Knowledge on the Go

Optimization of Biosimilar Medications Collaborative Strategies - Thedacare Regional Medical Center

With a potential savings of over $100 million over the next five years, spend on biologics continues to outpace the total market by a two-to-one margin. However, utilization rates in the United States have been slowed by numerous issues.
 
Wendy Biese and Carmen Gust join this episode to discuss the strategies ThedaCare Regional Medical Center has adopted to optimize biosimilars, and some of the barriers they’ve had to overcome in order to achieve their successful results.
 
Speakers:
Wendy Biese, PharmD, DPLA
System Director – Pharmacy Services
ThedaCare Regional Medical Center
 
Carmen Gust, PharmD, BCPS
System Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator
ThedaCare Regional Medical Center
 
Moderator
Jim Lichauer, PharmD, BCPS, FASHP
Sr PI Program Director, Pharmacy
Vizient
 
Show Notes:
[00.05] Background information on biosimilars and the history of biologics spend.
[01:40] Background information about ThedaCare.
[03:42] ThedaCare’s initial work with biosimilar conversion, from 2018 to early 2022.
[05:57] How ThedaCare’s game-changer initiative began, in the cancer center, and how key stakeholders were engaged.
[09:37] ThedaCare’s best practices for actively converting patients to biosimilars.
[12:04] Results so far, including outcomes and projected savings.
[13:01] Advice for organizations planning to implement similar biosimilar strategies.
[15:21] How ThedaCare is moving into the next phase of biosimilar conversion, and strategies for overcoming challenges.
 
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Insights From The IPS Care at Home Strategy Accelerator

Studies have shown that Care At Home promotes an effective and cost-efficient manner for patients to recover.
 
Jayme Zage and Brianna Motley, both from Sg2, join this episode to discuss the findings and insights garnered from the Integrated Performance Solution Care At Home Strategy Accelerator and how organizations can identify and prioritize what options and programs best fit their health-care-at-home strategy.
 
Speakers:
Jayme Zage, PhD
Principal, Intelligence
Sg2
 
Brianna Motley
Principal, Intelligence
Sg2
 
Moderator:
Courtney Furrow-White, MPM, RN
Senior Performance Improvement Program Director
Vizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:21] Background information about the IPS Strategy Accelerator and how Vizient and Sg2 define Care At Home
[03:28] Explanation of the portfolio approach to Care At Home
[04:52] Why it makes sense strategically for an organization to consider Care At Home
[06:10] Questions organizations should ask of themselves and their leadership as they consider this strategy
[07:44] Insights gained from participants in the Strategy Accelerator
[11:27] Levers needed to develop a sustainable Care At Home business model
[14:05] How this strategy can impact staffing concerns
[17:39] Recommendations for organizations looking to prioritize Care At Home resources they might already have
[20:16] Final thoughts and advice
 
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Screening for Social Determinants of Health

Research indicates that unmet social determinants of health —such as transportation, housing, and food security —can negatively impact health outcomes.
 
Kristin Burger O’Neal and Donna Avila join this episode to discuss how their team at Norman Regional Health System began screening for social determinants of health, and the impact on patient care.
 
Speakers:Donna Avila, RNDirector, Care CoordinationNorman Regional Health System
 
Kristin Burger O’Neal, BSN, RN, CCM, ACM-RNAdministrator, Post-Acute Transitions and Community EngagementNorman Regional Health System 
 
Moderator:  Laura Hoffman, DNP, MSN, RN, CPHQProgram DirectorPerformance Improvement Collaboratives
 
Show Notes:
[01:20] Why now is the right time to concentrate on social determinants of health.
[03:36] Norman Regional Health System’s engagement in the communities they serve, and the idea of the “elder orphan.”
[05:13] The transportation program’s impact on elder orphans.
[07:15] What’s involved in screening for social determinants of health, and what is done with patients determined to be at-risk.
[11:14] The Community Health Navigator role and its effect on patients in the community.
[13:59] Next steps in the process for Norman Regional Health System.
[15:50] Advice for other health systems considering screening for social determinants of health.
[16:41] Why it is invaluable to keep an open mind about your patient population.
 
Links | Resources:
For more information, email picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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Improving Health Equity

Adults with food insecurities have an increased risk for negative health outcomes, including obesity and chronic disease; and children with food insecurities may be at a higher risk for obesity, developmental problems and mental health issues. In this podcast, we’ll discuss what Main Line Health is doing to address food insecurities for their patients who come through their emergency departments.
 
