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MVC Distributes PY 2024 Final Scorecards for MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program

MVC Distributes PY 2024 Final Scorecards for MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program

The Michigan Value Collaborative (MVC) Coordinating Center distributed final scorecards for Program Year (PY) 2024 of the MVC Component of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Pay-for-Performance (P4P) Program. This report provided hospitals with their final score for PY 2024 as well as detailed breakdowns by scoring component. This was the first year of a two-year cycle for which MVC claims data was used to score hospitals on their episode spending and value metric selections. PY 2024 used baseline year claims data from 2021 and performance year data from 2023.

The episode spending conditions for which MVC is scoring hospitals for PY 2024 include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), colectomy (non-cancer), congestive heart failure (CHF), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), joint replacement (hip and knee), and pneumonia. These conditions differ slightly from the list of episode spending conditions available in the PY 2026-2027 cycle (view PY 2026-2027 FAQ). Figure 1 shows the frequency of hospital selections for the PY 2024-2025 program cycle for episode spending; the plurality of hospitals selected joint replacement, whereas pneumonia was selected the least.

Figure 1.

The value metrics for which MVC scored hospitals for PY 2024 included cardiac rehabilitation after CABG, cardiac rehabilitation after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), follow-up after CHF, follow-up after COPD, follow-up after pneumonia, preoperative testing, and risk-adjusted readmissions after sepsis. Figure 2 shows that the plurality of hospitals selected 7-day follow up after CHF, and both 90-day cardiac rehab after CABG & 30-day inpatient readmissions after sepsis were selected the least.

Figure 2.

The MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program evaluated each participating hospital’s risk-adjusted, price-standardized, average 30-day episode payments for their selected condition as well as rates of utilization for their selected value metric through two methods. Hospitals earned points via "improvement" by reducing their payment or improving their utilization rate from the baseline period, or alternatively earned "achievement" points by being less expensive or having a better relative utilization rate than the peers in their designated cohort. The MVC cohorts are groups of hospitals determined to be peers using factors such as hospital bed size and case mix index.

While hospitals were scored on both improvement and achievement, members received the higher of those two scores for each of their selections. Hospitals were also eligible to receive engagement points by completing eligible MVC activities. A maximum of 10 points (4 points each for the selected episode spending condition and value metric, 2 points from engagement activities) were awarded to participating members. The distribution of total points earned by hospitals for the PY 2024 is illustrated in Figure 3.

Figure 3.

On average, hospitals earned 6.6 points in total, a decrease of 0.8 points from the PY 2023 average of 7.4 points. Figure 4 shows that the episode spending condition with the highest average awarded points was joint replacement (3.1 points) followed by CABG (2.3 points). Similarly, Figure 5 shows that the value metric with the highest average awarded points was preoperative testing (3.3 points) followed by 90-day cardiac rehabilitation after PCI (2.7 points). The breakdown of average points by each program component is illustrated in Figure 6. On average, hospitals earned 1.7 of the 2 available engagement points.

Figure 4.

Figure 5.

Figure 6.

If you have any questions regarding PY 2024 of the MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program, please refer to the MVC P4P PY 2024-2025 Technical Document. If you would like to set up a meeting to review your hospital’s program year selections or scores, please contact the Coordination Center [EMAIL]. MVC will evaluate and release mid-year scorecards for PY 2025 in the summer of 2025.

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January Workgroups Highlight System-Level Sepsis Efforts and Community Paramedicine

January Workgroups Highlight System-Level Sepsis Efforts and Community Paramedicine

In January, MVC hosted two virtual workgroup presentations – the first a sepsis workgroup focused on the development of a system-level sepsis improvement plan, and a health in action workgroup focused on the implementation of a community paramedicine program. MVC hosts two virtual workgroups per month with topics rotating between post-discharge follow-up, sepsis, cardiac rehabilitation, rural health, preoperative testing, and heath in action (ad hoc focused topics). Each month, the MVC Coordinating Center publishes key highlights from the past month’s presentations to support resources and best practice sharing across the state.

January Sepsis Workgroup: Munson Medical Center

On Jan. 14, MVC hosted its first sepsis workgroup of 2025 with a presentation on Munson Healthcare’s system-level sepsis improvement plan. Munson representatives who contributed to the presentation included Alex Callaway, MBA, CPHQ, CPPS, Director of Quality & Patient Safety; Diane Barton, MHA/MSN, CPHQ, CPPS, Director of Organizational & Clinical Quality; Jennifer Bentley, RN, BSN, Nursing Quality Coordinator; and Stephanie Bowen, RN, BSN, Nursing Quality Coordinator.

Barton commented that sepsis care became one of Munson Healthcare’s system-level driving strategies several years ago. This focus was partially driven by the system not performing well in comparison to state and national benchmarks but also because sepsis was found to be the number one cause of death for patients across Munson Healthcare.

With a goal to improve both internally as well as in comparison to state and national peers, Barton noted that early on Munson Healthcare identified the CMS SEP-1 bundle as a metric to guide their progress with quality improvement efforts. The CMS SEP-1 bundle is a protocol for treating patients with severe sepsis or septic shock focusing on early intervention and timely recognition of sepsis. It has been directly correlated to reduced mortality and improved patient outcomes.

Barton explained that since Munson is a relatively young system, they utilized an A3 problem solving system to examine the current state of sepsis management across all eight Munson Healthcare sites. With a system-level focus in mind, they created both site and system-level sepsis teams that engaged a variety of team members including representation from direct care providers and support services. The presenters then explained that to ensure provider buy-in, they first needed to develop a standard for monitoring sepsis compliance outcomes and the accompanying feedback pathways to provide up-to-date information to clinicians and quality staff.

At the start, Barton notes they were meeting compliance rates of only 60% but have recently seen less variation in their CMS SEP-1 bundle compliance and are encouraged by this trend. Callaway explained that over time they have modified their approach in response to provider feedback; for example, they eliminated the automated Cerner Sepsis Advisor alert in preference of a Sepsis Power Plan order set. Overall, the presenters noted that the improvement plan implemented by Munson Healthcare has had an overall positive impact on the system.

