Show Me the Quality!

Have you ever seen the movie “Jerry Maguire” that features Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr?  Cuba is a professional football player who can’t seem to get the respect he needs, and Cruise is a recruiter who needs a break as he is looking for a greater purpose in his life and career.  These two “down and outs” find one another, and ultimately learn that they need each other to make it in their careers.  

One of my favorite parts in the movie is when Cuba has a conversation on the phone with Cruise, and does his “Show me the $$$” chant and dance, to emphasize to Cruise that he’s not going to settle for any “second best” opportunities.

Well, everywhere you turn today in healthcare, someone is doing a chant and dance version with a little different spin, “Show me the Quality!”  Sure, none of them are as talented as the actors in “Jerry Maguire,” but, they sure are making the healthcare industry a whole lot more interesting than ever before!

If you go to the HIMSS website, and click on “About HIMSS,” the first sentence you will read is the following: “HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.”

So, what is meant by a “HIMSS cause”?  It took me some time to digest this and understand what this actually means.   Well, let me help speed this up for you, so you have time to go check out “Jerry Maguire” and get that catchy “Show me the $$$” tune in your head to practice for your next annual review…

What is a better “cause” for the use of health IT then to improve quality?  In fact, “quality” and health IT seem to be the “cause” of a lot of discussion lately.  Ok, makes sense now, doesn’t it?  Ok, so, start hummin’ along with me…”Show me the Quality!”…  Now don’t be embarrassed, as you know that life is short, and you’re supposed to wear sunscreen, dance like nobody’s watchin’, and of course, floss…

CMS and ONC have really gotten serious about ”Show me the Quality!”… In fact, during some recent travel this summer, I could have sworn I saw David Blumenthal, MD (National Coordinator of Health IT), and Don Berwick, MD (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator), at the airport in lock step doing the ”Show me the Quality!”steps… 

The first of the five goals of meaningful use is to “Improve quality, safety, efficiency and reduce disparities,” all of which will be leveraged through meaningful use of EHRs. Dr. Berwick has brought the “Triple Aim” to CMS, giving us all the direction to aim for better individual care anchored in the IOM’s [Institute of Medicine “Crossing the Quality Chasm” six principles of quality improved impact on population health, and to do so all at a lower per-capita cost. 

Well, not to be outdone, Secretary Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), sought public input mid-October for the development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan to which HIMSS responded pointing out the key role of health IT. 

The National Priorities Partnership (NPP) (of which HIMSS is now a partner) also responded to HHS, and part of its suggestion was to add two additional goals to its existing six, one of which is “Infrastructure Supports.”  This new goal emphasizes the need for health IT to support quality.  If you look closely at the eight NPP goals, and compare them to the five goals of meaningful use, you will see alignment, contributing to  ”Show me the Quality!”  And, of course, the drumbeat behind the scenes for ”Show me the Quality!” is the National Quality Forum (NQF), with multiple health IT projects in motion to promote the goal of quality, with  HIMSS, as a member of NQF, contributing to these projects. 

Two of the most recent additions in the news turning up the volume of ”Show me the Quality!” is a one-year study by IOM to examine best policies and practices for improving health care safety with health information technology, (through a $1M grant from ONC), and the announcement of the new leader for the CMS Innovation Center, who will lead efforts to test innovative payment and service delivery models to reduce program expenditures while enhancing the quality of care furnished to individuals.  Sounds in lock step with the Triple Aim to me…. 

And, who could do ”Show me the Quality!” without the heart and soul of the Geek Doctor himself, making sense of it all for everyone else – thank you Dr. Halamka!

So, are you starting to see the visual of ”Show me the Quality!” coming together among all these players? 

HIMSS has been chanting and dancing to ”Show me the Quality!” quite some time before the buzz of meaningful use.   The HIMSS Davies Awards of Excellence Program winners have shared their lessons learned on how health IT can achieve improved quality outcomes since 1994.

HIMSS “Stories of Success” program,  co-sponsored by the American Society for Quality,  National Committee for Quality Assurance, and National Patient Safety Foundation, and supported by The Joint Commission, NQF, and NPP, highlights and demonstrates how health IT is leveraged to fulfill hospital and ambulatory national patient safety goals and recommendations.  And, HIMSS Quality 101 website offers multiple resources under the subheadings of:

• Quality: The Basics,
• Quality:  Key Industry Players,
• Quality:  Measures,
• Quality & Performance Improvement,
• Quality & Meaningful Use,
• Quality: Public Reporting,
• Quality/Cost Relationship, and
• Quality Tools: CDS.

By now, I have no doubt in my mind that you have given up on reading this blog post and are fully entrenched in watching “Jerry Maguire.”  But, hopefully, you have caught the buzz!  Here’s to chanting and dancing to ”Show me the Quality!” …