Knowledge on the Go

Pharmacy Revenue Cycle

The pharmacy revenue cycle is a multi-phase continuous process, which requires ongoing collaboration across many disciplines. The process starts at pre-registration and continues through payment reconciliation. Steven Loborec, associate director of Pharmacy at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center joins host Jim Lichauer to discuss the details of his program.
 
Guest:Steven Loborec, PharmDAssociate Director of PharmacyThe Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
Moderator:Jim Lichauer, PharmD, BCPS, FASHPSenior PI Program Director, PharmacyVizient 
Show Notes:
[00:45 – 02:34] Overview of pharmacy revenue cycle process and areas where tOSU Wexler Medical Center is engaged
[02:35 – 04:10] Addressing the Charge Master
[04:11 – 09:14] Finding new and additional revenue streams
[09:15 – 13:31] Identifying medications or sites of care opportunities that generate greatest margins
[13:32 – 14:14] Lessons learned
 
Links | Resources:
Contacting Knowledge on the Go: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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High Reliability: the nuts and bolts

Healthcare organizations across the nation strive to become highly reliable organizations.  Vizient defines an high reliability organization as an organization that has experienced significant success in avoiding harm within an environment of high complexity and risk.  This podcast discusses strategies and emerging practices identified in Vizient’s high reliability culture of safety collaborative.  Joining in the discussion to share their insights on how to improve your health organization’s culture of safety is collaborative participant, Caryn Douma, Corporate Director of Patient Safety Strategy from the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Michael Leonard, Senior Principal at Vizient and an High Reliability expert.   
 
Speakers: Caryn Douma, MS, RN, CPPSCorporate Director of Patient Safety StrategyUniversity of Pennsylvania Health System
 
Michael Leonard, MDSenior PrincipalVizient
Host: Marilyn Sherrill, RN, MBASenior Program Director, Performance Improvement ProgramsVizient
 
Show notes:
[2:08] Essential elements for High Reliability
[5:00] Senior leader engagement and feedback
[7:00] How to close the loop with frontline staff at a large, comprehensive, academic medical center
[8:30] Making leadership rounds meaningful and positive
[11:40] Personal accountability and teamwork helps with the patient care tasks reliably getting done
[13:36] How to set your staff up for success rather than punishing them for results that didn’t come out as intended
[[14:25] Creating a culture where staff feel comfortable speaking out
[17:45] Psychological safety
 
Links | Resources:
Contacting Knowledge on the Go: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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School Transitions Following Psychiatric Hospitalization

Imagine the stress of returning to school, following a psychiatric hospitalization for the pediatric patient, their family and caregivers. Dr. Sarah Edwards, director for the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Courtney Vaughn, school transition Specialist at the University of Maryland join join host Laura Hoffman, Sr. Performance Improvement Program Director, to explain how their school transitions program helps these patients and families adjust to that transition.
 
Guests:Sarah Edwards, DODirector for the Division of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryUniversity of Maryland
 
Courtney Vaughan, MSW, LCSW-C School Transition Specialist University of Maryland
 
Moderator:Laura Hoffman, DNP, MSN, RN, CPHQ PI Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[00:52 – 02:54]  Overview of the school transitions program
[02:55 – 03:55]  What is a family connector and how they provide emotional support
[03:56 – 05:30]  Program elements that help youth to stay on track
[05:31 – 07:57]  Impressive outcomes of this program
[07:58 – 09:16]  What this program has meant to them from a personal or a professional standpoint
 
Links | Resources:
Contacting Knowledge on the Go: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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Using AI to improve observed mortality

Artificial Intelligence has been helping improve healthcare for years, but just recently, there has been a seismic shift in capability, buy-in and attention. Healthcare systems across the country are looking into safely and effectively using AI to improve observed mortality. On this episode, we examine how Intermountain Health is effectively using AI for their patients.
 
