Can you believe another year has come and gone? 2018 was an interesting year in the health care space. It was full of changing policy decisions and technology innovations that will surely impact our health care system for years to come. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) going on nine years, much attention has been drawn to healthcare quality improvement by payers, clinicians and consumers alike. The level of buy-in across industry stakeholders highlights the importance of quality improvement efforts in health care. Escalating healthcare costs and a higher-than-ever number of insured Americans have also heightened the need for better quality. Today, a great deal of research around patient outcomes and safety, care coordination, efficiency, and cost cutting is underway. Additionally, care redesign initiatives are being evaluated to guide future healthcare quality improvements.
Despite the aforementioned progress, a great deal of work lies ahead. This year the Arkansas Association of Healthcare Quality will try to educate and bring resources to you on the several areas where disparities and gaps in quality still exist. The development of special efforts is underway to address them for a late Spring Workshop for a hands-on approach in bringing in resources to your hospital, clinic, LTPAC facility that will elevate healthcare quality initiatives in your organizations. For instance, only 70 percent of people with high blood pressure are receiving the recommended level of care. Further, disparities in two areas – hospice care and chronic disease management – increased, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. With the late Spring Workshop, AAHQ bring a hands on approach to tackling many initiatives that are taking place in 2019 and beyond at the Arkansas Hospital Association in Little Rock, Arkansas. Date TBA soon, keep a look out on our website and your email!
View the full Winter Newsletter here.