Attention Medicare Providers!
As you know, CFMC is the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO)
in the state of Colorado and contracts with the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide quality improvement technical
assistance to Colorado providers. For specifics on what we have been
able to help the Colorado community accomplish during the 2005 – 2008
Scope of Work, please see
Partners in
Colorado Healthcare Improvement: 8th Scope of Work and
CMS Targets Readmission
Through Payment Audits; ‘Coaching’ Model Reduces Rates: Care Transitions
pages.
In an effort to continue to strengthen patient safety and quality
improvement, the CMS National Patient Safety Initiative (NPSI) under the
9th Scope of Work (SOW) (August 1, 2008 – July 31, 2011) is designed to
address care systems to prevent patient harm. One area of the Patient
Safety Theme is Drug Safety, which will focus on potentially
inappropriate medications (PIMs) and drug- drug interactions (DDIs).
DDIs and PIMs may result in unintended consequences or adverse events.
This can lead to increased costs in a variety of ways including
additional physician office visits, emergency department visits, and
increased hospitalizations.
CFMC recognizes that there are many individuals in the process of evaluating medications: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, patient, family, Medicare Part D drug plans, and others. In order to have the greatest impact, a variety of stakeholders will be involved in this major initiative in Colorado.
The approach to reducing DDIs and PIMs will be multifaceted, using different tools to be developed based on “best practice” and “evidence based” discussions with the expertise of our stakeholders and national organizations.
Helpful Materials, Links, and Articles
Materials:
Links/Organizations:
Articles:
Teleconferences & WebEx Sessions
Anticholinergic Load in the Elderly, presented by Dr. Lee Anneberg on
05/19/10
Sharing Best Practices for Reducing Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs)
and Drug-Drug Interactions (DDIs) in the Nursing Home Setting, presented by a
Panel of Experts on 03/24/10
Audio Recording (MP3)
Appropriately Identifying the Inappropriate- Reducing Inappropriate
Medication Utilization in your Nursing Home, presented by Dr. Cari Levy
on 01/27/10
Influenza 2009, presented by Dr. Greg Gahm on 10/21/09
Drug Safety Resource Toolkit
CFMC has developed this toolkit to help nursing home staff better
assess, monitor, and reduce drug-on-drug interactions (DDIs) and
potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs).
General Resources
Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs)
Drug-on-Drug Interactions (DDIs)
For additional information about CFMC’s drug
safety project, please contact Karen McGee,
Patient Safety Interventionist, at 303.931.0027
or
kmcgee@coqio.sdps.org.
The Colorado Foundation for Medical Care (CFMC), the Medicare quality improvement organization for Colorado, prepared this material under
contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an
agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents
do not necessarily reflect CMS Policy.
|