Ambulatory Care
Aligning Forces Alliances in Maine, Minnesota, and Oregon were recently featured in Health Affairs for their efforts in developing safety-net accountable care organizations (ACO). ACO-focused initiatives have early signs of success in delivering cost-effective, patient-centered care while advancing patient engagement, thus achieving Medicaid’s Triple Aim. Safety-net ACOs are collaborative entities of...
Nathan Wilson, a self-identified “qualitologist,” said that “nothing will agitate a group of physicians more than introducing patient experience surveys into their practice,” despite the benefits of incorporating the patient voice. When patient experience surveys were initially piloted, the results were positive. But, when the program expanded, Wilson found that physicians experienced the “four stages of grieving:” denial, fear, anger, and acceptance. Wilson’s group used the data, and the physicians with the worst patient satisfaction scores...
Improving the quality of ambulatory care has been an area of focus for Aligning Forces for Quality since its inception. Ambulatory care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis—therefore, not requiring a person to be admitted to the hospital. It is provided in physicians' offices, clinics, emergency departments, outpatient surgery centers and hospital settings that do not involve a patient staying overnight. By working with a variety of models such as patient-centered medical homes, practice coaching, learning collaboratives and accountable care organizations, the AF4Q Alliances are developing the essential components to create an infrastructure that supports sustainable improvements in ambulatory quality.
Robert Graham, the national program director of Aligning Forces for Quality, was a featured presenter at an Alliance for Health Reform briefing on Capitol Hill, along with AF4Q Program Director Jim Chase from Minnesota and Anne Weiss from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The webcast and accompanying PowerPoint presentations are now available online.