Guest speakers: Joanna Dixon, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CENLead Clinical Nurse EducatorNurse Residency and OnboardingMain Line Health System 
 
Joseph MacDonald, CSSBB, MBAProcess Improvement EngineerMain Line Health System 
 
Shonalie Roberts, MHA, ARM, LSSGBSystem Director, Health EquityMain Line Health System
 
Host:  Laura Hoffman, DNP, MSN, RN, CPHQProgram DirectorPerformance Improvement Collaboratives
 
Show Notes: 
[1:48] Why Main Line Health decided use the emergency department to screen for food insecurities  
[2:53] Their screening revealed 530 patients with food insecurities, and the nurses wanted to do more for those patients and that was the beginning of their food bag program
[3:34] The ED screening program isn’t the first food insecurity program at Main Line Health. The Deaver Wellness Farm on their Lankenau Medical Center campus has supplied fruits and vegetables to patients during doctor visits since 2015.
[6:00] Who supports the food bag program
[6:47] EMR helps with the lunch bag program’s workflow
[8:00] Sustainability for the program takes streamlined behind the scenes logistics and standardization of tasks
[10:52] Food bag content
[12:00] Follow up after the patient receives the food bag
[12:48] Program impact on the patients and staff
 
For more information, email picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
 
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Engaging stakeholders in quality through system communications

This episode features a team using a systemwide approach to communicate quality data and engage their stakeholders. Through this ongoing process, they have forged relationships that have improved patient care throughout the Intermountain Healthcare organization.
 
Guest speakers:Bonnie Gregson, MSN, CPHQSystem Quality Senior Clinical Operations ManagerOffice of Patient ExperienceIntermountain Healthcare
 
Daniel Barker, MBA, RRTClinical Operations ManagerOffice of Patient ExperienceIntermountain Healthcare
 
Moderator:Margaret Rudisill, MS-HQS, RNPI Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:26] Developing communication process to impact each care site
[02:34] Communication channels
[03:18] Engagement approach – a non-threatening attitude
[05:36] Looking at gaps to reduce PSI 3s (patient safety indicator for pressure ulcers)
[06:14] “What if” calculator for care site benchmarking
[07:04] Sharing systemwide – “system learning”
[09:05] Quality Insights Dashboard – sharing PSI data and best practices systemwide
[11:29] Other communication approaches across the system
[13:18] Beyond PSIs – mortality, QAPI data
[14:38] Not about reducing the numbers
[16:18] “Fail fast, move forward”
 
Links | Resources:
Recent PI Collaborative broadcast featuring Bonnie Gregson and Danny Barker discussing their quality approach at Intermountain Healthcare: Click Here
To contact Knowledge on the Go: picollaboratives@vizientinc.com
To contact Bonnie: bonnie.gregson@imail.org
To contact Danny: daniel.barker@imail.org
 
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Using AI for early detection of sepsis

CDC statistics suggest that one in three people who die in a hospital have sepsis. Furthermore, in almost 87% of cases the patient had sepsis or a sepsis-causing infection before admission to the hospital.
Innovative healthcare organizations are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to combat sepsis.
In this episode, Dr. Joe Cummings explains the technology and shares the latest developments in the battle against sepsis.
 
Guest speaker:Joe Cummings, PhD Technology Program Director Vizient 
 
Moderator:Shannon HalePerformance Improvement Collaboratives DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:36] Basic definition of artificial intelligence (AI).
[02:21] AI subtypes important to the sepsis discussion.
[03:49] More on how AI can combat sepsis.
[05:39] Barriers to implementation.
[09:55] Other AI models and their results.   
[11:33] What the future holds for sepsis models. 
[12:20] Advice to organizations interested in AI options for sepsis.
 
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A Patient-Centered Approach to Optimizing Ambulatory Access

Facilitating access to care for patients is focused on ensuring timely, necessary, and appropriate health care services. Improving access to care is a strategic priority for most health systems and a challenge for nearly all.
 
The Association of American Medical Colleges and Vizient recently collaborated on a study regarding a patient-centered approach to optimizing ambulatory access.  Guests on this episode discuss those findings and   insights from ambulatory care leaders, physicians, and staff in five academic medical centers whose organization's access performance has been outstanding.
 
