Quality Improvement

Woman sitting at a desk, smiling, and looking at a person standing in front of her. Office supplies and a computer are on her desk.

According to HRSA Quality can be defined as: “Quality healthcare is the provision of appropriate services to individuals and populations that are consistent with current professional knowledge, in a technically competent manner with good communication, shared decision-making and cultural sensitivity.”

“Good quality healthcare is evidence based; increases the likelihood of desired health outcomes; and, addresses six aims—safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable—using a systems approach to continuously improve clinical, operational and financial domains.”

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) defines quality as: “The degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge.” The six aims for improvement noted by the HRSA Office of Health Information Technology and Quality were developed by the Committee on the Quality of Health Care in America convened by the IOM and further defined in its final report entitled “Crossing the Quality Chasm.” 

Institute of Medicine defines health care quality by six attributes:

  1. S- Safety- Patients should not be harmed by the care that is intended to help them

  2. P- Patient Centered- Care should be based on individual needs

  3. T- Timely- Waits and delays in care should be reduced

  4. E-Effective- Care should be evidence based

  5. E-Efficient- Reduce Waste

  6. E-Equitable- Care should be equal for all people

Health Center Quality Improvement

Quality can be measured in many ways using different models. Important factors include process indicators (those that measure things such as timeliness and baseline practices) and outcome indicators (A1C control, HIV screening, and infection rates). You can look at your health center indicators and compare them to other members within your network.

Health Centers can look at state and national recognitions/accreditations from awards that measure quality of care.

How to develop a quality improvement plan

Health centers must have an effective quality improvement plan (QI) to improve the performance of their health center. QI plans should consider the healthcare environment including national quality measurement and reporting systems. It should reflect standardized QI measures and efforts across the healthcare organization.

What to include in a QI plan

  1. A description of priorities, policies and goals of the health centers QI Program

  2. A description of the organizational systems needed to implement the program, including QI committee structure and functions, accountability, and responsibilities

  3. A process for consumer input

  4. Core measures, and measurement processes

  5. A description of the communication and evaluation plan

EMR User Groups

WV User groups currently are: Greenway, Athena, Azara, and adding ecW in the fall.

WVPCA seeks to optimize system effectiveness and utilization of member's electronic medical record (EMR) technology. Thus, WVPCA conducts quarterly Electronic Medical Record User Groups to provide members with a forum held in collaboration with vendor partners to share knowledge of the technology,  provide resources, and troubleshoot issues with peers. Meeting Agendas include topics related to clinical, IT, and operational workflow.

Meetings are held quarterly via the Zoom meeting platform and can be found on the WVPCA event website.

For questions or to join the next quarterly meeting of Greenway, Athena, Azara or ecW User groups please contact:

Jessica Dailey Haas, Director of Clinical Transformation, at jessica.haas@wvpca.org.

HCCN (Population Health Management Platform)

The West Virginia Primary Care Association was awarded the Health Center Controlled Network (HCCN) Cooperative Agreement Program by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

What is an HCCN?

HCCNs, as described by HRSA, “network of health centers that work together to strengthen and leverage health information technology (IT) to improve health centers’ operational and clinical practices that result in better health outcomes for communities they serve”.

More information about HCCN visit: Submit your HCCN Progress Report | Bureau of Primary Health Care (hrsa.gov).

Project Goals and Timeline

The project began in August 2020 and will continue into July of 2025

The grant is specific to West Virginia (WV) and includes 29 health centers throughout the state of WV. WVPCA utilizes the population health management platform (Azara) for standardization and improvement efforts in the HCCN grant.

The general goals of the grant include:

  • Goal A: Enhance Patient and Clinical Experience

  • Goal B: Advance Interoperability

  • Goal C: Use Data to enhance value

WVPCA has developed the WVPCA Noddlepod Community Learning Forum where participating health centers can find all the information related to the WVPCA HCCN. Within the Noodlepod you will find groups for HIT User Group, Azara (Population Health Management Platform) Super User Group where information on monthly peer meetings of quality, nursing administration, and CMO are archived. Members can post a question to their peers, review archived posts, and locate uploaded resources that are shared by WVPCA to members.

If you would like more information on the groups or be added to the Noddlepod please contact WVPCA staff:

Jessica Dailey Haas, MSN, RN, C-ONQS, Director of Clinical Transformation at Jessica.Haas@wvpca.org.

Jess K, Health Data Analyst, at jess.keathly@wvpca.org.

Value-Based Care (Coming Soon)

Circular diagram titled "Health Center" displaying three main segments: Care Delivery, People, and Infrastructure, surrounded by icons and text describing various health outcomes, patient experiences, and costs.

Value Transformation Framework, developed by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) Quality center is a conceptual model used to guide systems change by translating research and promising practices into manageable steps health centers can apply to improve care and outcomes.

The framework identifies 15 change areas across three domains: Infrastructure, care delivery and people.

Resources & Toolkits