Following the presentation by Munson Healthcare, MVC Site Engagement Coordinator Emily Bair, MS, MPH, RDN, provided a brief review of the Program Year 2026-2027 sepsis value metric changes for the MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program. To better align with HMS sepsis measures, the MVC sepsis value metric transitioned from a readmission measure in PYs 2024-2025 to a follow-up measure in PYs 2026-2027. Bair noted that, following these changes, MVC observed a nearly fourfold increase in the number of participating P4P hospitals that selected the “14-day follow-up after sepsis” value metric.

Blinded MVC data for 14-day outpatient follow-up rates among patients hospitalized for sepsis was then shared with the workgroup attendees (Figure 1). The data showed an MVC All follow-up rate of 57.9% based on claims data for 30- and 90-day inpatient or surgical episodes of care for adults with index admission between 1/1/2022 and 12/31/2023. The hospital-level distribution of 14-day follow-up rates among patients hospitalized for sepsis ranged from 20% to 68% across MVC’s membership.

Figure 1. 14-Day Outpatient Follow-Up Rates Among Patients Hospitalized for Sepsis

Bair closed out the sepsis workgroup by facilitating discussion about 2025 organizational goals related to sepsis and the specific strategies care teams plan to implement in service of those goals. The interventions shared throughout Munson’s presentation and MVC’s blinded data inspired robust discussion about goals and strategies across the collaborative. Common discussion themes for sepsis efforts in 2025 included:

  • Building upon 2024 successes
  • Inclusion of clinical champions to sepsis teams
  • Addition of inpatient sepsis cases into fallout tracking
  • Implementation of data tracking and feedback communication strategies
  • Standardization of documentation and order sets across hospital systems

Jan. 14, 2025: MVC Sepsis Workgroup

January Health in Action Workgroup: Tri-Hospital EMS

The second workgroup of 2025 focused on a bird’s eye view of community paramedicine programming. This workgroup featured a presentation by Amanda Biskner, RN, Paramedic, CP-C, the Community Paramedicine Coordinator for Tri-Hospital EMS in St. Clair County, Michigan. The presentation reviewed the benefits and parameters of community paramedicine as well as the steps taken to implement a program in St. Clair County.

The practice of community paramedicine (CP) includes providing “out of hospital” care for non-emergent patients in their own home while also tending to their social determinants of health to improve overall quality of life. The CP’s ability to interface with the 9-1-1 system, extensive education in various topics including acute and chronic care, and license to utilize EMS and CPP protocols prior to PCP contact are just a few items that separate these practitioners from mobile integrated healthcare (MIH) and home health care programs. Bickner summarized the various services that community paramedics may cover within a patient visit (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Community Paramedicine Services

Biskner described the process by which the Tri-Hospital EMS community paramedicine program was initiated, starting with identifying a portion of the objectives for the 2023-2027 St. Clair County Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP) that could be supported by the program. Next, a pilot program was launched, and between June and October 2024 a total of 12 patients were enrolled and 45 visits completed through the program.

While the established goals for the trial were met –such as increased communication, healthcare access, patient satisfaction, and experience in care transitions – Biskner explained that there remain challenges to program expansion. Even though nearly 100 EMS agencies in 33 states across the U.S. have launched some version of a community paramedicine program, Biskner noted that funding and reimbursement issues are likely to continue since community paramedicine is not yet standardized in its training, licensure, or practice protocols. Increased community education, exposure, and relationships with local healthcare authorities are the primary methods Biskner recommended for expanding community paramedicine opportunities to other communities.

Jan. 30, 2025: MVC Health in Action Workgroup

In February, MVC will host two more virtual workgroups. The first workgroup on Tues., Feb. 11 will focus on cardiac rehabilitation, and the next on Thurs., Feb. 27 will feature a health in action workgroup focused on patient journey mapping. To register for these or other future workgroups, please view the 2025 calendar on MVC’s events page [LINK]. If you are interested in leveraging MVC’s robust claims data and data specialists to inform a local or system-level quality improvement effort, reach out to the MVC Coordinating Center [EMAIL].

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MVC Introduces Multi-Payer Preop Testing Registry Reports

MVC Introduces Multi-Payer Preop Testing Registry Reports

MVC recently added three new multi-payer reports to its online registry focused on preoperative testing use prior to low-risk surgery. MVC has been tracking measures of this low-value practice since 2021, and previously shared biannual static push reports with its members on their testing rates. Now, MVC registry users can access these metrics under the multi-payer reports tab on MVC’s online data registry [LINK].  

Similar to previous reporting, these new multi-payer reports provide interactive figures to assess a site’s opportunities to reduce unnecessary testing prior to three low-risk procedures: outpatient cholecystectomy, inguinal hernia repair, and lumpectomy. MVC hopes to add additional low-risk procedures in the future. For each of these procedures, preoperative testing is assessed in the 30 days prior to the surgery according to CPT codes identified in claims data. Each report reflects the most up-to-date available claims data from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) PPO Commercial, BCBSM PPO Medicare Advantage (MA), Blue Care Network (BCN) HMO Commercial, BCN MA, Medicare Fee-for-Service (FSS), and Medicaid insurance plans.  

Multi-Payer Report Filters 

Users can dynamically select the procedure(s), payer(s), and date range (i.e., the span of the episode start dates) to meet their data needs. Users may also filter by patient characteristics such as age and the presence of certain comorbidities that may place a patient in a higher risk category. Additional patient-level characteristics related to the episode of care that can be filtered include gender, race/ethnicity, and a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) or venous thromboembolism during the index event or within 90 days. Up to five comparison groups can also be applied to each figure: the average across all MVC member hospitals, a cohort of hospitals located within the user’s MVC region, hospitals of the same type as the user (i.e., general acute care hospital or Critical Access Hospital), hospitals of the same trauma center level, and, if applicable, other rural hospitals in MVC's membership. A full listing of MVC member hospitals and their GACH, CAH, and rural hospital status can be referenced on the MVC website [LINK]. 

Preoperative Testing Table 

The first of the three new report pages includes a table summarizing the testing rates for each type of preoperative test, overall and by procedure. Rates are shown for a user’s selected hospital and the comparison group of their choosing. The filters as described above allow users to determine which episodes to include or exclude based on their needs. 

