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-on-drug interactions (DDIs). DDIs and PIMs cause responses to a drug that is unintended and can lead to adverse drug events. This leads to increased costs to healthcare providers, more frequent 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
Influenza 2009, presented by Dr. Greg Gahm on 10/21/09
Appropriately Identifying the Inappropriate- Reducing Inappropriate
Medication Utilization in your Nursing Home, presented by Dr. Cari Levy
on 01/27/10
Questions?
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.
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