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Spotlight
Iowa Healthcare Collaborative manages the portal for the Iowa State Innovation Model (SIM). The SIM portal collects and monitors self-reported community data, inpatient/outpatient claims data, and supplementary data from other trustworthy sources. The self-reported data include Social Determinants of Health data, community specific data, project process data, and specific cohort data (diabetes A1C level or other health outcomes data, costs of treatment, etc.). Self-reported data are entered by SIM participating entities in the community, Iowa Department of Public Health, or UnityPoint Health. The inpatient/outpatient claims data is extracted or generated from the Iowa State Inpatient/Outpatient Database and shows the performance of our healthcare system (emergency department visits, unplanned hospital readmission, Hospital Acquired Conditions and so on). Supplementary data is extracted from the U.S. Census, CDC, USDA, Kaiser Family Foundation, etc., to describe demographic characteristics, state and national benchmarks, or to calculate burden of diseases, total cost of care, etc. SIM portal data are de-identified data. The raw data cannot be shared to the public, yet aggregated state or community level reports may be requested and shared.
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SIMplify is a communication platform designed to make interacting with others simpler. From sharing documents to sharing stories to organizing meetings, this system is intended to handle the communication needs of the group. Members of SIMplify are focused on respect, consideration for other’s ideas, collaboration, and fairness.
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Iowa Hospital Association - Hospital Day on the Hill, Advocacy Training, and Reception
February 27
State Capitol and State Historical Building
Event Registration (link)
Physician Business Leadership Certificate Program
February 27 – September 10 (quarterly sessions)
Des Moines
Event Registration (link)
Iowa Hospital Association Risk Management Conference
March 14
Des Moines
Event Registration (link)
Iowa SIM Learning Community
March 28
West Des Moines
Event Registration (Link)
Event Brochure (PDF)
Iowa Medical Society and Iowa Pharmacy Association Host: Burnout and Resiliency Programming: Awareness, Management, Care
2019 locations (12) throughout Iowa
Event Details (Link)
Iowa Healthcare Collaborative Annual Forum on Healthcare Transformation: Pathways to the Future
April 10 – 11
West Des Moines
Event Registration (Link)
Agenda and Information (PDF)
Poster Symposium Guide (PDF)
Iowa Governor’s Conference on Public Health: Stronger Collaborations, Better Health: Bringing Organizations Together to Improve Systems
April 23 – 24
Des Moines
Updates (Link)
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The Iowa State Innovation Model (SIM) is aimed at improving healthcare quality, effectiveness, and efficiency through population-based, community-applied solutions. In pursuit of these aims, a portion of SIM funding and technical assistance is deployed at the local level to facilitate community health management initiatives.
More information (link) about SIM is located on our website.
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Tools, Links and Resources
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Statewide Strategies
Throughout the last year together in the Statewide Strategies segment of the SIM newsletter, we have dived deep into nearly all aspects of the statewide strategies from how they were developed, their structure and format, and into all manners of content and guidance held within them. While we have always been certain to call out the inclusion of data and the call for its meaningful use to drive change, we have yet to give any real attention to that omnipresent and ubiquitous goal: Data.
“Using data strategies to drive improvement and demonstrate value-based care” represents the fourth goal across all twelve of our statewide strategies. The goal is set as the final goal of our strategies not because it is least among the goals, but rather because it is at the core of each of the goals that come before it, whether focused on prevention or treatment, at the point of care or in cross-system applications. The strategic use of data goes beyond simply capturing data to inform, but the use of data to demonstrate improvement and enable greater communication and collaborations – through sharing and availability of data, by use of shared language (i.e. common metrics and definitions), and real-time applications of that data.
The strategic and meaningful use of data goes beyond simply keeping track of check marks and tallies, numerators and denominators. The use of both qualitative and quantitative data is required in order to paint a complete picture that can be used to assess current reality and to design what can be in the future. In fact, the statewide strategies outline the use of data to add value in three typical ways:
- Promoting and optimizing Health Information Technology to facilitate convenience and comprehensiveness of data and data sharing.
- Development of common metrics and definitions, aligning national quality conventions and streamlined processes across settings to facilitate shared language and better collaboration.
