The Regional QI Hub Quality Improvement Project has made positive gains in 2026 as Wave 1 and Wave 2 sites continued improvement activities and preparations are underway for the launch of Wave 3. The Ohio Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) has remained a key partner in supporting this work.
Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and administered by the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC) in partnership with faculty and staff from Ohio’s Colleges of Medicine (including Case Western Reserve University/Northeast Ohio Medical University, Ohio University, The Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, and University of Toledo), the project seeks to support ODM’s Managed Care Population Health and Quality Strategy by promoting the health of the Medicaid population and supporting healthcare delivery systems to improve performance, demonstrate value, and to reduce health disparities.
As a key part of this project, ODM established Regional Quality Improvement (QI) Hubs in each CoM to serve as regional technical assistance centers and support local healthcare sites in adopting best practices and building quality improvement capacity. Hubs serve as a convener and the main intermediary between their local sites and other project stakeholders. Most notably, with input and guidance from stakeholders, Hubs and sites work to design and test interventions using the Model for Improvement. Each Regional QI Hub engaged at least 10 practices in both Wave 1 and 2 to implement QI activities focused on hypertension (HTN) and type two diabetes (T2DM). In sum, a total of 147 spoke sites engaged in Waves 1 and 2, including 83 primary care sites, 60 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and 4 pharmacies.
Electronic health record data demonstrate improvements in process measures for both HTN and T2DM. Collectively, HTN-focused Hubs have improved by 76% and 20% in repeat blood pressure checks and by 24% and 10% in medication management across their respective Wave 1 and 2 sites. Hubs focused on T2DM witnessed increases of 231% and 180% in continuous glucose monitor prescribing and increases of 11% and 73% in scheduled follow up appointments among their respective Wave 1 and 2 sites.
Wave 3 is set to launch this fall and Hubs are each working to recruit an additional 10 sites to participate. The goal is for each Hub to reach 60% of the target population in each of their regions over a 5-year period. To learn more about how to participate, please see the following link: https://www.ohioafp.org/wfmu-article/regional-colleges-of-medicine-quality-improvement-hub-opportunity-2/
Lessons learned from previous waves will inform Hubs’ approaches with new sites. Hubs have developed targeted high-reliability interventions based on lessons learned from previous waves, which will be taught, tested, and implemented across all Wave 3 sites.
The OAFP has provided valuable activity credit for family physicians participating in each of the two topics (hypertension and diabetes) through the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians, respectively. It has assisted in physician and practice recruitment through OAFP membership communications and aided in the dissemination of learnings from the project to OAFP members.
Disclaimer: Views stated in this publication are those of the researchers only and are not to be attributed to the study sponsors, ODM, or to the federal Medicaid Program.