Rinehart Clinic eNewsletter May 2019                                                      View this email in your browser

Rinehart Clinic's Quality Director, Denise Weiss, recently presented "Success Stories: Diabetes Control" at a Learning Forum in Portland, sharing the clinic's strategies for helping patients with type 2 diabetes manage the disease. 

One of the key factors of our patients’ success is their participation in the clinic’s healthy eating and lifestyle classes in between regular visits with their doctor. To make it as easy as possible for our patients to make positive changes in their health, we offer encouragement in the form of farm-fresh veggies, vouchers for healthy foods at a local grocery store or farmers market, and free physical activity passes to help them on their journey.  

The behind-the-scenes work by Rinehart Clinic's Panel Coordinator is also a critical part of the program. (To learn more about panels and how we manage them, see page 2.) The Panel Coordinator tracks how our patients are doing, patient-by-patient and diagnosis-by-diagnosis. When it is time for a patient's next check-up or screening, she notes that in the chart so the care team can coordinate with the patient.

Having a staff member dedicated to coordinating this tracking and working with the team on follow-up is an important part of what’s working well at Rinehart Clinic. Last year, Rinehart Clinic was recognized for being the top performing clinic for diabetes control within the Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization member clinics.

The spring session of our popular 
 

Meet Alisa, Rinehart Clinic’s Panel Coordinator–one of the clinic’s most important behind-the-scenes team members. She is the information hub of the care team, identifying gaps in care and coordinating with the team to make sure every patient is getting the check-ups and screenings they need.

What is a Panel? Using the patient-centered medical home model, the most effective way to track individual patients is by grouping them into categories according to their diagnosis. These groups are called “panels.” There are patient panels for diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, substance use disorder, and so on. Some patients belong to more than one panel. 

Beyond tracking the care needed for acute and chronic conditions, Alisa also proactively monitors and manages the general health maintenance needs for each patient. When lab or other health screenings are needed, she flags that and shares it on the daily schedule discussed at the clinic’s morning “huddle” to help the team collaborate on care for the patients who have appointments that day.  

The important work Alisa does is a big part of the clinic’s quality improvement efforts. She spends a lot of time tracking numbers and comparing technical data, and her end goal is always quality care for each individual patient. That is at the heart of Alisa’s work. 

When asked about her role at Rinehart Clinic, she said: “I’m so lucky I get to work with great people and a great care team. Even though I’m not involved directly in patient care, the work I do is rewarding because it makes a difference for our patients.”