- Inclusion of quality data and measures in publicly available reports for transparency and engagement of public stakeholders and champions.
The meaningful use of data truly can be the catalyst for empowering and equipping people to be agents for change and partners in the process. Through shared access to information we can make informed decisions, identify key collaborators and stakeholders, and hold ourselves accountable for the change we wish to see – tracking what works and what doesn’t so we can be the best stewards of time, resources, and intentions and challenge ourselves to always aim higher.
Check out any and every statewide strategy (link) to see for yourself how the intentional and responsible use of data is being used to advance health and wellness throughout Iowa.
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Data Corner
Responsible Reporting of Healthcare Information and Data
In an ideal market-based world, healthcare should satisfy the following data related expectations:
- Healthcare patients, payers, and providers can easily tell the cost of any treatment.
- Consumers and payers have enough information to compare the cost and quality of care to make informed decisions.
- Health and treatment data can flow seamlessly between patients, payers, and providers to support continuity of care and reduce duplication (especially when there are several providers and data systems).
- Healthcare staff are trained in in data collection, validation, analysis, and communication.
- Data reporting is efficient, and healthcare providers get to focus on patients rather than paperwork.
As of January 1, 2019, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate all American hospitals to post their standard charges online for all services and items provided, in an effort to increase price transparency. This certainly is a big step towards data transparency and price compare; however, healthcare quality data was not required in this rule, and patients need to be aware that high price does not always equal high quality. To help patients compare quality of care, Medicare.gov (link) has a Hospital Compare (link) that compares Medicare-certified hospitals on general information, patients experience, timely and effective care, complications and deaths, unplanned hospital visits, use of medical imaging, and payment and value of care. Medicare.gov (link) also supports the locating and comparing of Medicare physicians and other clinicians (link), long-term care hospital (link), nursing home (link), Medicare health and drug plan (link), home health services (link), dialysis facility (link), inpatient rehabilitation facility (link), and hospice agency (link).
Iowa Healthcare Collaborative has been promoting data transparency in Iowa since 2005, by providing the Iowa Report (link), a free online hospital compare tool that shows national, state, and hospital-specific quality and value performance. Besides checking online scores, patients can ask healthcare providers about “treatment options and costs, potential treatment risks, realistic outcomes,” and more. On the other hand, American Medical Association suggests physicians “disclose any financial and other factors that could affect the patients care,” “disclose relevant treatment alternatives, including those that may not be covered under the patient’s health plan,” and “encourage patients to be aware of the provisions of their health plan.”
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Pharmacy Corner
Pharmacists have a wealth of knowledge on medications. Unfortunately, most pharmacy systems are not connected to the clinic or hospital electronic medical records. Some hospitals have provided read-only access to pharmacists who can message the healthcare providers through their electronic medical records. This is a great way to have access to pharmacy data and know exactly what medications the patient is taking. By sharing data, patient’s medication lists will be up-to-date and assist in preventing adverse drug reactions. Reach out to your local pharmacist, if you haven’t already, to see how you can best partner with each other to provide the best possible patient care.
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Information Sharing
HRSA’s Substance Use Disorder Regional Virtual Job Fairs – Connect with Healthcare Organizations Across the Country
HRSA is hosting a series of Virtual Job Fairs (link) for substance use disorder professionals in February and March 2019.
Participants will have the opportunity to hear from more than 100 healthcare organizations recruiting for 1,000+ substance use disorder vacancies. States represented – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming
Participation Information:
Tuesday, March 5, 2019, 3:45 – 6:00 PM MT
Job seekers register here: http://bit.ly/sudvjf03
Healthcare professionals who are hired by organizations in Health Professional Shortage Areas may also qualify for educational loan repayment through HRSA programs, such as the National Health Service Corps (link) and Nurse Corps.(link)
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month
The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) (link) reminds parents the key to a lifelong, healthy smile is early preventive care. Beginning regular dental visits by the age of one year, using fluoridated water, and brushing twice a day can help prevent painful cavities from forming in a child’s mouth.
This year, IDPH’s theme for National Children’s Dental Health Month is “Show Off Your Smile.” A child with a healthy, show off-ready smile will have more confidence when speaking, eating and interacting with others.
Posters (link) can be downloaded from the American Dental Association.
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