A Process Improvement Toolkit to Guide the Attainment of Meaningful Use Stage 2 Requirements

Healthcare is evolving. Reimbursement is transitioning to a model based on quality and patient outcomes. To remain relevant and survive this transition, providers of care must adapt and implement new models of care delivery that account for these changes. This toolkit was created as a deliverable of a Doctor of Nursing Practice dissertation that explored a successful primary care delivery model of a Patient-Centered Medical Home that utilized an interdisciplinary team approach that included nurses. Through this model high quality care was delivered to achieve desired outcomes, specifically, successful attestation for Stage 2 of the Meaningful Use Incentive Program during the first quarter of 2014. This toolkit was created as a result of the exploration of this model in order to inform others regarding structures and processes that can be integrated to meet the requirements of Stage 2 Meaningful Use. To do so, this toolkit describes the structure utilized by practice of interest, including the roles of vital staff members. Processes that result in meeting Meaningful Use objectives are also described, many in the form of decision trees. The toolkit also includes an example of what an investment in this model would entail along with guidelines for model replication. This toolkit provides a framework for success in meeting Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements

An Interdisciplinary Team Approach to the Patient-Centered Medical Home as a Means of Meeting Meaningful Use Stage 2 Requirements

In an attempt to address the shortcomings of the current U.S. healthcare system, reimbursement structure is changing from fee-for-service to a value-based model. This requires drastic change in how care is delivered. Therefore, care delivery models and reimbursement incentive programs are evolving to promote advancements in care delivery. This project examined an interdisciplinary team model utilized at a rural, privately owned practice that is a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH). This practice has incorporated unique structures and processes to attain Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements in the first year attesting for this stage became available as a means of addressing shortcomings within the current healthcare system. An understanding of this model was obtained through informal interviews, observation, shadowing staff members, and a comparison of Stage 2 attainment between the Clinic and national data. This project found high quality care is delivered through the structures and processes in place at this Clinic resulting in a greater proportion of Stage 2 attainment within the Clinic compared to national data regarding similar providers. In doing so, this model has not only obtained enhanced reimbursement but has also experienced improved patient outcomes. Nurses were found to be an integral part of this team, necessary for the success of Stage 2 attainment and optimizing patient outcomes. As reimbursement continues to evolve to promote improved quality and outcomes, to remain viable, U.S. care delivery must adapt. As this model has seen success, a toolkit was developed containing documents that can be used in replicating this interdisciplinary team model in other primary care sites. This toolkit can be used to assist other primary care practices progress to meet the demands of reimbursement reform