Q is for Quality

How a CQMS can change your primary care practice.

When Dr. Jean Malouin sees any one of thousands of patients at the University of Michigan Health System Department of Family Medicine, she already knows the questions to ask. Since 2000, Dr. Malouin has used a clinical quality management system (CQMS) in her practice. Her staff runs a quick report that accompanies the chart—a single sheet that prompts her as to the patient's medical history, conditions, and any exams or tests due.

Dr. Malouin relies on a CQMS to be more efficient with her and her patient's time, as well as increase the quality of care she provides. She says, "I honestly can't imagine practicing primary care without it."

Primary Care Practices Benefit from:

Enhanced care for all patients
Greater patient satisfaction by ensuring all their needs are addressed
Increased revenue with more billable services and pay-for-performance participation
Lower operating costs with increased efficiency of the entire care team
Clinically-validated scorecarding through provider quality data
An investment in the future by capturing the data required for yet-undefined future quality programs

What is a Clinical Quality Management System?

A CQMS is a real-time dashboard for patient care. Whether electronic or paper-based, the system manages clinical records to keep staff informed on the status of each patient. At the time of a patient visit, a simple form produced by the system will prompt providers as to services the patient needs—preventive, screening, or chronic disease management—and supply the necessary snapshot of their medical history. For the entire patient population, a CQMS helps a practice remind each patient of needed services by generating call lists and customized mailings. And, as a database of care information, it provides reports to help practices identify how to increase the quality of care they provide and support their participation in incentive-based quality programs, such as pay-for-reporting.

How a CQMS benefits a practice and its patients.

Clinical data, which is data not affected by the documentation needs of reimbursement, is difficult to capture without a system focused on clinical quality. Yet this data is essential for providing patients with the best care possible. A CQMS collects and compiles clinical data in ways that drastically benefit an entire primary care practice:

Increases the quality of care. At the heart of any CQMS is patient care. Proactively recommending needed services, sending regular care reminders, and providing more efficient point-of-care services will keep patients healthier, happier, and better-informed.
Supports quality programs. Participating in pay-for-performance programs and physician scorecarding is a challenge for many primary care practices. A CQMS can track performance and generate reports based on metrics from a variety of quality programs, including national standards organizations such as the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
Increases practice revenues. Immediate knowledge of needed patient services means a practice can deliver more billable services. More efficient visits lets a practice receive more patients each day, increasing billable time. Automated visit reminders generate more opportunities for patients to receive care. And, a CQMS helps practices participate in pay-for-performance and pay-for-reporting initiatives.
Reduces operating costs. A CQMS will produce reliable patient reports decreasing the need for time-consuming chart pulls as well as increasing the efficiency of each patient visit. System-generated care reminders reduce the amount of work required to understand services due for each patient.

As the demands upon primary care providers continue to grow, a CQMS can be a stronghold in managing a successful practice. Not only will it benefit a practice's bottom line by improving efficiency and supplying a means to participate in pay-per-performance initiatives, a CQMS will, more importantly, significantly increase the level of care that every patient can receive.

Dr. Malouin relies on her practice's CQMS because she says, "It simplifies my life as a clinician...[I] can focus on the main reason why the patient came in for the visit."

Not only will a CQMS benefit a practice's bottom line, it will, more importantly, significantly increase the level of care that every patient can receive.

Clinical Quality Management Newsletter

Volume 1 Issue 1 - April 2008

INSIDE THE ISSUE

CQMS in a Primary Care Practice

10 "Must Haves" in CQMS

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