Preoperative Testing Trends 

The next report shows the preoperative testing rates for the user’s hospital(s) over time alongside a comparison group of their choosing, as well as a trend graph demonstrating the magnitude of a site’s rate changes over time (Figure 1). The trend figures provide data points for a time interval of the user’s choosing, either monthly, quarterly, or annually, along with any additional filters as described. If these trend graphs appear to have missing data points, there is likely suppression occurring due to insufficient eligible episodes for that time period. In those instances, MVC recommends modifying the time interval to include more episodes. For all multi-payer reports, MVC suppresses data points with denominators of less than 11, and also suppresses denominators of rates that can be used to back-calculate to a numerator of less than 11. 

Figure 1.

Preoperative Testing Utilization Rankings 

Lastly, the third and final report provides a visual representation of hospital preoperative testing rates for the user’s site(s) alongside all other peer hospitals from a selected comparison group, such as MVC All, hospital type, or hospital region. This style of figure can be used to help benchmark a site’s performance by showcasing how their utilization compares within a larger group. Since both this report and the trend graphs are interactive, users can hover their cursor over a specific data point to view additional details such as the exact testing rate and the number of episodes included in that rate's denominator.

Accessing the Registry Reports 

All report pages can be exported into a variety of file types, such as PDFs or JPGs, for ease of sharing or adding to other materials. All MVC registry users will have access to these reports to view the data for their site(s). If you do not have registry access and are interested in using the registry to view these reports, you may complete MVC’s user access request form [LINK].  

MVC hosted its first webinar to demonstrate the functionality and features of these new multi-payer preoperative testing reports on Jan. 21 and will host a second webinar on Tues., Jan. 28 from 12-1 p.m. Please RSVP if you are interested in attending this second webinar [LINK].  

If you have any additional questions or feedback about the new registry reports, please contact the Coordinating Center by email [LINK]. 

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MVC Welcomes New Senior Analyst, Tanima Basu, MA, MS

MVC Welcomes New Senior Analyst, Tanima Basu, MA, MS

I am thrilled to introduce myself to the MVC team. As a senior analyst at MVC, I will contribute analytic skills and past claims related working experience to improve the overall health of MVC member hospitals and their patients.

I am a senior statistician who has worked at Michigan Medicine for the past decade. My journey in the world of biostatistics began at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where I earned a Master of Science in biostatistics in 2014. I also have an M.A. in applied statistics from Eastern Michigan University and a B.S. in physics (honors) from India.

Following my graduation from SPH, I began my professional career as a guest researcher at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. At the CDC, I had the opportunity to work closely with epidemiologists on public health projects.

In 2014, I joined Michigan Medicine, initially contributing analytic expertise to the School of Nursing. After a few years, my career path led me to the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) at Michigan Medicine, where I was first exposed to data analysis using claims data.

Currently, I have a partial appointment as a senior statistician in the department of cardiology for WIRED-L Center (Wearables in Reducing Risk and Enhancing Daily Lifestyle Center), which designs and tests mHealth apps. In this role I analyze clinical trial data to evaluate whether a mobile phone app and smartwatch notifications can help patients lower their blood pressure or improve their heart health.

In my free time I enjoy sketching, painting, and photography (nature). I also practice yoga and love to explore naturals trails. I look forward to working with the diverse group of analysts and team members at MVC.

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December Workgroups Highlight MI-POST End-of-Life Medical Order and ED Throughput Project

December Workgroups Highlight MI-POST End-of-Life Medical Order and ED Throughput Project

In December, MVC hosted two virtual workgroup presentations – the first a post-discharge follow-up workgroup focused on end-of-life care, and a rural health workgroup focused on emergency department (ED) throughput quality improvement processes. MVC hosts two virtual workgroups per month with topics rotating between post-discharge follow-up, sepsis, cardiac rehabilitation, rural health, preoperative testing, and health in action (ad hoc focused topics). Each month, the MVC Coordinating Center publishes key highlights from the past month’s presentations to support resource and best practice sharing across the state.

December Post-Discharge Follow-Up Workgroup: Corewell Health, Michigan Department of Health & Human Services

The first workgroup of December focused on post-discharge follow-up and end-of-life care choices supported by Michigan Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (MI-POST) legal documentation. This workgroup featured a presentation by Crystal Young, a Quality, Safety, & Experience Program Manager at Corewell Health, and Natalie Holland, Senior Advisor with the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS) Strategic Alignment and Engagement Team. The presentation reviewed Michigan’s MI-POST legal and healthcare guidelines, detailing options patients have when they are eligible for end-of-life services and care options.

MI-POST is an option for patients in their advance care planning (ACP) process. The ACP process includes discussing patient wishes for care, deciding how they want their needs met if they are unable to communicate, and documenting these decisions so that they are accessible for healthcare professionals when the patient is unable to speak for themselves. The presenters identified several ACP documents available in Michigan such as Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, Living Will, and Medical Orders such as the MI-POST and Out-of-Hospital Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (OOH-DNR).

The presenters described the history behind MI-POST as a portable medical order, starting as a pilot program in several Michigan counties in 2011 and then established through legislation and utilized across the state. This standardized form allows adult patients who require end-of-life services to establish specific guidelines for care in their last year of life. The presenters detailed the sections and fields included within the form, which can be found on the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services website. The presenters explained that the MI-POST form must be updated each year and has some similarities and differences to other ACP documents. Below is a table provided by the presenters comparing the MI-POST document to the other forms of ACP (Table 1).

Table 1. Comparing Advance Directive, OOH-DNR, & MI-POST

The presenters shared that one benefit of completing the MI-POST form is that a witness is not required to be present for the patient to sign the document; however, it does require the signature of a physician or other advanced practice provider. Furthermore, they said, since MI-POST is a portable medical order, it travels with the patient and details the level of emergency response the patient prefers and can be used to guide care in any setting.

Dec. 3, 2024: Post-Discharge Follow-Up Workgroup

December Rural Health Workgroup: McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital

On Dec. 12, MVC hosted its final rural health workgroup of 2024. Toni Moriarty-Smith, RN, MSN, Director of Quality and Clinical Risk at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital, presented on their emergency department (ED) throughput quality improvement process.

Moriarty-Smith commented that many of the challenges faced by rural hospitals after the COVID-19 pandemic are still being dealt with today. McLaren Northern Michigan found that after the pandemic lifted, their ED experienced a significant uptick in patient volume and patient acuity, with increased wait times in the ED and patients leaving without being seen by a physician.

