CEO Update: Summer Travels

It officially summer and that means our team is on the road visiting rural communities across the state to bring you great programs and discuss the needs in your communities. One of the biggest needs that remains today is for help in the areas of IT and quality improvement.

As you may recall, back in 2009/2010 the Federal Government authorized funding for hospitals and clinics to implement electronic medical records (EMR) with the intent of facilitating meaningful exchange of data, commonly referred to as Meaningful Use. These funds were used to implement the EMR which included workflow analysis to ensure data was entered in the correct place to “meaningfully” report. However, there were several detrimental gaps in the process and in communication to users regarding how to get the data out of the system, how to cope with the change that required providers to now talk with patients while performing data entry into the EMR, and how to use this new found data for improving quality.

The good news is CRHC has had ongoing quality improvement programs for rural hospitals and clinics since late 2010 when we started the Improving Communications and Readmission Program (iCARE). The even better news is that CRHC is launching a new quality improvement program called Colorado’s Rural Sustainability Program (CORS). The CORS Program will have four overarching measures:

Reduce All Cause Readmissions
Reduce Chronic Disease
Increase Community Engagement
Increase Cost Savings

The CORS measures all contribute to increasing the sustainability of rural communities and access to care. CRHC will be applying for several grants and working with participating hospitals and clinics in the areas they are in most need of assistance. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

As the use of the data to improve quality is important, so is keeping up with the newest health technology and innovations. Healthcare technology is rapidly evolving and rural communities are facing challenges in terms of sustainability and access. Technology can assist and aligns with the Colorado HIT Roadmap in areas such as care coordination, outcomes and adherence to treatment, and patient engagement. Through participation in the Health Innovation Workshops you will have the opportunity to share how technology is not working for you, learn about the current innovations, HIT efforts through the Roadmap, and future innovation.

CRHC is partnering with the Office of e Health Innovation and Prime Health to bring three regional Health Innovation Workshops for you to network with your peers, learn about the current innovations, and learn about HIT efforts through the Roadmap and future innovation.

ONE FREE WORKFLOW ANALYSIS WILL BE RAFFLED AT EACH OF THE MEETINGS.

Join us this summer: