As you may be aware, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) has been awarded a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to prevent and control diabetes, heart disease, obesity and associated risk factors. Quality Insights of Pennsylvania has been awarded the work under this grant. We want to thank you for your participation in this important work. Your practice is one of nearly 150 who have committed to this project to date and we hope to recruit more across Pennsylvania.

 

Quality Insights has created this distribution group as a means of disseminating current information to your team members. You will be receiving regular updates about the project, as well as any related news announcements, resources and educational opportunities related to this project via these e-Bulletins. 

 

As a reminder our goals and activities for this project will be to:

• Collect monthly NQF measure 0018 - Controlling High Blood Pressure
• Collect monthly NQF measure 0059 - Controlling Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) levels > 9.0% (poor control) 
• Workflow analysis and recommendations for changes
• Use of clinical decision support, evidence-based protocols
• Patient engagement
• Creating useful tools and resources for your patients and staff
• Sharing best practices and lessons learned

To kick off the first Quality Insights PA DOH Project e-Bulletin, please check out the two opportunities listed below.

 

As part of its efforts during May's National High Blood Pressure Education Month, the American Medical Group Foundation will host its second annual Measure Up/Pressure Down® National Day of Action: Roll Up Your Sleeves! on Thursday, May 7, 2015.

 

Last year, 70 campaign supporters participated in the inaugural National Day of Action: Roll Up Your Sleeves!, and collectively reached 57.4 million Americans through screenings, local events, materials dissemination, social media, website, media coverage, and more.

 

On this National Day of Action, the American Medical Group Foundation encourages all Measure Up/Pressure Down® supporters to roll up your sleeves and join together in their respective communities and participate in at least one action to raise awareness of high blood pressure - to  patients, providers, employees, or the general public. These actions can take different forms, based on your audience, capabilities, and resources. The Foundation encourages supporters to get creative and think of ways to incorporate the Measure Up/Pressure Down® National Day of Action: Roll Up Your Sleeves! into activities and events that already exist at your organization.

 

To learn more about this campaign and to access National Day of Action resources, please click here.

 

What is one thing your practice could do to promote blood pressure awareness? Please let Quality Insights know your ideas and send us a picture of any activities that your practice carries out.

 

Thursday, May 14, 2015 - 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

 

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, patient-centered counseling style that strengthens a person's motivation and commitment to behavior change. By helping patients explore their ambivalence to change and their core values, educators use MI to help people with diabetes find their own strategies for making changes. Increasingly, health care providers and peer counselors are finding this technique a valuable tool for working with people with diabetes in both clinical and community settings.

 

The National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP), a joint program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, invites you to join them for this informative webinar that will demonstrate how MI is becoming a force behind the effective management of diabetes.

 

During this webinar you will:

• Learn about MI concepts and skills with a focus on provider-patient encounters in a comprehensive disease management context
• Find out about trainings that have been conducted with multidisciplinary health care providers and peer counselors who serve people with diabetes using MI techniques
• Hear about the importance of providing a safe environment to explore behavior change issues
• Understand the concepts of permission, sensitivity, and controversial questions during the MI technique

This presentation will also feature an academic perspective on MI theory informed program design, a practical perspective on training, and an on-the-ground peer mentor perspective and the use of MI in their everyday work.

 

Quality Insights welcomes any suggestions you might have for content you would like to see distributed via this forum. Please e-mail Cathy Browning or contact your Project Coordinator with your suggestions or if you have any questions concerning this project.