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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TRINITY PHYSICIANS PRESENT FORWARD LEAPS IN QUALITY TO NATIONAL ASSOCIATION IMPRESSIVE GAINS IN MULTI-YEAR EFFORT GETTING NATIONAL RECOGNITION TYLER, TX (March 15, 2006) – In just the second year of a three-year effort to meet and exceed national healthcare quality standards, Trinity Mother Frances Health System is being recognized for the outstanding strides they are making. Two TMFHS physicians leading the quality improvement effort were invited to give a progress report and “lessons learned” presentation to the American Medical Group Association during the group’s national meeting in San Antonio this March. To date, physicians at the Trinity Clinic (the area’s oldest and largest multispecialty physician group, with more than 150 physicians and mid-level practitioners representing 25 specialties, with more than 30 local and regional facilities) are ranking at national or above national levels for standards of care. Many landmark studies have demonstrated the problems with quality in medical care. For example, in 1999 the Institute of Medicine found that nearly 100,000 people a year died in U.S. hospitals simply due to medical errors. The March 2006 issues of The New England Journal of Medicine also contained results of a national study that tracked 439 indicators of quality care and concluded that most U.S. patients receive proper care only 55 percent of the time. These trends were unacceptable to the TMFHS leadership. That’s why they took a strong position in 2004-TMFHS would meet and exceed national healthcare quality standards in order to bring the best possible care to its patient population. “These tremendous strides could be largely due to the fact that there is great cooperation between Trinity Clinic and Mother Frances Hospital. It’s rare to have a large physician group and a hospital work so closely together,” says Meg Reitmeyer, MD an endocrinologist with TMFHS and chairwoman of the quality improvement initiative. The TMFHS board decided to focus on 10 parameters connected to quality of care that-if implemented properly-would improve patient care while potentially having a positive impact on a variety of conditions and complications. For example, one of the parameters focuses on improving documentation using information technology, specifically using the electronic medical record. The reasoning works in this way: if a physician accurately documents a patient’s diabetes then their diabetes will be properly controlled because the system will flag issues of concern thus lessening the patient’s chances of kidney disease or blindness. “Patients know they will get the national best practice because the doctors at TMFHS have the incentive to document the treatment given,” says Dr. Reitmeyer.
Ten parameters ranging from rates of mammograms, to screening for colorectal cancer to controlling high blood pressure to childhood immunizations, are being tracked as measures of quality of care. TMFHS is not only using its EMR system to track information but also using the combination of physician education, financial incentives, better workflow and clear standards of quality in order to set measurements of success and to improve patient care. Among the findings presented at the AMGA conference, staff education proved to be a crucial component, changing the workflow to focus on both quality measures and on actions that affect quality showed to be vital, as well. Teamwork between physicians, nurses, the front offices, quality improvement staff, IT personnel, and between primary care doctors and specialists should be promoted to ensure patient is being tracked appropriately. The most important lesson learned-that data management was essential but difficult especially when the date was scattered throughout the organization. “We’re determined to keep improving the care we are giving to our patients, especially because of the ripple effects we can generate that will impact many other conditions,” says Steven P. Keuer, MD, Executive Vice President of Trinity Mother Frances Health System and one of the physicians that presented this study at AMGA’s national meeting. For more information on Trinity Mother Frances Health System visit www.tmfhs.org. Trinity Mother Frances Health System is comprised of Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler, Mother Frances HospitalJacksonville, and Trinity Clinic. Trinity Clinic is the most-preferred multi specialty physician group serving east, northeast and north-central Texas, with physicians representing 33 medical specialties.
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