Practice Facilitation Resources Now Available from AHP
April 28th, 2016 | Network NewsAHP is pleased to announce the addition of Linda Franke, a certified practice facilitator, to the network’s care management team. AHRQ defines practice facilitation as a supportive service provided to a primary care practice by a trained facilitator who, utilizing organizational development, project management, and quality improvement approaches, builds the internal capacity of a practice to help it engage in improvement activities over time and support it in reaching incremental and transformative improvement goals.
Practice facilitation began in the early 1980’s in Europe with a stroke prevention project. Facilitators in that study assisted practices in improving workflow and provided nurse training to help practices meet screening goals (particularly blood pressure and weight), and education goals for their patients (smoking cessation and diet). Research has shown practice facilitation to be an effective program in assisting practices to meet the Triple Aim.
So what does this mean for your practice? It depends on what you need. Some practices feel as if they are floundering with new staff, new projects (PCMH, for example), or new technology. A practice facilitator can be a resource as you try new ways to meet your goals. Also, practice facilitators usually work in several practices and can therefore give you suggestions and ideas about what has worked at sites similar to yours. Some examples of projects currently in process are helping a practice to meet PCMH requirements, reordering a front end/reception department, and instituting LEAN elements into a practice. These are the kind of topics that take a good amount of time and require more concentrated care from a practice facilitator.
Maybe, however, you are happy with your practice’s status….except for that one little thing. AHP is offering “curbside help” for that situation. You may call or email Linda for help with resources, examples or ideas. This might be something like “how do I find resources for team building?” or “How are others addressing Standard 5A in PCMH 2014?” Another common example is “we have been working on trying to meet this metric for months – please give me another idea to try!” Curbsides are best used for practices that are on the right track but need a little extra help on a single topic. Calls and emails are returned in three business days or less. Linda can be reached at [email protected] or 585-397-5239.