Moriarty-Smith said several factors played a part in the increased wait times and ED overcrowding at McLaren Northern Michigan. In addition to regular inpatient boarders, there were lengthy bed holds for skilled nursing patients because facilities were limiting admissions with selective criteria, behavioral health patients (especially pediatric) were being held longer in ED beds, and beds were being held for outside facility direct admits.

In addition to the influx of patients, she said, the hospital experienced an unprecedented reduction in staff (approximately 50%) either from retirements or resignations post-pandemic. This directly impacted the efficiency of moving patients through the ED in a timely manner. McLaren Northern Michigan completed root cause analyses to begin pinpointing areas of opportunity for improvement. After completing a review of current literature, Moriarty-Smith said hospital leadership identified multiple strategies to address their challenges.

One of the first adjustments made was implementation of a fast-track triage process with ED physicians and advanced practice providers working in the triage area. The fast-track triage process was triggered when all registered nurses (RNs) were in full assignment, a triage RN or other support staff were able to start protocol orders, and an ED provider was available to work in triage. The figure below shows the Median ED throughput for patients from arriving to the ED to discharge before and after the fast-track process was implemented.

Figure 1.

Prior to the implementation of this new triage process, McLaren Northern Michigan struggled to complete timely blood draws. Due to diminished staffing the hospital was pulling nurses from the ED or from the floor to help do lab draws in the ED. This slowed the triage process and affected other areas within the hospital. In response, they developed a strategy to reduce the load on nurses by cross training patient care techs (PCTs) to do lab draws, offering a more senior position with increased pay to improve efficiency and processing.

McLaren Northern Michigan also worked in collaboration with their family advisory committee to establish a volunteer presence in the ED. These volunteers helped educate and inform patients about what to expect coming into the ED, provided warm blankets and words of encouragement, and generally supported those waiting to be seen. The extra care and attention helped patients feel seen and listened to and improved their experience (Figure 2). The addition of volunteers also helped reduce the number of patients who left without being seen (Figure 3).

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Moriarty-Smith said they also sought to address issues related to staff recruitment. McLaren Northern Michigan raised the base pay of all RNs, transitioned contracted RNs to temporary status (approximately 70%), implemented a recruiting initiative to re-hire past employees, and expanded traveling provider contracts to open more beds for ED boarding patients.

The improvement measures McLaren Northern Michigan implemented have had an overall positive impact on the hospital. Over the course of her presentation, the challenges shared by Moriarty-Smith resonated with other attendees and inspired robust discussion about strategies being implemented across the state to address barriers to QI.

Dec. 12, 2024: Rural Health Workgroup

MVC looks forward to continuing to host two virtual workgroups per month in 2025. To view the 2025 schedule of events with registration links, view the 2025 calendar on MVC’s events page [LINK]. If you are interested in leveraging MVC’s robust registry of claims data and data specialists to inform a local or system-level quality improvement effort, reach out to the MVC Coordinating Center [EMAIL].

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Reflecting on Successes in 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025

Reflecting on Successes in 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025

Over the years, it’s become somewhat of a tradition for me to use our final blog of the year to step back and reflect on what we have achieved together over the last 12 months, as well as look ahead to all the exciting things in the pipeline for 2025. December has well and truly snuck up on us but what a year it’s been.

In 2024, MVC’s engagement with our 105 hospital and 33 physician organization members reached new heights. During this time, we held two flagship collaborative-wide meetings and delivered 22 virtual workgroups, incorporating 33 different member presentations as part of these events to foster continued information and best practice sharing. It’s therefore no surprise that are our average attendance numbers at each of these engagement touchpoints were far above previous years.

Our new cardiac rehab pages and other registry developments also led to a rise in the number of people accessing our online platform, with a total of 121 new registry users over the course of 2024. These new registry pages have helped increase engagement with MVC’s cardiac rehab value improvement initiative and we just launched similar pages for our preoperative testing initiative. MVC’s data analytic offerings continue to go from strength to strength as well, with 18 different sites taking advantage of MVC’s one-on-one custom analytic reports and all hospital members continuing to benefit from MVC’s refreshed suite of push reports.

The MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program kept us busy this year too, with end-of-year scorecards for PY23, mid-year scorecards for PY24, and program selections for PY26/27. In looking at PY26/27 in particular, the Coordinating Center worked in partnership with members and the BCBSM Hospital P4P Quarterly workgroup to develop and implement a number of changes for this future program cycle. As MVC continues to ensure that this program is truly representative of the patient populations that members serve, Michigan Medicaid will be added to the program come 2026. This represents a big win and means the MVC Component is now inclusive of all MVC data sources. Elsewhere, changes have been made to MVC’s episode condition and value metrics menus, and a new health equity measure has been introduced. We’re pretty excited about this new addition in particular so please feel free to reach out if you want to get in the weeds and learn more.

In addition to all this great work, a personal highlight of mine has been the continued evolution of the MVC Coordinating Center and more specifically, the continued growth of those people that make it such an enjoyable place to work. We have welcomed a few new faces to our team this year and with fresh eyes comes fresh perspectives; we’re excited to leverage these insights as we move into 2025. Speaking of which, we have a number of new developments for the coming year that I’m excited to be able to share with you.

New Preoperative Testing Registry Pages

In June of this year, we launched four new multi-payer reports on our online registry. These reports evaluate cardiac rehabilitation utilization and encompass all metrics previously provided annually in MVC’s hospital-level cardiac rehab push report for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), heart valve repair or replacement (SAVR or TAVR), coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), and congestive heart failure (CHF).

Following the success of these multi-payer registry reports, we worked to add equivalent pages for MVC’s preoperative testing measures. Those registry pages went live on our registry at the end of last week, and will allow members to select specific preoperative conditions and payers, customize date ranges, and filter by patient characteristics. MVC will hold educational webinars in January to help increase familiarity and improve user experience with these new multi-payer reports.

New MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program PY26/27 Registry Pages

Another addition to the MVC registry in 2025 will see new P4P pages added to reflect the recent changes shared for PY26/27. While these pages will look and feel very similar to those currently available for PY24/25, the main update here will be the launch of a dedicated page for MVC’s new health equity measure. We understand the importance of making sure that members have time to become familiar with this new part of the MVC Component; therefore, in addition to reporting on it for informational purposes in 2025 P4P scorecards, this new page will be live for member use towards the end of Q2.