Guest speaker:
Sathya Vijayakumar, MS, MBA
Senior Manager, Clinical Operations
Intermountain Health
 
Moderator:
Shannon Sullivan, MHA
Fellow
Performance Improvement
Vizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:22] Opportunity to benchmark observed mortality
[02:11] Using AI to track observed mortality
[06:16] Details on the process used at Intermountain Health
[08:37] How Intermountain piloted and fostered adoption of the initiative – outcomes
[12:09] Barriers to implementation
[13:43] Will never replace clinical judgment
[14:43] Recommendations and takeaways
[07:02] Next steps
 
Links | Resources:
Contacting Knowledge on the Go: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
Shannon’s email: shannon.sullivan@vizientinc.com
Sathya’s email: Sathya.Vijayakumar@imail.org
 
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Hospital-acquired infection improvement journey

Hospital-acquired infections affect every health organization. These infections may be caused by a variety of pathogens including bacterial, viruses, fungi and parasites. They can lead to increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Joining us to discuss their efforts to reduce hospital-acquired infections at SSM Health are Dr. Shephali Wulff, System Vice President of Quality and Safety and Chief Quality Officer and Chris Zirges, System Director of Infection Prevention.
 
Guest speakers:Shephali Wulff, DOSystem Vice President of Quality and Safety, Chief Quality OfficerSSM Health
Chris Zirges, DNP, APRN-BC, CIC, FAPICSystem Director of Infection PreventionSSM Health 
Host:Courtney Furrow-White, MPM, RNSenior PI Program DirectorVizient 
 
Show Notes:
[:56] SSM Health infection prevention overview
[1:35] Current infection disease collaboration between four teams: infection disease physicians, infection prevention, microbiology and infection disease pharmacists
[2:43] Partnering with continuous improvement team to put hospital-acquired infection guidelines into a change package
[3:05] Over a span of two years, efforts led to 60% infection reduction for three targeted infections
[3:20] Challenges with standardizing the work
[4:15] Standardizing process structure and change framework
[7:00] Process checks to support freezing and/or unfreezing behavior for validity and sustainability
[10:00] Training modules and tools
[11:45] Focus strategy for monitoring and reducing other hospital-acquired infections  
[14:40] Different processes are needed for patients that are entering care in different ways: i.e., elective vs emergent surgery vs. in-patient surgery
[15:20] Lessons learned
 
Links | Resources:
For more information: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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Improving sepsis bundle compliance

Sepsis has long been a challenge for healthcare organizations. It is a leading cause of morbidity, readmissions and mortality. As a reaction to an infection, sepsis can spread quickly, progress to septic shock and eventually shut down organ systems. Catching it early is a priority and the basis for much of a hospital’s approach to the disease. This episode features a healthcare expert who shares her organization’s approach to sepsis, as part of a Vizient collaborative, that has resulted in significant reduction in the disease.
 
Guest speaker:Leanne Bonds, MSN, RN, CPHQDirector of Quality and Patient SafetyUF Health Shands Hospital
 
Host:Shannon Hale, MHA, RN, CPHQPerformance Improvement Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:14] Rationale for participating in the collaborative
[01:53] Goal of participation
[02:23] Increasing compliance with the sepsis order set
[03:11] Use of sepsis sidebar
[04:06] Barriers to implementation
[04:46] Outcomes from collaborative
[05:45] A takeaway from the collaborative
[07:02] Next steps
 
Links| Resources:
Contacting Knowledge on the Go: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
Shannon’s email: shannon.hale@vizientinc.com
Leanne’s email: lbon0001@shands.ufl.edu
CDC sepsis website: https://www.cdc.gov/sepsis/what-is-sepsis.html
 
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Patient-initiated Portal Communications

Navigating patient-initiated portal communication to create better experiences for patients is a national priority for healthcare systems.  The goal of the patient-initiated portal communication project collaboration between Vizient and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is to understand the different ways that health systems are responding to patient-initiated portal communication, and the usage of e-visits, and its impact on the Quintuple AIM, equity, quality, patient experience, care team experience and cost. By learning the pros and cons of communication through the electronic patient portals, health systems can create better messaging and clarity for patients.
Danielle Carder, Senior Program Specialist from AAMC, joins host Courtney Furrow-White to share their collaborations on patient-initiated portal communication.  Each share statistics, challenges and results from their findings and how organizations and patients are impacted.
 
Guest speakers:
Danielle Carder MSc
Senior Program Specialist, Access & Clinical Innovations
Association of American Medical Colleges
 
Host:
Courtney Furrow-White, MPM, RN
Senior PI Program Director
Vizient
 
Show Notes:
[1:38] Partnership between Vizient and AAMC to understand how health systems respond to patient initiated portals
[2:34] Analyzing the billing data of 78 clinical practices
[3:25] Members survey compiling data from equity, ROI to provider and patient satisfaction
[5:45] The challenges health care organizations face with e-visits, and managing perceptions of care
[7:33] Measuring feedback and engagement around the value of patient portals
[10:58] Active education and communication with patients on best ways to access care
[12:51] The operational workflows implemented to ease conversations about visit type
[14:34] Concerns from patients about billing and processing
 
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Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) to decrease LOS and improve capacity

We know that social determinants of health such as housing instability, food insecurity, transportation barriers and limited access to education significantly influence individuals’ health outcomes. By screening for these factors, healthcare providers can provide, or healthcare providers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of patients' lives beyond their medical conditions. This holistic approach allows for tailored interventions that address the root causes of health disparities.
Heather Blonsky, Lead Data Scientist at Vizient, joins host Margaret Rudisill to talk about this topic and how we have used our Vizient vulnerability index tool, lovingly called the VVI tool, to address some of the nonclinical issues of each organization's top 2% in patient utilizers in our current collaborative, creating capacity transitioning of high-risk patients.
 
Guests:Heather BlonskyLead Data ScientistVizient
 
Moderator:Margaret RudisillPI Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:27 – 04:04]  Why and how the Vizient Vulnerability Index tool was created
[04:05 – 06:09]  Homelessness and how it impacts health?
[06:10 – 10:02]  Other factors that are common in the top 2% utilizers and utilization of Z codes
[10:03 – 11:39]  How hospitals use that and Heather’s advice
[11:40 – 14:05]  What do hospitals do when you they identify these needs
[14:06 – 15:06]  How Vizient attempts to tie those 2% needs with the VVI and how beneficial it might be
 
Links | Resources:
For more information, email picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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Readmissions

Reducing preventable hospital readmissions is a national priority for payers, providers, and policy makers seeking to improve health care and lower costs. More important than costs, are the goals of providing quality care to patients who present with healthcare needs, helping them heal, and returning them safely to their home and loved ones.
 
Tod Baker, Principal, Dawn Sagliani, Consulting Director, and Christine Pilley, Consulting Director, all from Vizient join host Marilyn Sherrill, Sr. Performance Improvement Program Director, to discuss the emerging practices related to reducing readmissions.
 
Guests:Tod BakerPrincipalVizient
Dawn SaglianiConsulting DirectorVizient
Christine PilleyConsulting DirectorVizient
Moderator:Marilyn SherillSr. PI Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:14 – 02:48]  How hospitals are managing the financial challenges, and taking risks for readmissions
[02:49 – 03:11]  What hospitals are doing to reduce readmissions through better processes
[03:12 – 05:41]  Why are patients being readmitted to hospitals
[05:42 – 09:49]  The key elements to consider during the critical time of transition that can reduce a patient's risk of readmission
[09:50 – 010:40]  Role of Nurse Navigators
[10:41 – 11:41]  Benefit of assessing the home environment
[11:42 – 15:34]  Barriers to reducing readmissions
[15:35 – 16:13]  One recommendation for hospitals to bring about a more robust readmission program
 
Links | Resources:
For more information, email picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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Building relationships: referral and marketing strategy for remote patient monitoring

Remote patient monitoring, commonly referred to as RPM, is a type of telehealth in which healthcare providers monitor patients outside the traditional care setting using digital medical devices. The data collected from these devices are then electronically transferred to providers for care management. Automated feedback and workflows can be built into data collection, and out-of-range values or concerning readings can be flagged and then addressed by patient’s care team. In this episode two leading experts discuss building relationships to help drive referrals for an RPM program.
 
Guest speakers:Stephen Kropp, MSDirector of TelehealthThe University of Kansas Health System
Jacob Finke, BSN, RNRemote Patient Monitoring Nurse SupervisorThe University of Kansas Health System
Moderator:Courtney Furrow-White, MPM, RNSenior Performance Improvement Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:16] RPM program at The University of Kansas Health System
[02:20] Early focus areas and peripheral devices used
[03:22] Well-suited for patients with chronic conditions
[03:50] Barriers faced
[06:15] Increasing referrals
[07:53] Marketing strategy
[11:00] Drawing patients into the RPM program
[14:54] Finding staff with people skills
[15:29] Building patient trust
[18:04] Advice to those just starting out
 
Links | Resources:
Contacting Knowledge on the Go:
picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
Courtney’s email: Courtney.furrowwhite@vizientinc.com
Steve’s email: skropp@kumc.edu
Jacob’s email: jfinke@kumc.edu
 
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