Kelly Halkyard
Clinical Excellence Quality Improvement Advisor

Last week, members of the CHCACT Practice Transformation team traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, to attend the annual Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Conference. Quality Conference invites participants from all CMS-funded quality improvement initiatives spanning the United States. This year there were over 2,500 attendees.  One of the feature programs was Transforming Clinical Practices Initiative (TCPi), which is the parent program that funds our Practice Transformation Network (PTN).

 On the first day of the conference, the TCPi audience was welcomed by Lieutenant Commander Fred Butler and a cohort of high performing Practice Transformation Networks. These Networks showcased their strategies to transform practices to Alternative Payment Models. Sessions thereafter were each focused on four of the seven aims of TCPi: Improve Health Outcomes, Reduction in Unnecessary Hospitalizations, Reduction in Unnecessary Tests and Procedures, and Cost Savings of $1-4 Billion Dollars. Russell Dexter, Chief Innovation Officer at CHCACT, presented on the Connecticut PTN's approach to measuring Cost Savings. These sessions allowed for sharing of best practices and deep discussions around strategies to improve care.

 Speakers throughout the rest of the conference spoke on other CMS high priority topics such as the opioid epidemic, patient-centered care, and reduction of provider burden. CMS launched a new initiative called "Patients over Paperwork", which focuses on reducing the “red tape” associated with providing care.  This initiative is designed to increase the amount of time providers spend with patients, by reducing non value-added requirements imposed by CMS.

 On the final day, I presented on our collaboration with the National Nurse-Led Care Consortium Support and Alignment Network (SAN) in a panel session. Our work with this SAN has supported health centers’ efforts to introduce and implement team-based care, huddles, and care continuity.

 Overall, the CMS Quality Conference allowed our team to connect with partners in Transformation work and share the collective accomplishments of our health centers with a national audience. Our PTN is unique, in that we are the only PTN in the country dedicated to working exclusively with Federally Qualified Health Centers and transforming care for underserved populations.