MVC Push Reports and Custom Analytics

MVC’s suite of push reports will continue to be refreshed throughout 2025 and, in response to member requests, we will launch a new quarterly push report calendar. This is designed to inform members of which reports will be delivered when and therefore help strengthen internal organizational planning. As mentioned above, MVC has seen great engagement this year relative to our custom analytics, and we will be looking to share examples of such outputs with the collaborative in 2025 to increase awareness of their value and possible scope.

Updates to MVC’s Suite of Virtual Workgroups

In response to member feedback and recent surveys, MVC’s schedule for virtual workgroups has been updated for 2025. Over the course of next year, members will be able to hear directly from peers and the Coordinating Center on the following topic areas: cardiac rehabilitation, health in action (ad hoc topics), preoperative testing, post-discharge follow-up, rural health, and sepsis. More information can be found here.

Site and System-Level Visits

Over the course of 2024, the Coordinating Center conducted a number of virtual and in-person site visits, both at individual sites and in partnership with systems. These visits are designed to provide members with a more in-depth understanding of MVC and its offerings, as well as providing an opportunity for the Coordinating Center to strengthen its understanding of member activities, priorities, and system-level practices. Sites are able to earn P4P engagement points for participating in such visits; if you are interested in getting on the calendar for 2025, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you again for your continued partnership throughout the last year and we look forward to more successes in 2025. Have a great holiday and a happy new year when it rolls around.

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November Workgroups Highlight Preop Testing Project and Cardiac Rehab Access Initiative

November Workgroups Highlight Preop Testing Project and Cardiac Rehab Access Initiative

In November, MVC hosted two virtual workgroup presentations – the first on preoperative testing was led by a fellow Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI), and the second on cardiac rehabilitation was delivered by an MVC member hospital. MVC hosts two virtual workgroups per month with topics rotating between post-discharge follow-up, sepsis, cardiac rehabilitation, rural health, preoperative testing, and health in action (ad hoc focused topics). Each month, the MVC Coordinating Center publishes key highlights from these presentations to support resource and best practice sharing across the state.

November Preoperative Testing Workgroup: Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC)

The first workgroup of November focused on preoperative testing and featured a presentation by Pamela Racchi, Clinical Site Coordinator with the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative (MSQC), and Susanna Fortney, Clinical Quality Specialist at ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman Hospital. To start, Racchi’s presentation provided an update on MSQC’s Preoperative Testing for Low-Risk Surgeries Project, including updated findings for 2024 and plans for 2025. Fortney then presented on ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman’s progress with reducing preoperative testing through the lens of participating in both the MSQC preop testing project and the RITE-Size pilot.

MSQC’s preoperative testing project is a continuation of a pilot started in 2022. The goals of the project include:

  1. To define the extent of routine preoperative testing in low-risk surgeries,
  2. To identify underlying reasons for overuse of preoperative testing in low-risk surgeries, and
  3. To implement interventions to heighten awareness and reduce variation among hospitals

Their project varies slightly from MVC’s preoperative testing offerings in that MSQC includes a slightly broader range of low-risk surgeries. The MSQC preop testing project includes abstraction for cases of minor hernia (abdominal hernias <3 cm and all inguinal/ femoral hernia repairs), laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and breast lumpectomy.

During the pilot, MSQC included all ASA classes in their analysis. Based on feedback from site participants, however, MSQC has since limited their evaluated cases to only ASA class I and II, elective cases, and low-risk surgeries identified as the intended primary procedure (based on CPT codes) for 2024. Patients falling into ASA classes I and II are expected to be stable with their comorbid conditions and therefore require less frequent testing.

Overall, results since September 2024 suggest ASA I and II cases are all trending in the right direction; abstracted data currently indicates preop testing rates of 18% among ASA I cases (with a goal of 25% or less) and 31% among ASA II cases (with a goal of 32% or less), as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1.

Racchi also noted that the success of reducing preoperative testing is dependent on there being no further increases in unnecessary testing on the day of surgery. Historically, MSQC has calculated preoperative testing rates like MVC, up to 30 days prior to a surgery but not including the day of surgery. However, MSQC’s abstractors can additionally identify testing completed on the day of surgery. In 2024, MSQC abstractors are assessing cases that received testing on the day of surgery as well as those that received testing in the 30 days prior to a surgery. Preliminary performance results suggested there was an increase in day of preoperative testing when compared to baseline for both ASA I and II cases. Racchi noted that these analyses help determine whether testing was clinically necessary versus a result of physician habit.

Racchi and Fortney both spoke to the benefits of increasing engagement between surgery and anesthesiology to streamline preoperative testing protocols and processes. Between 2022 and 2023, ProMedica Charles and Virginia Hickman was able to reduce their preoperative testing rate by nearly 20% with just a few modifications to their testing protocol and additional onboarding of the anesthesiology providers.

A recent review of preoperative testing cases at ProMedica Hickman that were labeled unnecessary revealed nearly 40% were, in fact, medically justified and another 42% were due to protocol misinterpretation. Interestingly, the greatest rate of unnecessary preoperative testing was found to derive from ProMedica Hickman’s preadmission testing department. Fortney noted they had success embedding an adapted version of the RITE-Size program’s decision aid (Figure 2) within their anesthesiology preoperative protocols, and this helped to provide a more robust visual for their providers to reference when completing preop documentation.

Figure 2.

ProMedica Hickman additionally implemented a process for one-on-one training with preadmission testing (PAT) nursing staff, re-education, and the inclusion of case studies. The PAT nurses have also been included in MSQC/RITE-Size project update meetings and are given access to push reports so they can better understand their progress and impact.

The RITE-Size project is a collaboration between several CQI organizations – the Michigan Program on Value Enhancement (MPrOVE), the Michigan Value Collaborative (MVC), MSQC, and the Anesthesiology Performance Improvement and Reporting Exchange (ASPIRE). Each organization has individual projects underway to address unnecessary preoperative testing, but also collaborate under the umbrella of RITE-Size to support de-implementation with additional customized support and coaching. Learn more about RITE-Size by visiting the program website here.

