Quality and Performance Reports
I am pleased to share our 2010 quality/performance report with our patients. In our initial 2009 report, I mentioned that the “results are intended to drive improvement efforts – efforts that require active involvement of our patients”.
That intention remains unchanged. Measuring and reporting quality outcomes is a means to an end. It encourages us to find ways to improve care, continually assess what we do, learn from our shortcomings and celebrate our successes.
We are seeing many stakeholders in the health care system (insurance companies, hospital systems, government bodies) developing physician “scorecards” so they may “grade” physician performance. Ostensibly designed to improve patient care, many of the improved measures turn out to be self serving (Hey – we’re #1!) and lack relevance for patients.
It seems to me that patients are much more interested in the global aspects of care. Ultimately it is your overall experience that matters most.
2010 Quality Report Summary Points –
- The current report includes a new measure looking at our consultation – referral process. We set a goal to improve the efficiency, communication and patient perceived value of our consultations.
- Another 2010 goal focused on improving our blood pressure measures. Patients able to get their blood pressure under 140/90 improved from 50% to 85%. Sodium restriction efforts, home blood pressure monitoring, and medication adjustments appear to be the major reasons for the improved results.
- Diabetes measures for 2010 have been expanded beyond the glyco hemoglobin (A1C) value. We developed a better tool so that we may track multiple measures for all our patients with diabetes. I commend our patients for the improvement in the A1C measure of overall glucose control. 45% in 09 and 66% in 2010!
- Although our practice has grown, the same day appointment and wait times are holding steady.
- Our cancer screening measures for mammography and colonoscopy declined in 2010. Mammography decline is partly due to data collection barriers and perhaps the recent conflicting recommendation guidelines. Colonoscopy screening is limited by its high cost, high anxiety, and high “yuck” factor. Yearly stool test kits are an acceptable alternative for those patients who decline the colonoscopy study.
Click here to view the 2010 Quality Report and let us know if you have suggestions for other measures that may be important to you.
Click here to view the Quality Improvement Goals for 2011
Mike, Marilyn & Margaret |
