Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Advancing Disease Management Processes

The disease management process at Bassett Medical Center was positively impacted after the hospital developed an improved system that allows quality reporting. The process improvement helped manage patient outcomes, patient experience and quality indicators. The initiative was supported by a team that included members from the performance improvement’s quality metrics group and executive council and data analytics team.  After an analysis of 76 different clinical quality measures, the team prioritized quality measures of hypertension and diabetes. Evidence-based guidelines and protocols were developed with the help of smaller teams and subject matter experts.

From 2015 to 2016, the hospital experienced an increase in disease management as seen below:

• 11 percent increase in hypertension control
• 10 percent increase in hypertension control in diabetics
• 98 percent increase in depression screening
• Seven percent increase in nephropathy screening in diabetics

This case study is part of the HANYS Triple Aim series highlighting how New York hospitals are improving health, enhancing quality and reducing costs. Hospitals, nursing homes and home care agencies across New York State are pursuing the Triple Aim. In spite of fiscal constraints, HANYS members are embracing the challenge of transforming health care and are implementing new and innovative approaches to delivery.