FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rural Oklahoma Communities To Receive Health Care Quality Improvement Assistance

  
(August 7, 2009, Oklahoma City, Ok) – Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality (OFMQ) announces it was awarded federal funds to expand health care quality improvement assistance for Oklahoma’s rural health care providers.  Hospitals and nursing homes in rural communities will partner with OFMQ to work on a two-year program aimed to improve prevention and treatment of pressure ulcers (bed sores).
Additionally, nursing homes in the program will commit to reducing the use of physical restraints.  Quality improvement and patient safety assistance is offered at no charge to providers through the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program, run by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS). 

“Improving patient safety and quality of health care services should be a priority for Oklahoma’s health care providers, particularly in rural areas where resources are limited,” said Dale Bratzler, D.O., M.P.H., OFMQ’s chief executive officer.  “We are pleased with the positive response by providers to engage in the QIO program to make patient care better for Oklahomans,” he said. 

“With their experience and strong relationships with providers, OFMQ is uniquely positioned to help make real improvement in rural health quality in our state,” said Val Schott, M.P.H., Director of the Oklahoma Office of Rural Health and OSU Center for Rural Health Policy and Advocacy. “The Office of Rural Health welcomes OFMQ’s partnership and commitment to improving health care for Oklahoma.” 

According to CMS, Oklahoma ranks 4th in the nation in pressure ulcers among high-risk nursing home residents. Pressure ulcers, which can occur in any health care setting, cause pain and suffering, are expensive to treat and can be life threatening. OFMQ recently added staff with specialized clinical expertise in wound care to work with providers and other caregivers to address this problem.  

“OFMQ is bringing hospitals and nursing homes together in communities across the state to address the problem of pressure ulcers in transitional care, that is, as patients move from one setting of care to another,” Bratzler added.  “Improving communications between providers is a critical factor in patient safety.” 

In addition to the rural patient safety work, OFMQ’s quality improvement efforts focus in these areas:  

• Hospital patients will be safer. OFMQ provides assistance to Oklahoma hospitals to improve care for heart and surgical patients, and prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
• Nursing home residents will live better, more comfortable lives. Over 50 percent of the state’s nursing homes are working with OFMQ to reduce bed sores and the use of physical restraints. 
• Doctors will use technology to improve preventive care. OFMQ assists primary care practices in using electronic medical records systems (EMR) to improve preventive care for breast and colorectal cancer, pneumonia and influenza.
• Patients will receive safer prescription drugs. OFMQ works with physicians and other providers to reduce the use of drugs that are potentially harmful for seniors. 
• Health care consumers can make more informed health care decisions. OFMQ assists hospitals with public reporting of quality data, which is tied to payment from Medicare. CMS makes quality of care information available on its hospital compare and nursing home compare websites, which can be accessed from www.medicare.gov.

Also as part of the QIO program, OFMQ provides services for Medicare beneficiaries who receive clinical care that does not meet professionally-recognized standards.  Beneficiaries and their loved ones with a concern about quality of care may call 1-800-MEDICARE (633-4227).