PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ --- The Oregon Coalition of
Health Care Purchasers (OCHCP: http://www.ochcp.org ) hosted two seminars on
September 10, 2008 to bring together purchasers, healthcare professionals,
health plan representatives, and policy makers to learn more about the
issue of Transitions of Care. The breakfast meeting took place at
PacificSource Health Plans in Springfield, OR and the lunch meeting was
held at the Holiday Inn Wilsonville. Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, CMSA
Executive Director, Annette Schmidt, Director Transitions of Care,
sanofi-aventis, and Diane Waldo, Director of Quality & Clinical Services,
Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems spoke on four different
topics:
-- The current state of Transitions of Care in America
-- Overview of the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC)
-- NTOCC tools, resources and website -- http://www.ntocc.org -- and its four
portals focused on Consumers, Healthcare Professionals, Media, and
Policy Makers
-- Transition of Care initiatives of the Oregon Association of Hospitals
and Health Systems and numerous Oregon hospitals
The National Transitions of Care Coalition is being led by the Case
Management Society of America (CMSA) with support from sanofi-aventis US
LLC.
Transitions of care include situations in which a patient moves from
primary care to specialty physicians or moves within the hospital,
including moves from the emergency department to other various departments,
such as surgery or intensive care; or when a patient is discharged from the
hospital and goes home or to an assisted living or skilled nursing
facility. Patients, especially older persons, face significant challenges
when moving from one level of care or practice setting to another in the
healthcare system. During these transitions, lack of communication can
result in redundant or conflicting information that often creates serious
issues for patients, their caregivers, and their families.
The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has taken a
leadership position in hospital and community collaboration. A successful
pilot focusing on pressure ulcers and transitional care has been conducted
in two Oregon communities. Plans are underway to apply the processes
established and the lessons learned to other issues and to expand to
additional communities.
OAHHS has worked with members to standardize practices and processes in
hand hygiene, color-coded alert wristbands, overhead emergency pages,
reporting of hospital acquired infections, and personal medication records.
Barbara Prowe, Executive Director of the Oregon Coalition of Health
Care Purchasers stated that their goal with these events was to highlight
the role of each stakeholder in resolving the issues being discussed.
Purchasers in Oregon are playing a crucial role in promoting quality
improvement and transparency as key components of value-based purchasing.
About Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers (OCHCP)
Formed in 1998, OCHCP offers networking, education, tools, shared
initiatives, and advocacy to improve purchasers' ability to contract for
high quality and cost-effective health care for their employees/members;
and, to help purchasers steer their employees/members toward optimal health
and high value health care providers. Representing over 400,000
commercially insured Oregonians, OCHCP participates in local
multi-stakeholder health system reform initiatives. On the national level,
OCHCP is a member of the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH).
Visit http://www.ochcp.org and http://www.nbch.org.
About the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS)
Founded in 1934, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems
(OAHHS) is a statewide, nonprofit trade association that works closely with
local and national government leaders, business and citizen coalitions, and
other professional health care organizations to enhance and promote
community health and to continue improving Oregon's innovative health care
industry.
While the association's primary focus is state and federal government
relations and advocacy efforts on behalf of its members, OAHHS also is the
state's premier data collection source on hospital and health system
economics and an information resource on matters such as HIPAA, hospital
quality and transparency, workforce development, education programs, and
other member services. OAHHS is uniquely positioned to help Oregon
hospitals speak with one voice on national and state-focused health care
priorities such as patient safety and performance reporting. One of its
highest priorities is statewide leadership in maintaining the
public/private partnership supporting the programs that make up the Oregon
Health Plan. And, OAHHS works diligently with Oregon's Congressional
Delegation, the American Hospital Association and other state health care
associations and councils to influence Medicare and Medicaid decisions at
the national level. Visit http://www.oahhs.org.
About National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC)
NTOCC was formed in 2006 to address a serious U.S. health care issue:
filling the gaps that occur when patients leave one care setting and move
to another care setting. These transitions include patients moving from
primary care to specialty physicians; moving or transferring patients from
the emergency department to intensive care or surgery; or when patients are
discharged from the hospital to home, assisted living arrangements, or
skilled nursing facilities. The U.S. healthcare system often fails to meet
the needs of elderly patient populations during these transitions because
care is rushed and responsibility is fragmented with little communication
across care settings and multiple providers. These failures lead to undue
burdens on patients and their families and negatively impact patient
safety, quality of care and outcomes. The focus of NTOCC is to bring
together thought leaders and health care experts from various settings to
address this critical issue, define solutions and develop tools to address
the gaps impacting patient care. Tools and resources developed by NTOCC
will be made available to everyone in the health care industry including
providers, payers, patients and consumers. NTOCC is chaired and coordinated
by the Case Management Society of America in partnership with
sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC. Visit http://www.ntocc.org
Formed in 2006, the multidisciplinary NTOCC Advisory Board includes the
Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), American Association of Homes and
Services for the Aging (AAHSA), American College of Healthcare Executives
(ACHE), American Geriatrics Society (AGS), American Medical Directors
Association (AMDA), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP),
American Society on Aging (ASA), American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
(ASCP), AXA Assistance USA Inc., Case Management Society of America (CMSA),
Consumers Advancing Patient Safety (CAPS), Health Services Advisory Group
(HSAG), Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Joint Commission
International Center for Patient Safety (ICPS), Lipitz Center for
Integrated Health Care, Mid-America Coalition on Health Care (MACHC),
National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration - Long Term
Care (NADONA / LTC), National Association of Social Workers (NASW),
National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), National Case Management
Network of Canada (NCMN), National Quality Forum, Predictive Health, LLC,
sanofi-aventis, Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), The Joint Commission
Disease - Specific Care Certification, United Health Group (UHG), and URAC.
About Case Management Society of America (CMSA)
Established in 1990, the Case Management Society of America is an
international non-profit 501(c)(6) multi-disciplinary professional
association dedicated to the support and advancement of the case management
profession through educational forums, networking opportunities,
legislative advocacy, and establishing standards to advance the profession.
It is based in Little Rock, AR, and serves more than 20,000
members/subscribers and 70 affiliate and pending chapters. Since its
inception, CMSA has been at the forefront of setting professional standards
for the industry, which allows for the highest level of efficiency and
integrity, as well as developing national and local leaders who are
recognized for their practice and professional excellence. For more
information on CMSA, call CMSA at (501) 225-2229 or go to http://www.cmsa.org.
About sanofi-aventis
Sanofi-aventis, a leading global pharmaceutical company, discovers,
develops and distributes therapeutic solutions to improve the lives of
everyone. Sanofi-aventis is listed in Paris (EURONEXT: SAN) and in New York
(NYSE: SNY). For more information, please visit http://www.sanofi-aventis.us or
http://www.sanofi-aventis.com.
For more information, please contact:
Barbara Prowe
Executive Director
Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers
Phone: 503-972-1351
Email: barbara.prowe@ochcp.org
Website: http://www.ochcp.org
SOURCE Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers
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Related links:
http://www.cmsa.org
http://www.nbch.org http://www.ntocc.org
http://www.oahhs.org http://www.ochcp.org
http://www.sanofi-aventis.com
http://www.sanofi-aventis.us
CONTACT:
Barbara Prowe, Executive Director of Oregon
Coalition of Health Care Purchasers, +1-503-972-1351,
barbara.prowe@ochcp.org
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