November 5 Preoperative Testing Workgroup

November Cardiac Rehab Workgroup: Marshfield Medical Center – Dickinson

The second November workgroup focused on cardiac rehabilitation – another of MVC’s value-based initiatives. This workgroup featured a joint presentation by Carolyn Hoy, BSN, Director of Quality; Courtney Swanson, BSN, RN, Heart Care Clinic and Cardiopulmonary Rehab Manager; and Lacey Schjoth, BS, Cardiac Rehab Coordinator at Marshfield Medical Center – Dickinson. Hoy, Swanson, and Schjoth’s presentation introduced Marshfield – Dickinson’s cardiac rehab Patient Access Improvement Project, an initiative rooted in one of their core values of patient-centered care.

Although part of a much larger system, Marshfield Medical Center – Dickinson is a relatively small hospital with about 49 general med/surgical beds. To support a significantly rural population in the Upper Peninsula, the Marshfield – Dickinson team identified the need to modify their cardiac rehab program to improve access. Their three main goals included:

  • Increase the volume of patients seen,
  • Accurately track referrals,
  • Expand services to include a supervised exercise therapy (SET) peripheral artery disease (PAD) program

Swanson and Schjoth described how the Northern Michigan landscape and weather contributed to some of the barriers patients faced in accessing cardiac rehab care. Outside of Marshfield – Dickinson’s cardiac rehab center, the next rehabilitation facility is nearly 45 miles away. To support patients driving a long distance to receive cardiac rehab, the team worked to coordinate with their patient’s other appointments. They also flexed their schedules to accommodate earlier or later availability and were willing to shift the appointment times as needed pending weather conditions.

Ultimately, the team was able to increase their class size to five patients per class and increased their class offerings by one cardiac rehab (and one pulmonary rehab) class per day by December 2023. They saw a nearly 27% increase in patient enrollment between 2022 and 2023 (Figure 3). Thus far in 2024, their patient volumes are on track to match or exceed 2023.

Figure 3.

Since Marshfield – Dickinson is unable to support a Phase 1 cardiac rehab program, most of their referrals come from outside facilities located in Wisconsin. Connecting with patients quickly after referrals are received is helpful to reduce the duration of time between referral and enrollment. With adjustments to their workflow, the team was able to reduce the average time from referral to initial contact to an average of just 3.5 days as of November 2024. The team also observed a corresponding reduction in the time to first cardiac rehab visit of just 16.5 days on average.

However, rectifying referral documentation from multiple outside sources can slow down this process. Additionally, surveyed patients reported that one of the largest barriers to starting cardiac rehab was a lack of insurance coverage or high copays, with nearly 9% of patients identifying this as the primary reason they did not schedule their initial cardiac rehab appointment in 2024.  The team has recently brought on a financial counselor to assist in contacting insurance companies and ensuring adequate and accurate referrals documentation.

Lastly, the Marshfield – Dickinson cardiac rehab team worked to develop close partnerships with local cardiology providers. Ensuring local cardiology providers are aware of and supportive of cardiac rehab is a critical step that generates additional opportunities for program endorsement and patient education by the provider. Marshfield – Dickinson has additionally added Dr. Massabni, an interventional cardiologist specializing in peripheral artery disease, to their staff. This allowed them to further develop their SET PAD program in January 2024 and they are seeing increasing enrollment in this specialized vascular program.

Much of MVC’s work with its members and partners in the space of cardiac rehab is delivered under the umbrella of the Michigan Cardiac Rehab network (MiCR), a collaborative partnership with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2). You can see the MiCR website and offerings here. MVC also offers a robust registry of medical insurance claims data and data specialists that can help navigate and create custom analytic reports on cardiac rehab utilization metrics. Please reach out to the Coordinating Center by email if you would like to learn more about MVC data or engagement offerings.

November 21 Cardiac Rehab Workgroup

To learn more about the efforts showcased by November’s workgroup presenters, or other past workgroup presentations, please visit MVC’s YouTube Channel here.

December’s workgroups will feature a post-discharge follow-up presentation on December 3 led by Crystal Young of Corewell Health Trenton and Natalie Holland of MDHHS. Additionally, on December 12, Toni Moriarty-Smith of McLaren Northern Michigan will present a rural health presentation. The complete 2024 and 2025 MVC event calendars and workgroup registration links are available here.

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Diabetes Awareness Month: MVC Highlights MCT2D Collaborations to Improve Diabetes Care

Diabetes Awareness Month: MVC Highlights MCT2D Collaborations to Improve Diabetes Care

November is Diabetes Awareness Month, a time to bring attention to the growing prevalence and impact of diabetes as well as the importance of early diagnosis, effective management, and prevention. According to the CDC, diabetes is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, affecting vital organs such as the nervous system, kidneys, heart, and eyes. In 2021, it was estimated that 38.4 million people of all ages had diabetes—more than 1 in 9 adults in Michigan alone—a number that continues to rise globally. Additionally, recent studies show that 98 million American adults have prediabetes, putting them at high risk for developing Type 2 diabetes (T2D). The need for increased awareness and proactive care has never been more urgent.

Despite being one of the most prevalent chronic conditions worldwide, T2D is largely preventable. Given its chronic nature, it is essential to advocate for widespread access to patient resources, leverage data analytics to pinpoint areas for improvement, and ensure that all individuals across Michigan have the opportunity to access care that can prevent the disease from progressing.

MVC Offerings for T2D Care

MVC is committed to using claims-based data to improve the health of Michigan through sustainable, high-value healthcare. Recently, MVC expanded its focus to address T2D and its complications. In March 2024, MVC incorporated two high-volume emergency department (ED) conditions into its new ED-based episodes: diabetes with long-term complications (e.g., renal, eye, neurological, and circulatory issues) and short-term complications (e.g., ketoacidosis, hyperosmolarity, or coma). These ED-based episodes were developed in partnership with MEDIC and can be used to generate custom analytics for any MVC hospital or physician organization member.

MVC also has ongoing collaborations with the Michigan Collaborative for Type 2 Diabetes (MCT2D) to identify opportunities to improve care for T2D patients and evaluate the impact of CQI initiatives. Currently, both teams are partnering on a value exercise to assess whether practices participating in MCT2D reduced the use of certain diabetes medications compared to non-participating sites. This work will provide valuable insights into medication utilization.

