MPRO, the Medicare QIO for Michigan, has reduced local hospital readmission rates through its Care Transitions project targeting the counties of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham. Since the project’s inception, the readmission rate among the 40 participating patients at Ingham Regional Medical Center dropped to 12.5 percent, down from the facility’s all-cause readmission rate of 22.5 percent. The national readmission rate for Medicare patients is 17.6 percent.

QIOs Awarded Federal Funding to Help Physicians Adopt Health IT

The Federal HITECH Act authorized the creation and funding of Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers (RECs) to accelerate the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs). RECs will offer technical assistance, guidance and information to bring 100,000 primary care providers to Meaningful Use of EHRs as defined by CMS within two years. The following QIOs lead the REC in their respective states:

• Arkansas Foundation For Medical Care
• IFMC (Iowa)
• CIMRO of Nebraska
• QSource (Tennessee)
• Stratis Health (Minnesota)
• Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, Inc.
• Qualis Health (Washington and Idaho)
• VHQC (Virginia)
• HealthInsight (Utah and Nevada)
• MetaStar, Inc. (Wisconsin)
• Kansas Foundation for Medical Care, Inc.
• Quality Insights of Delaware
• eQhealth Solutions, Inc. (Louisiana)
• Mountain-Pacific Quality Health Foundation (Montana and Wyoming)
• Quality Insights of Pennsylvania, Inc. 

For more information on the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center Program, visit: http://healthit.hhs.gov.