VHAN’s Pamela Bruce, Director, Quality and Clinical Transformation, has joined the NAACOS Quality Committee. This committee evaluates quality initiatives and requirements related to ACOs, while focusing on the role of quality performance in population-based payment models. The NAACOS Quality Committee also works to develop and guide the NAACOS quality strategy as it relates to Medicare ACO models including the Shared Savings Programs and other payers with ACO contracts. Congratulations, Pam!

Antibiotics prevent millions of deaths each year, fighting bacterial infections that could otherwise lead to serious complications or even death. But after years of overuse and inappropriate prescription, various bacteria have become increasingly resistant to antibiotics. To ensure optimum use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), a team of physicians and pharmacists created the Vanderbilt Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (VASP). Learn more about the program’s successes in this case study.

At least 30% of outpatient-prescribed antibiotics are unnecessary, sometimes leading to ER visits for adverse drug events in patients of all ages. To increase the appropriate use of antibiotics and decrease the threat of antibiotic resistance, VHAN has launched a new Antibiotic Stewardship Program, focusing on Upper Respiratory Infections (URIs) in the first phase.

Coinciding with VHAN’s 10th anniversary, the third season of the miniVHAN podcast looks back at the unique vision for VHAN and how the network launched amidst a major transition in health care from fee-for-service to value-based care following the signing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010.

VHAN is pleased to announce that the network achieved 100% performance on all Aetna Commercial quality measures in 2021. VHAN members also scored higher than Aetna’s Q4 national average on several measures, including Breast and Colorectal Cancer Screening and Comprehensive Diabetes Care.

Earlier this year, VHAN staff presented on VHAN’s Community Health Worker (CHW) pilot during Aetna’s quarterly Provider Clinical Transformation Webinar Series. The pilot, launched in 2019, was designed to improve access to care and resources for obstetric patients at Gallatin Women’s OBGYN Center (GWC) in Gallatin, Tennessee, which has a large prenatal patient population with approximately 350 babies born annually. The CHW pilot was designed to help with resource referrals and interventions for patients who need assistance with access to health care, physical and behavioral health support, and social determinants such as homelessness, food insecurity and unemployment. During the Aetna presentation, VHAN shared some initial results of the pilot.

VHAN is excited to announce that the network’s pediatric depression screening rate has dramatically improved. In 2019, VHAN began measuring annual depression screening for children 12 and older. To assist members who were struggling in this area, VHAN licensed clinical social workers met with practices to promote the social work program and the benefits of using the pediatric behavioral health consult line. As a result, by 2021, no VHAN members received a score of zero for depression screening and 46% of practices screened 90% of their VHAN patients for depression.

During a recent Pediatrics Champion Call, Kylie Cormier, MD, from Old Harding Pediatrics Associates (OHPA), shared best practices for capturing a yearly chlamydia screening from eligible patients. This important screening is part of the pediatric modifier for 2022, and it is also a required quality measure for many payors. Dr. Cormier and her colleagues have streamlined the screening process, while ensuring that patients and parents feel as comfortable as possible.

To improve Erlanger Health System’s (EHS) AWV completion rate and deliver vital preventive care, the Erlanger Medical Group (EMG) quality team implemented an Annual Wellness Visit template and clinical education program in 2018. Since implementing the new process, Erlanger has experienced a year-over-year increase in total Medicare AWVs. Read the article to leverage best practices from the EMG quality team.