Practice Facilitation: A Resource for Process and Quality Improvement
July 29th, 2016 | Network NewsLinda Franke is AHP’s Certified Practice Facilitator dedicated to helping practices meet their goals through workflow improvement, team development and PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycles. To help practices understand this new resource available from AHP, Linda has provided this example of her current work with a provider seeking PCMH recognition:
I am currently working with a private practice PCP who is working toward NCQA recognition as a Patient Centered Medical Home. Anyone who has achieved that recognition knows that the first time can be overwhelming. Even with support from a consultant, the amount of paperwork and documentation and the changes to workflows or job descriptions can be a formidable undertaking that can make those leading the process feel very high levels of stress.
I began my work with this practice by making contact with the RMS Healthcare consultant already working with the practice on PCMH and discussing some of the barriers the practice was experiencing in the process of practice transformation. Informed by that feedback, I made the recommendation that the practice’s physician utilize voice recognition software (Dragon) to get the content of workflow processes and policies down on paper, and then utilize other staff resources to “clean up” the look of the document. This suggestion lessened the documentation burden on the provider, while bringing other team members into the process, an important aspect of PCMH and team-based care. Additional work with the practice included time spent providing additional insight to the standards that helped the practice better understand the requirements and the change necessary to meet them. I was also able to work with the practice to facilitate the initial documentation process.
Happily, with just some targeted “tweaks” to this practice’s PCMH project work, they are well on their way to Patient Centered Medical Home Recognition!
