August 10, 2009
MEDIA CONTACTS: Anne Banner
202-994-2261; mcmacb@gwumc.edu
Nick Massella
202-994-6424; massella@gwu.edu
GW'S GEIGER GIBSON/RCHN COMMUNITY HEALTH FOUNDATION RESEARCH COLLABORATIVE AND THE MICHIGAN PRIMARY CARE ASSOCIATION RELEASE REPORT ON ADVANCING HEALTH CARE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT THROUGH DATA SHARING AND EXCHANGE
Washington, D.C. and New York, NY - The George Washington University Geiger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation Research Collaborative, in partnership with the Michigan Primary Care Association, released a report today on a pilot effort in Michigan to advance health care quality improvement through data sharing and exchange.
The Michigan Primary Care Association hosts a data warehouse that includes data on care delivery processes and health outcomes collected from over 100 health centers in 24 states for patients with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and depression. Findings suggest significant potential exists if the data can be used to create performance measures that are tailored to each center's needs, operating environment and population served, and if the comparative and inter-facility reporting is made available. However, researchers caution performance data alone is insufficient for meaningful quality improvement; performance analysis and consideration of state policy influences are essential.
The authors call for a deliberate and coordinated effort with a shared vision to build a national health center quality of care data warehouse that can lead to practice transformation - a multi-center, multi-state project which aims to build a national quality of care data repository (NQDR) that integrates all health centers regardless of the applications, records systems or registries used.
The brief is available at: http://www.gwumc.edu/sphhs/departments/healthpolicy/dhp_publications/pub_uploads/dhpPublication_F640504A-5056-9D20-3D82EE09CA9530E4.pdf
About the RCHN Community Health Foundation
The RCHN Community Health Foundation (RCHN CHF) is a New York-based not-for-profit operating foundation dedicated to supporting and benefiting community health centers (CHCs) in New York state and nationally. The Foundation develops and supports programmatic and business initiatives related to community health center access, pharmacy and health information technology through strategic investment, research, outreach, education and coalition building. For more information about RCHN CHF, contact Chief Operating Officer/EVP Feygele Jacobs at 212-246-1122, ext. 712, or fjacobs@rchnfoundation.org or visit www.rchnfoundation.org.
About The George Washington University Medical Center
The George Washington University Medical Center is an internationally recognized interdisciplinary academic health center that has consistently provided high-quality medical care in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, since 1824. The Medical Center comprises the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the 11th oldest medical school in the country; the School of Public Health and Health Services, the only such school in the nation's capital; GW Hospital, jointly owned and operated by a partnership between The George Washington University and a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, Inc.; and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, an independent faculty practice plan. For more information on the George Washington University Medical Center, visit www.gwumc.edu.
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