More recently, MVC’s collaboration with MCT2D led to the creation of a new report on T2D in Michigan. It provided demographics and analyses for patients with T2D in Michigan insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM), Blue Care Network (BCN), Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS), and Michigan Medicaid between 2017 and 2023. The report also integrated pharmacy prescription claims. The report showcased several key trends, including:

  • A notable decrease in ED utilization and hospitalizations for T2D care from 2017-2023 (Figure 1).
  • An increase in visits with primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists, such as endocrinologists and nephrologists (Figure 2).
  • A shift in prescription utilization, with increased use of newer medications like GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors, while the use of older therapies such as insulin and sulfonylureas declined (Figure 3).

Figure 1. Yearly Rates of ED Utilization Among T2D Beneficiaries, 2017-2023

Figure 2. Yearly Rates of Provider Visit Utilization Among T2D Beneficiaries by Provider Type

Figure 3. T2D Medication Utilization Among Beneficiaries with T2D, 2017-2023

The report also highlighted important demographic trends, including that T2D patients in Michigan are, on average, older, more likely to be male, and more likely to be Black, with a higher prevalence of non-commercial insurance coverage. These insights are helping MVC and MCT2D to focus their future efforts.

Looking Towards the Future

Although the prevalence of diabetes is a significant challenge, the innovative efforts of groups such as MCT2D and the American Diabetes Association provide hope for the future. MVC is excited to complete and share its value exercise with MCT2D in 2025, as well as continue to build on its offerings to MVC member hospitals and physician organizations for diabetes-related improvement projects.

Diabetes Awareness Month offers an opportunity to reflect on the challenges faced by millions living with diabetes, while also recognizing the significant progress being made in the fight against the disease. With the continued support of healthcare professionals, organizations, and communities, MVC is committed to improving care, prevention, and education. Together, we can raise awareness, improve outcomes, and provide support for those affected by diabetes.

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PY 2026-2027 Selection Reports Sent for MVC Component of BCBSM P4P Program

PY 2026-2027 Selection Reports Sent for MVC Component of BCBSM P4P Program

Beginning in 2018, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) allocated 10% of its Pay-For-Performance (P4P) program to a metric based on Michigan Value Collaborative (MVC) claims data. In 2024, the BCBSM P4P Quarterly Workgroup approved changes to how hospitals will be evaluated in the upcoming two-year cycle for Program Years (PYs) 2026 and 2027. These program years will use claims data from 2025 and 2026, respectively, for the performance years (Figure 1). Hospitals recently received selection reports to aid in their decision-making on which metrics to choose within the new program structure.

Figure 1.

What is staying the same from PYs 2024-2025?

Similar to the PY 2024-2025 cycle, hospitals will continue to be scored out of 10 points maximum. They will also continue to be evaluated on their risk-adjusted, price-standardized total episode spending for a selected condition; their rate for a selected value metric; and their engagement in MVC activities. Hospitals can continue to select coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), congestive heart failure (CHF), or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) for episode spending scoring. Similarly, most of the value metric options remain the same with changes in definition for only the preoperative testing and sepsis value metrics.

Each hospital’s episode spending and value metric selections will continue to be scored on improvement compared to the hospital’s own past performance as well as on achievement relative to an MVC cohort. Each hospital will continue to be awarded the greater of the two scores, either improvement or achievement, which are calculated using Z-scores. Cohort designation is still based on bed size, critical access status, and case mix index.

What is changing for PYs 2026-2027?

While the overall program structure will be scored to a maximum of 10 points (Figure 2), the scoring within the components varies from PY 2024-2025. The PY 2026-2027 cycle is made up of a maximum of three points from an episode spending metric, a maximum of four points from a value metric, a maximum of two points from engagement activities, and a maximum of one point from a health equity measure (a new component). For this cycle, hospitals will need to select an episode spending condition and a value metric. The health equity and engagement activities do not require selection. Eligibility for selections are determined based on case counts. To be eligible to select a condition or value metric, a hospital must have at least 20 cases in the full baseline year of 2023.

Figure 2.

Although three episode spending conditions offered in PYs 2024-2025 will continue to be options in PYs 2026-2027 (i.e., CABG, CHF, COPD), MVC retired colectomy (non-cancer), joint replacement, and pneumonia from its episode spending menu. In addition, MVC is adding percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) as an episode spending condition. The full menu of episode spending conditions for PYs 2026-2027 will be CABG, CHF, COPD, and PCI.

MVC is also modifying two of its value metrics. The sepsis value metric in PYs 2026-2027 will be 14-day follow-up after sepsis rather than 30-day risk-adjusted readmissions after sepsis. This change is more closely aligned with the HMS incentive for increasing post-discharge care coordination. The preoperative testing value metric definition will also be different in PYs 2026-2027. The first change is that all three included procedures (i.e., laparoscopic cholecystectomy, inguinal hernia repair, and lumpectomy) will be combined for scoring. Previously, each procedure was treated separately, and hospitals were scored on the best of the three. The second change is that lab testing will be included in the definition. Previously, preoperative lab tests such as complete blood count, metabolic panel, coagulation studies, and urinalysis were not included in calculating the testing rate prior to the three procedures. Going forward, MVC will identify preoperative testing that occurs in the 30 days prior to MVC-defined laparoscopic cholecystectomy, inguinal hernia repair, and lumpectomy for any of the following tests: complete blood count, basic metabolic panel, comprehensive metabolic panel, coagulation studies, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, cardiac stress test, chest x-ray, pulmonary function test, and urinalysis.

Brand new in PY 2026-2027 will be the addition of a claims-based health equity measure, for which hospitals will be assessed using an index of disparity (Figure 3). The index of disparity (IOD) will measure the spread of 30-day risk-adjusted all cause readmission rates for medical conditions among different payer categories within their hospital. Scoring for this measure will begin in PY 2026, but hospitals will begin to see sample scoring for this measure on their PY 2025 scorecards. Hospitals can earn the health equity point through both improvement and achievement pathways, similar to their episode spending and value metric selections.

Figure 3.

The payer mix for PYs 2026-2027 will now include Michigan Medicaid episodes in addition to the previously included BCBSM Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) Commercial, BCBSM PPO Medicare Advantage, Blue Care Network (BCN) Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Commercial, BCN HMO Medicare Advantage, and Medicare FFS coverage. The addition of Medicaid takes the MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program closer to a more diverse and representative population. Medicaid data are reflected in the baseline measures provided in the PY 2026-2027 selection reports.

