Twenty-Eight Albany-Area Healthcare Organizations Receive 2014 IPRO Quality Awards

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., May 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-eight Capital District region healthcare organizations have been named recipients of 2014 IPRO Quality Awards. The awards, given annually by IPRO, recognize organizations and professionals that demonstrate a commitment to improving the quality of care provided to New York's Medicare beneficiaries. IPRO is the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for New York State. The awards will be given during IPRO's 30^th Annual Meeting, June 3rd at the LaGuardia Marriott Hotel.

"These healthcare providers have demonstrated that, through their willingness to collaborate  and make quality improvement an organizational priority, they can reduce rehospitalizations and help ensure that patients experience the best transitions of care, across all settings," says Clare B. Bradley MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, IPRO.  "We applaud their achievements."

As members of the Albany Care Transitions Coalition, these organizations demonstrated organization-wide commitment to improving transitions of care for Medicare beneficiaries through community partnerships.  The community coalition's implementation of evidence-based, cross-setting interventions resulted in a 30% relative improvement in the Medicare fee-for-service, 30-day, all-cause readmission rate for beneficiaries in the region.

Those receiving 2014 IPRO Quality Awards include:

IPRO convened community coalitions across New York with the goal of activating patients and engaging healthcare providers and community organizations to improve transitional care and reduce unnecessary hospital readmissions. These coalitions have supported seamless transitions of patients from the hospital to home, skilled nursing care, home health care or hospice through process improvements that address medication management, post-discharge follow-up, and patient care plans.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that communities that worked with IPRO and other QIOs in a 2009-2010 pilot project to improve transitions of care had nearly twice the reduction in hospitalizations and rehospitalizations as those not working with QIOs.  QIOs are independent organizations that contract with the CMS to work collaboratively with healthcare providers and professionals to help improve care for Medicare beneficiaries. IPRO worked on this pilot project with providers in New York's Upper Capital region.

About IPRO
IPRO is a national organization providing a full spectrum of healthcare assessment and improvement services that foster more efficient use of resources and enhance healthcare quality to achieve better patient outcomes. For 30 years, IPRO has been highly regarded for the independence of its approach, the depth of its knowledge and experience, and the integrity of its programs, IPRO holds contracts with federal, state and local government agencies and corporate clients, in more than 33 states and the District of Columbia. A not-for-profit organization, IPRO is headquartered in Lake Success, NY. For more information, please visit www.ipro.org.

This material was prepared by IPRO, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for New York State, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 10SOW-NY-AIM8-14-12

SOURCE IPRO