IPRO Honors 15 Health Professionals and Organizations for Quality Improvement Efforts
On June 6, 2008 IPRO honored fifteen health care practitioners and providers from across New York State at this year's IPRO Quality Awards. The awards are given annually by IPRO to members of New York's health care community that have demonstrated outstanding performance in the area of quality improvement. This year's awards were conferred during IPRO's 24th Annual Meeting, which also featured a keynote address by Jo Ivey Boufford, MD, President, New York Academy of Medicine. The event was covered by Yahoo News, the Los Angeles Times, and Healthcare Industry Today.
Health Accountability Foundation Releases First New York Regional Health Care Report Card
On September 6, 2007, the New York State Accountability Foundation released its first New York Regional Health Care Report Card -- a unique and interactive report on the performance of the New York region's hospitals and managed care plans. The report card, available at New York State Accountability Foundation, provides data on the cost and quality of care received by members of the states health plans, and the quality of care, mortality rates, length of stay and pricing of care provided to hospital patients in New York. The report card was covered in more than 100 outlets throughout the region, including the New York Post, Newsday, Albany Times-Union and Syracuse Post-Standard, as well as in national stories by top-tier outlets including the Associated Press, MSNBC-TV and Forbes.com. The Foundation is a partnership between IPRO, the New York Business Group on Health and major employers.
Report card on New York HMOs and hospitals released
Study Shows Disparities in Hospital Care
Hospitals, HMOs get checkups
Mixed grades for area hospitals
IPRO Recognizes 17 Health Professionals and Organizations for Quality Improvement Efforts
On July 9, 2007, IPRO announced the 17 recipients of the 2007 IPRO Quality Awards. The awards are given annually by IPRO to members of New York's health care community who have demonstrated outstanding performance in the area of quality improvement. Awardees were acknowledged for quality improvement in areas including: culture change and adoption of health information technology; care for diabetes and asthma; surgical care, avoidance of unnecessary acute care hospitalizations, pain management, provision of appropriate care; and management of medications. The story garnered coverage in local print and online publications including the Poughkeepsie Journal, The Leader-Herald and Valley News.
New Study Shows Significant Value In Medicare Quality Improvement Investment
Published research by IPRO and the University of Albany demonstrated that the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program's efforts in the nation's nursing homes are "a very sound investment" for Medicare. Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), QIOs work collaboratively with health care providers to improve the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. The study, one of the first to show the value of the QIO program, is published in the spring 2007 issue of Health Care Financing Review, a CMS journal, and is available on the Web: http://company.ipro.org/index/cms-nh20070710. Coverage of IPRO's July 10, 2007 news release on the study included Yahoo! News.
On April 12th, 2007, Yahoo News and Government Health IT reported on the IPRO survey which shows that 85% of States may link reimbursement with performance within five years. In the first published nationwide survey of state Medicaid programs on "pay-for-performance" practices, more than half of all programs state that they provide financial incentives to health care providers for better quality care. Almost 85 percent of states plan to have pay-for-performance programs within five years. Researchers also found that most current programs focus on women's, children's and adolescents' health issues. The study was published on April 12th by The Commonwealth Fund. Authors are from IPRO and The Kuhmerker Consulting Group, LLC.
State rewarding doctors for quality care, Yahoo News
IPRO, New York Employers Sign on to HHS Transparency Initiative
In a Valentine's Day 2007 meeting in New York City with HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt, executives from New York businesses signed statements of support for a national initiative aimed at improving health care quality, information and cost-effectiveness for employees and their families. Crain's Health Pulse and Brooklyn Progress joined other media in reporting on the initiative. Employers signing on included IPRO, Aetna, New York Life Insurance Company, Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, American International Group, Inc., KeySpan, STV Inc., Group Health Inc., CIGNA Health Plan of New York, Verizon Communications, Inc., AmeriChoice of New York, New York Health Plan Association, Siemens Corporation, New York Business Group on Health, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Business Council of New York State, Alcoa Inc., Loews Corporation, Partnership for New York City and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
IPRO Receives Empire State Advantage Silver Designation
Yahoo! News and the Long Island Pulse were among those reporting on IPRO's February 6, 2007 recognition with Empire State Advantage's Empire State Silver Certification. IPRO joined a small number of organizations in the state being recognized with this designation. The designation was given after a thorough review of IPRO's management systems, work processes, employee satisfaction and results for customers. Empire State Advantage, Inc. (ESA) is a public/private partnership formed to help build economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life within New York State. Read More
Health Care Leaders and Home Health Agencies in New York Join National Campaign to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations
In a January 18, 2007 Yahoo! News web posting, home health associations and home health agencies in New York joined IPRO in the New York launch of the 2007 Home Health Quality Improvement National Campaign. This 12-month interdisciplinary campaign, which is sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, unites the home care community under a shared vision of reducing avoidable hospitalizations to improve the quality of patient care for Medicare beneficiaries. Local partners include the Continuing Care Leadership Coalition, the Healthcare Association of New York State, the Home Care Association of New York State, Inc., and the New York State Association of Healthcare Providers. Together with IPRO, these organizations serve as New York's Local Area Network for Excellence (LANE) for the campaign.
