On April 8, 61 practice teams from across Ohio converged on Columbus, OH, to take part in a quality improvement (QI) project focused on four clinical topics and to understand the importance of effective and efficient teamwork and its impact on patient care.
Following successes of previous Team Training Days, this was the first attempt at bringing together four vital topics into one day.
Topics included Colorectal Cancer Screening Improvement, Breast & Cervical Cancer Prevention and Early Detection, Diabetes Prevention and Management, and Hypertension Management.
The day started with a team engagement session led by Sarah Sams, MD, from OPG Grant Family Medicine Southwest and members of her care team, Jennifer Holley, RN, and Noelle Waddle, RN. The team discussed the importance of the team-based approach to patient care and how to leverage patient engagement in improving population health. Also featured during the event was a patient of Dr. Sams, Richard (Ashley) Fitch who shared his health journey and detailed his personal struggle with managing his chronic conditions. Ashley’s story highlighted the importance of how care was improved when the care team and patient work together. When all parties are engaged, success can happen. “I’m a work in progress but better today because of my health care team, family, and most importantly myself,” concluded Ashley.
Following the inspirational morning session, teams broke into tracks based on their chosen area of focus.
- Colorectal Cancer Screening Improvement Track – speaker Durado Brooks, MD, and moderator Jon Seager, MD
- Breast & Cervical Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Track – speaker Heidi Gullett, MD, and moderator Mary Krebs, MD
- Diabetes Prevention and Management Track – speaker Michael Heile, MD, and moderator Don Clark, MD
- Hypertension Management Track – speaker Gary LeRoy, MD, and moderator Ryan Kauffman, MD.
A highlight of the day was the process mapping exercise that teams worked through in the afternoon. Eliminating unnecessary or wasteful steps in a process makes work run more smoothly and is more satisfying for the entire staff. Practice teams are always looking for ways to streamline efficiencies and this activity helped participants accomplish just that. The activity provided teams with a visual map of the steps that the entire practice team, including the patient, take to conduct a routine visit where the chosen educational topic was appropriate.
According to one respondent, “the mapping exercise was the most important portion of the day. The process was very informative, it was explained in an easy to understand way, and our team plans to use it when we return to the office.”
With the map completed, teams concluded the day by creating an action plan detailing the new protocol that will be put into place when teams return to practice.
The QI Summit kicked off a six-month implementation phase where the participating practices will put their new protocol into place and collect data to track progress. All teams will utilize a corresponding online module to complete this process. All modules are accredited by the American Board of Family Medicine for Family Medicine Certification Practice Improvement credit and by the American Academy of Family Physicians for 20 Performance in Practice credits.
These practices are well on their way to having a huge effect on the care of their patients and their communities as a whole. If you’d like to partake in this experience with your care team, keep an eye out later this winter for recruitment for the 2018 QI Summit!
Thank you to our program partners, the American Cancer Society East Central Division, the Ohio Department of Health, the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers, and CliniSync; and to our program sponsor Hemosure.
For more information on this innovative project, visit the OAFP website, contact Director of Events and Foundation programs Kaitlin McGuffie, or call 800.742.7327.
To view photos from the day, please visit the OAFP Facebook page.