Guest Speakers:Nicole Spatafora, MS-HSMAVP, Performance ImprovementPI CollaborativesVizient
 
Danielle Carder, MSCSenior Program Specialist, Access & Clinical InnovationsAssociation of American Medical Colleges
 
Moderator:Courtney Furrow-White, MPM, RNSenior Performance Improvement Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:28] General findings from the project, including primary drivers of success.
[04:12] More details about what the framework.
[04:56] The role engaged leadership plays in success.
[06:03] Supporting foundational leadership and culture with organization-wide structure and standard processes.
[07:08] Actionable data and analytics.  
[09:43] Optimizing care delivery.
[11:50] The role of workforce engagement in reducing turnover and burnout.
[13:28] Leveraging technology.  
[16:36] Summary of the project findings.
[17:44] Recommendations for organizations that want to incorporate this framework.
 
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The State of Indirect Spend and its Importance in Healthcare

Indirect spending is defined as any purchase or services that are internal or external to a healthcare organization but fall outside of med-surg supplies, pharmacy, physician preference items (PPI), and capital. You might be surprised to learn that indirect spending accounts for up to 30% of a hospital’s total operating expenses.
Today’s guests discuss the current state of indirect spending, its importance in the healthcare space, and some of their success stories. 
 
Guest speaker:John AndrewsStrategic Sourcing Manager - Purchased ServicesBusiness Diversity ManagerRush University Medical Center
 
Hawanya Blakely, MBAStrategic Sourcing Manager - Purchased Services Purchasing & ContractingRush University Medical Center
 
Moderator:LaTammy Marks, MBA, BSN, RNPerformance Improvement Program Director, PI CollaborativesVizient
 
Show Notes:
[02:04] The state of indirect spend within healthcare organizations today.
[03:33] How Rush University Medical Center took a proactive approach to identifying indirect spend opportunities.
[05:01] Why Rush University Medical Center made indirect spending a priority.
[07:51] How leadership sponsorship contributed to their success.
[09:12] Where a healthcare organization should start. 
[10:23] Importance of participating in the Vizient Reducing Variation Indirect Spend Benchmarking Study.
[11:25] Understanding your indirect spending and the number of vendors that you’re using within a specific category.
[12:07] Importance of aligning across various system facilities.
 
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New multi-cancer early detection test

Early detection of cancer can dramatically increase the efficacy of curative treatment. Unfortunately, early screening tests exist for only a small number of cancers, meaning most are not diagnosed until symptoms arise in the later stages of the disease.
 
Better cancer screening is, therefore, a major focus area for clinical performance improvement. Marilyn Sherrill talks with Dr. Joe Cummings about a new genomic test that can theoretically screen for more than 50 different types of cancer using a small blood sample, and what the future may hold for this technology.
 
Guest speaker:Joe Cummings, PhD Technology Program Director Vizient 
 
Moderator:Marilyn Sherrill, RN, MBAPerformance Improvement Program DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:28] The Grail Galleri liquid biopsy test.
[02:18] Sampling methodology.
[02:55] The analytic process of the Grail Galleri test, and some developmental history.
[04:01] Testing methodology is based on methylation patterns.
[05:36] Results of the clinical studies to-date, and status of ongoing studies.
[08:13] Early adopters include some larger healthcare systems and, potentially, anyone willing to self-pay.
[09:04] Test costs and preliminary cost/benefit anaylsis.
[11:02] Considerations re: payers’ willingness to cover test costs.
[12:09] Looking forward to trial results and potential FDA approval.
[13:05] With many companies doing R&D in the liquid biospy field, the development of competing and complementary tests is to be expected.
 
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Sepsis Awareness Month: Sepsis Early Recognition

As sepsis continues to be a major cause of death representing a substantial healthcare burden, Vizient hosted a performance improvement collaborative focused on sepsis early recognition. Shannon Hale explores guidelines and best practices with collaborative participant Amy Lorenz of Covenant HealthCare. 
 
Guest speaker:Amy Lorenz Lead Quality Improvement SpecialistCovenant Healthcare
 
Moderator:Shannon Hale Performance Improvement Collaboratives DirectorVizient
 
Show Notes:
[01:03] Covenant Healthcare identified sepsis fallouts in order to enhance education related to Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidelines.
[01:59] Covenant created an online reference tool — a sepsis awareness page —to communicate about guideline revisions and fallout areas with all clinical staff.
[03:27] The sepsis awareness page was promoted to educate clinical staff and ensure usage.
[04:08] Executive and physician-driven support strongly enriched the collaboration.
[05:06] Covenant provides sepsis awareness page data monthly.  
[05:40] Lack of education about and awareness of the CMS guidelines has been the greatest challenge.  
 
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