IPRO's Dr. Terry Mahotière Discusses Diabetes and Provides WWRL Listeners With Lifesaving Information
On December 16, 2006, Dr. Terry Mahotière, IPRO Medical Officer, appeared on WWRL-AM's show, "All Things New York" to discuss diabetes self-care and racial and ethnic disparities in diabetes monitoring, treatment and outcomes. Diabetes has a disproportionate impact on minority groups, especially in the downstate New York region. Dr. Mahotière provided listeners with easy-to-remember tips that they can use to protect their health if they have diabetes.
In an October 23, 2006 PR Newswire Web posting, IPRO announced a strtegic alliance with eDaptive Systems that offers IT industry solutions to meet the requirements of public and private sector clients.
Read full article: http://sev.prnewswire.com/computer-electronics/20061023/NYM02923102006-1.html
In the Special Section: Healtcare, Fairfield County Business Journal talked about the New York State Health Accountability Foundation's first-ever report card on state health plans that include hospital quality data and its HMO and hospital comparison feature.
Read full article: http://www.fairfieldcbj.com/archive/101606/1016060018.php
You May Call It "Sugar" But There's Nothing "Sweet" About Having Diabetes
Throughout the month of September 2006, WADO-AM and WRKS-FM aired IPRO-sponsored radio advertisements educating listeners about diabetes, the 6th deadliest disease in America. IPRO urged listeners to talk with their doctors about how to manage diabetes through the "ABC's"- A: Get a simple blood test called "A1C" at least twice a year; B: Get your Blood Pressure checked at every visit to the doctor; C: Get a Cholesterol test at least once a year. Read More
The August/September issue of BC Advantage published a feature article on using federal data to target hospital payment errors. In 1999, Congress initiated a program through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, designed to protect the Medicare Trust Fund by measuring the incidence of payment errors for Medicare fee-for-service inpatient short-term acute care. The Payment Error Prevention Program (PEPP), as it was known, was implemented by CMS through the Quality Improvement Organizations, or QIOs, (then known as Peer Review Organizations, or PROs).
Read full article at BC Advantage Magazine or download pdf
IPRO and Dr. Novello Urge Women to Talk with Their Doctors About Mammography
In the fall of 2006, WNBC-TV and New York 1 Noticias aired IPRO-produced English and Spanish-language public service announcements featuring Dr. Antonia Novello, the New York State Commissioner of Health. Dr. Novello joined IPRO's campaign to get more female Medicare beneficiaries to schedule regular screening mammograms. The PSAs addressed fears that some women have about mammography, and provided a toll-free information number. Read More
Health Accountability Foundation Releases First New York State Health Care Report Card
On June 26, 2006, the New York State Health Accountability Foundation released the first New York State Health Care Report Card -- a unique interactive report on the performance of the state's health plans and hospitals. The report card, available at www.AboutHealthQuality.org, provides data on the quality, volume, length of stay and pricing of care provided by the state's health insurers and hospitals, searchable by county. The report card was covered in more than 70 stories by news outlets throughout the state including the New York Post, Newsday, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle and Buffalo Business First, as well as in national stories on MSNBC.com and other web sites. The Foundation is a partnership between IPRO, the New York Business Group on Health and major employers.
IPRO Leads Health IT Efforts With Strong Showing in New York for Physicians Adopting Electronic Health Records, Yahoo! News, June 6, 2006
In a June 2, 2006 Yahoo! News Web posting, IPRO called on physicians to adopt electronic health records to improve health care quality and safety for all patients. IPRO is recruiting physicians to participate in the Doctor's Office Quality - Information Technology (DOQ-IT) project. For those practices that are not able to apply, or are not ready to make the transition, IPRO has made the entire collection of literature, documentation and workbooks available online, for free, on its Joint Effort New York Web site. For more information on DOQ-IT call 1-800-852-3685, extension 445 or visit http://www.ipro.org/doqit or e-mail doqit@ipro.us.
Read full article at http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060602/nyf011.html?.v=50
Free Electronic Office Analysis Now Available to New York State Physicians, News of New York, April 2006
The April 2006 issue of News of New York, a newsletter of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY), announced that MSSNY and IPRO will be collaborating on a new consultation service to physician offices called the Doctor's Office Quality - Information Technology project (DOQ-IT).
DOQ-IT is designed to encourage and support the use of electronic information, which is essential for improving physician office efficiency as well as improving clinical performance. Funded through a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grant, the service is free to qualified practitioners and does not promote any individual system. Physicians can get further information at www.ipro.org/doqit or by calling 800-852-3685, extension 445.
Read Full article at http://www.mssny.org/members_only/news/NNY/2006/04apr06.pdf