The Department of Vermont Health Access (DVHA) is required to run a program of formal and informal performance improvement projects (PIPs). The goal of these PIPs is to make improvements over time on a chosen topic.
PIPs include:
- Using indicators to measure how we are doing;
- Making changes meant to lead to improvement;
- Studying whether the changes worked;
- Planning activities to increase or sustain improvement.
Title: Managing Hypertension
Type: Formal
Duration: 2020-current
Description: View the Controlling High Blood Pressure (CBP) Scorecard
Resources: Provider/Patient Tip Sheet
Resources: Managing Hypertension Webinar
Resources: Downloadable At-Home Blood Pressure Monitor Poster
Title: Foster Care Learning Collaborative
Type: Informal
Duration: 2021-current
Description: Learning collaborative focused on improving the rate of comprehensive health visits for children and youth entering foster care.
Resources: Billing Tool for Children/Youth Entering Foster Care
Title: Initiation and Engagement of Alcohol and Other Drug Dependence Treatment (IET) PIP
Type: Formal
Duration: 2017-2020
Description: View report on the IET PIP
Title: Chlamydia Screening for Women (CHL)
Type: Informal
Duration: 2018-2019
Description: View report on the CHL Quality Improvement Project
Clinical Operations Unit Quality Improvement Projects
Title: Advance Care Planning and Palliative Care
Type: Informal
Duration: 2019-2020
Description: The goal of palliative care is to improve quality of life by pain and symptom management of a chronic illness. It is important to understand that palliative care is not hospice care.
In fact, palliative services are very different from hospice care in that you can receive support while still pursuing a cure.
Palliative care is available at any stage of a serious illness and can be combined with aggressive treatments. The benefit of palliative care is that palliative care experts can work with and help manage pain, symptoms and side-effects while the doctor focuses on treatment. It can be provided in several settings including a hospital, home, or long-term care facility.
This clinical project was initiated to explore the possibility of paying clinical providers for ACP and then promoting its use.
The project has successfully achieved its first and primary goal and is now designing future educational efforts to providers and members alike across the State.
This project has been put on hold as of March 2020 due to clinical resources being diverted to DVHA’s COVID-19 Emergency response.
Title: Individual Education Plan (IEP)
Type: Informal
Duration: 2019
Description: Many children on Individualized Education Plans are not receiving medical care through a medical home who could provide valuable medical guidance as part of the IEP process.
Areas for Improvement: Decrease the number of IEPs reviewed by DVHA physicians and increase the number of children who have a medical home. Vermont children have a medical home that can provide valuable medical guidance as part of the IEP process.
Long term goal: Decrease the number of IEPs that come to DVHA for review to under 10 per month. Short Term Goal: Increase the efficiency of the system through electronic processing.
Identify children and families that need additional supports and refer to VCCI. In the past 3 months, 98 individuals, an average of 33 per month, were received by the DVHA for review. Medical homes were found for 41 of them: 41% of the total.
This project has been put on hold as of March 2020 due to clinical resources being diverted to DVHA’s COVID-19 Emergency response.
Title: Urine Drug Testing (UDT)
Type: Informal
Duration: 2019-2020
Description: In 2018 urine drug testing (UDT) costs totaled over $35 million for VT Medicaid. Costs have risen significantly from 2016 to 2018 with the most significant spending noted among independent labs. The identified rising cost and disproportionate distribution of spending prompted collaboration with community stakeholders to investigate urine drug testing practices and potential improvements and recommendations that might be made to improve UDT practices to promote informed treatment. The community work group will review UDT best practices, identify barriers to best practices, and develop best practice recommendations.
This project has been put on hold as of March 2020 due to clinical resources being diverted to DVHA’s COVID-19 Emergency response.