Doq-it/HIT Services
The need for technology across all healthcare settings has never been greater. Improved patient care, reduction of medical errors and increased efficiency are key benefits that result from healthcare information technology (HIT) implementation. Masspro believes that technology is vital in the healthcare quality improvement process; and therefore, as a federally designated healthcare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) it offers a variety of services designed to integrate technology into a range of provider settings to assist in the achievement of impactful results.
Masspro is engaged in a number of initiatives to provide HIT services across the continuum of provider settings. This includes its work as a pilot state in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Doctor’s Office Quality Information Technology (DOQ-IT) initiative, where it has signed up over 2,000 physicians across the state of Massachusetts to adopt and implement electronic health records (EHRs). In the DOQ-IT pilot, Masspro utilized its extensive experience in EHR implementation, workflow analysis, culture change and office and clinical redesign to work with physicians in small-to-medium sized practices to further EHR adoption and implementation.
Its expertise in EHR has enabled Masspro to take the lead role in working nationally with its peer QIOs to implement an Office Systems Survey (OSS) to assess physician adoption and use of EHRs.
Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is another critical area for technology implementation. Masspro, through its work in the CMS 8th Scope of Work will be working with hospitals across Massachusetts in planning for the implementation for CPOE.
Masspro is also taking an active role in the Pay-for-Quality model, partnering with Bridges to Excellence (BTE) a multi-state, multi-employer coalition developed by employers, physicians, healthcare services researchers and other industry experts. BTE’s mission is to reward quality across healthcare settings. Masspro is working with BTE to provide incentives to small-to-medium sized practices in the adoption and implementation of EHR.
Masspro is also working with the CMS to implement the Medicare Care Management Performance (MCMP) Pay-for-Performance demonstration project. In this project, physician practices implementing an EHR will be eligible to receive additional incentive payments for implementing an EHR and being able to demonstrate its functionality by reporting clinical performance data electronically. These demonstration practices will be matched against a comparison set of physician practices on specific criteria, including practice size, experience with EHRs, and pre-enrollment outcome measures, including patient hospitalizations and Medicare expenditures. The primary difference between the demonstration and comparison practices will be that the MCMP demonstration practices will receive an additional financial incentive for meeting clinical performance standards, whereas the comparison practices will not. Using Medicare claims data and results from patient and physician surveys, the demonstration and comparison practices will be compared to assess the effects of the financial incentive for performance improvement on continuity of care, health outcomes, quality of care, patient satisfaction with care, physician satisfaction, and Medicare expenditures.
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