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Greetings!
Welcome to the new OFMQ Quality Connection newsletter! The Quality Connection will keep you informed about quality improvement efforts throughout Oklahoma. Please let us know if you have ideas or suggestions as we move forward in improving the health of Oklahomans! Contact Tracy Senat at tsenat@ofmq.com or (405) 302-3286. Visit our Web site at www.ofmq.com. |
| Reduction of Pressure Ulcers Takes Center Stage |
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Oklahoma's nursing homes have the fourth highest rate of pressure ulcers in the country. Nearly 60,000 people nationally die each year as a result of complications from pressure ulcers. Pressure ulcers increase hospitalizations, lengths-of-stay, and health care costs. The Oklahoma Pressure Ulcer Coalition's mission is to improve the prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers across all settings.
Earlier this year, the Oklahoma coalition hosted its first educational event, called Saving Oklahoma's Skin (SOS), at Mercy Health Center. This conference attracted more than 500 providers and caregivers, and included presentations on pressure ulcer stages, treatments, and simple interventions to keep pressure ulcers from forming. OFMQ is actively holding SOS events in communities statewide.
A free pressure ulcer listserv, open to anybody in Oklahoma interested in reducing pressure ulcers, has been started by OFMQ. For information on this listserv and how to join, click here. OFMQ recently released a toolkit for pressure ulcer prevention and treatment. It is available for download at www.ofmq.com/sos-tools. OFMQ also has increased its wound care expertise; read the press release here. For more information, please contact Lisa Bewley or call (405) 302-3252. |
| Hospital Collaborative Aims to Reduce Infections |
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| "Mastering MRSA and MDROs" is an Oklahoma hospital collaborative designed to help hospitals develop best practices, educate patients and providers, share knowledge, and ultimately decrease the rate of health care-acquired MRSA and other infections.
MRSA and other infections in hospitals lead to increased and longer hospitalizations, higher costs, and higher mortality rates.
The collaborative, coordinated by the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, started earlier this year with a learning session for teams from 25 participating hospitals. The next sessions will be July 8 and Oct. 21 at the Reed Center in Midwest City.
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| Safe Prescribing in Oklahoma |
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Elderly patients are at increased risk for adverse drug events because they tend to have complex chronic conditions and are taking multiple medications.
OFMQ is working with a number of Oklahoma physicians to help reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and drug-drug interactions (DDIs). The program is called Safe Prescribing in the Oklahoma Elderly or SPOkE. It was designed by OFMQ and the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy to assist physicians with this important issue.
"We help physicians look at their greatest needs for improvement and provide evidence-based educational resources and free onsite assistance," said Margaret Enright, OFMQ Quality Improvement Specialist. For more information on SPOkE and CMEs available to MDs and now DOs, please visit the SPOkE web site. For other information, please contact Enright. |
| OFMQ Supports 'Stand For Quality' |
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| OFMQ has joined the national 'Stand for Quality' coalition of more than 165 health care organizations recommending that quality measurement and improvement become key components in health care reform. The coalition recently released its recommendations to the Obama administration and Congress, which call for standardized performance measures, public reporting of quality data, and public and private sector accountability for quality improvement in health care. For more information, please visit www.standforquality.org.
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