Further Success in SNF Collaborative
MPRO continues to chart success in a five-year effort to improve a variety of outcomes at skilled nursing facilities (SNF) in Michigan’s Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. Recent data analysis shows especially good progress against sepsis, for example.
Under the Early Recognition and Management of the Sepsis Program, MPRO oversees community health partners as they offer evidence-based training to about 150 SNFs serving the Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) population. The collaborative educates facility staff on sepsis and areas of infection prevention, such as pneumonia prevention, urinary tract infections and central-line-associated blood stream infections.
The early returns of the program are good. From Q1 2017 to Q4 2018, readmissions of Medicare FFS beneficiaries for sepsis from SNFs that
completed the sepsis program
decreased
by a relative rate of 4.3%.
At the same time, readmissions for sepsis from SNFs that
did not complete the program increased by a relative rate of 10.2%
.
The key to the program is early intervention and the partnership between hospitals and SNFs. The hospitals were seeing a lot of sepsis-on-admission, and up to 80% of those patients were coming from SNFs — they knew they had to work together.
“You have to act where the infections are occurring,” says MPRO Quality Consultant Lauren Smith. “Focusing on those areas and providing them the right tools is the difference maker.”
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20 Straight Years of URAC Accreditation
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MPRO has once again achieved accreditation as an Independent Review Organization (IRO): Comprehensive Review by URAC, which sets standards for the healthcare industry. The reaccreditation runs from Nov. 1, 2019, through
Nov. 1, 2022.
MPRO has maintained IRO accreditation without interruption since first achieving it in 2002, as well as accreditation in Health Utilization Management
—
for the same period.
“Your organization is commended for its commitment to promoting quality health services by obtaining URAC accreditation,” the Washington, DC-based organization stated in a letter accompanying the certificate.
MPRO meets or exceeds URAC standards in carrying out Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) and Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR) work for state agencies. For instance, we require our IIDR reviewers to use a consistent, unbiased decision-making process to review each statement of deficiency, as well as all materials submitted by a facility to refute the citation. MPRO ensures all IIDR determinations are administered and returned per contractual deadlines and requirements. MPRO's reviews are completed within an average of 15 calendar days — meeting URAC standards for timeliness.
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MPRO Set to Train Missouri Clinics in SMBP Project
MPRO is poised to train 24 primary-care clinics in Missouri on self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring, a milestone in a new project to reduce hypertension.
Research has shown that, when combined with additional clinical support, SMBP is effective at increasing patient knowledge and medication adherence, reducing hypertension (high blood pressure) and improving health system processes. Under the contract MPRO won with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services this past June, MPRO is targeting clinics in St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield.
MPRO will hold one-day train-the-trainer sessions to address patient barriers to SMBP through motivational interviewing techniques, identify clinic SMBP champions to lead programming activities, identify methods for obtaining patient readings and other objectives. Attendees will take the learning “home” to their clinics
—
each serving a minimum of 100 SMBP patients.
“We are excited to be expanding our work in cardiac health to thousands of Missourians,” says MPRO Project Manager Andrea Boucher.
In January the clinic champions will participate in the teleECHO program to gain further expertise in SMBP. That program will serve as a supportive network of peers, or community of practice, where champions will learn best practices to use in their clinics.
MPRO overcame perceived obstacles, such as having no “boots on the ground” in Missouri, and earned the contract based on its long experience and success in clinical training, recruitment and distance learning. The project runs through June 2020.
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MPRO Supports AHA on Hypertension Project
MPRO has joined with the American Heart Association (AHA) to fight hypertension (high blood pressure) by improving diagnosis, measurement, and treatment at federally qualified health centers (FQHC) in Michigan.
The AHA recently earned a Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles Grant from the Michigan Health Endowment Fund to promote its project EmPowered Clinicians: Improving Hypertension through Clinical Quality Improvement and Lifestyle Change. The AHA then contracted with MPRO to provide technical assistance. MPRO will complete on-site clinic assessments with the 10 FQHCs to identify areas for resource deployment and workflow technical support. The project runs through September 2020.
“We look forward to continuing our strong tradition with AHA and improving hypertension outcomes for health centers and their patients here in Michigan,” says MPRO Project Manager Andrea Boucher.
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I AM MPRO
With MPRO since 2001, Dianne has managed projects related to breast and cervical cancer, inpatient quality improvement (QI), physician office QI and other settings.
Passion for our Mission
“I am honored our work allows us to meet our QI participants’ needs and helps them grow their clinical expertise and skills,” she said. Before joining MPRO, she was a public health nurse at the Monroe County Health Department.
Personal Interests
Dianne’s nurturing nature knows few bounds. In her downtime, she mentors nursing students and keeps a garden to share fresh produce with her Ypsilanti community. She is an advanced master gardener certified by Michigan State University.
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MPRO Fosters State Relationships at AHFSA Conference
The Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies (AHFSA) recently held its annual conference in New Orleans, where MPRO took the opportunity to foster existing relationships with state agencies from across the country and explore opportunities for new, future work. MPRO was the only exhibitor of Informal Dispute Resolution (IDR) and Independent Informal Dispute Resolution (IIDR) services for states.
State agencies handle IDR/IIDR processes differently, and many reach out to MPRO to discuss the possibility of contracting for those services. The AHFSA conference, held in August, was an added opportunity for face-to-face discussions on MPRO serving as a third-party entity to oversee processes and/or provide review services.
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A Partnership of Successes: A Look Back
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MPRO, 22670 Haggerty Road, Suite 100, Farmington Hills, MI 48335
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