Next Steps for PY 2026-2027 Selections

The P4P selection reports distributed earlier this week include tables for the various episode spending and value metric options, identifying case counts in the baseline year, the hospital’s average payment or rate of utilization, the cohort and MVC All average payments or rates, and the projected changes necessary for the hospital to earn maximum points. Accompanying the reports was a health equity measure document that details the methodology behind this newly introduced measure along with scoring examples.

For a detailed summary on the methodology, please refer to the PY 2026-2027 P4P Technical Document on the MVC P4P webpage. MVC has also developed an FAQ document to answer some of the mostly frequently asked questions regarding PY 2026-2027 changes, and is offering webinars on Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. [register here] and Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. [register here] to answer member questions. Member hospitals should submit their PY 2026-2027 selections by December 13, 2024, using this Qualtrics survey. Please contact the MVC Coordinating Center if you have any questions.

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October MVC Workgroups Highlight Hospital Care at Home and Sepsis Compliance Work

October MVC Workgroups Highlight Hospital Care at Home and Sepsis Compliance Work

Last month, MVC hosted virtual presentations for a health in action workgroup as well as a sepsis workgroup. MVC hosts two virtual workgroups per month with topics rotating between post-discharge follow-up, sepsis, cardiac rehabilitation, rural health, preoperative testing, and health in action (ad hoc focused topics). Each month, the MVC Coordinating Center publishes key highlights from these presentations to support resource sharing and collaboration across the state.

October Health in Action Workgroup: University of Michigan Health

In early October, MVC’s health in action workgroup focused on Hospital Care at Home (HCAH) and featured a presentation by Jessie DeVito, Administrative Director of HCAH at University of Michigan Health. DeVito’s presentation reviewed University of Michigan Health’s HCAH program from inception in 2019 through relaunch in February 2024, including valuable insights into their program development and implementation.

University of Michigan Health piloted their HCAH program in coordination with Blue Cross Blue Shield Commercial, and then expanded payer coverage to Medicare once the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) established the Acute Hospital Care at Home Waiver during the COVID-19 pandemic. The intent for the HCAH program was to alleviate significant capacity issues within the brick-and-mortar hospital. By reviewing inpatient cases that met specific HCAH criteria, patients were able to continue necessary inpatient care at home while hospital beds were made available for more acute care needs.

Due to logistical and management barriers, the HCAH program decided to partner with an external vendor, Medically Home, in late 2023 to meet the needs of their patients and provide more in-home inpatient care and services. This vendor manages a 24/7 care team model, including a virtual hospitalist team, while providing services such as mobile diagnostics (e.g., X-ray, ultrasound), paramedicine, STAT labs and IV, and offering pathways to in-hospital services such as MRI or CT scans (Figure 1).

Figure 1.

The HCAH program has seen a maximum daily census of 10 patients and has an average length of stay of approximately 4 days. Patients who participated in the program had a lower 30-day readmission rate (17%) compared to patients who stayed in the hospital (20-24%). This correlates with a recent report from CMS on HCAH service data showing reduced 30-day readmission rates in most of the associated diagnosis related groups (DRGs) (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2024) and is a promising trend for future program development.

One of the challenges the HCAH program faced was engaging providers in utilizing the at-home inpatient service. One proposed solution is to offer education and useful tools within the EPIC medical record, allowing providers to track which patients meet eligibility criteria and make appropriate referrals to the program. Additionally, once providers are educated on the HCAH program, they can share and educate their patients about this care option. By continuing to engage and educate providers and patients, the HCAH program anticipates continued expansion, with a goal to cover a broader patient population with increased payer coordination.

Oct. 8 Heath in Action Workgroup

October Sepsis Workgroup: Garden City Hospital

The second October workgroup focused on sepsis, one of MVC’s value metrics within the MVC Component of the BCBSM P4P Program. This workgroup featured a presentation by Akhil Vijay, Director of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement at Garden City Hospital. Vijay’s presentation reviewed Garden City Hospital’s sepsis care program, sharing their development process and progress since the program’s implementation.

Following CMS and the Joint Commission's Sepsis Core Measure launch in 2015, Garden City Hospital has worked to build an effective sepsis care program reflective of all core elements (Figure 2). Starting in February 2024, their sepsis compliance rate was approximately 46%. After meeting with leadership, a root cause analysis was completed to determine why the compliance rate was low compared to the national average.  Building a partnership between leadership and providers proved to be a key strategy for successfully establishing weekly quality meetings to review sepsis cases and identify patterns of fallouts.

Figure 2.

Common case fallouts that were identified included delay in fluid/medication administration, missed labs or delays in results, incorrect antibiotic prescription, and no follow-up blood pressure reading after the patient received a required bolus. Using this information, the quality team was able to structure a successful follow-up plan to address sepsis case compliance issues (Figure 3).

Figure 3.

The quality team developed several methods for engaging leadership and providers in the program, such as:

  • developing an interdisciplinary sepsis committee to review cases,
  • following a standardized approach for case review with action plan development,
  • presenting sepsis cases at weekly didactic resident physician meetings,
  • and attending rounds with an infection prevention specialist to educate providers.

In addition to making this case education more visible in providers’ daily work, the program shared sepsis case scorecards with providers highlighting successes and areas for improvement. This in turn motivated the healthcare team to engage in friendly competition to achieve the best results.

Since January 2024, Garden City Hospital has improved its sepsis compliance, going from approximately 45% in January to a monthly average of approximately 63% by September 2024.

If you are interested in pursuing a sepsis care improvement program, MVC has a robust registry of medical insurance claims data that can be utilized as well as data specialists to help navigate and create custom analytic reports. Please reach out to the Coordinating Center [email] if you would like to learn more about MVC data or engagement offerings.

Oct. 17 Sepsis Workgroup

To learn more about the efforts showcased by University of Michigan Health, Garden City Hospital, or other past workgroup presentations, visit MVC’s YouTube channel here.

November’s workgroups include a preoperative testing presentation that occurred Nov. 5 with a presentation by Pam Racchi, BSN, RN, Clinical Site Coordinator with the Michigan Surgical Quality Collaborative. MVC will also host a cardiac rehabilitation workgroup on Nov. 21. You can view the complete 2024 and 2025 event calendars here.