The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program has awarded 11 Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations (QIN-QIOs) funding for 14 Special Innovation Projects (SIP). The period of performance for these projects is two years.
The 2017 awards were split between two categories. For the first category, "Local Quality Improvement Interventions," QIN-QIOs were encouraged to propose various topics that address issues of quality occuring within the QIN-QIOs' local service areas.
The second category, "Interventions that are Ripe for Spread and Scalability," focuses on interventions for which a moderate level of evidence regarding their effectiveness already exists; however, little or no evidence currently exists in larger populations or settings.
The following QIN-QIOs were awarded SIPs for “Local Quality Improvement Interventions”:
- Georgia Medical Care Foundation, part of Alliant Quality, will focus on advancing interventions to prevent opioid misuse and promoting naloxone use.
- HealthCentric Advisors, part of the New England Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization, will implement an intervention to improve the ability of Rhode Island nursing homes to serve residents with behavioral health needs.
- Health Quality Innovators will focus on reducing obesity by implementing intensive behavioral therapy in primary care practices in Maryland and Virginia.
- IPRO, part of the Atlantic Quality Innovation Network, will implement a community pharmacy intervention to prevent opioid adverse drug events.
- Quality Insights Quality Innovation Network will focus on integrating emergency medical services (EMS) into health care.
- Telligen Quality Innovation Network will focus on advancing the Preference-Aligned Communication and Treatment (PACT) Project.
- TMF Quality Innovation Network will implement a project to improve chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)-related health care utilization via the use of a COPD Rescue Pack.
The following QIN-QIOs were awarded SIPs for “Interventions that are Ripe for Spread and Scalability":
- Georgia Medical Care Foundation, part of Alliant Quality, will focus on improving care outcomes for Medicare beneficiaries with mental illness and opioid use.
- IPRO, part of the Atlantic Quality Innovation Network, will work to scale its Chronic Kidney Disease Awareness and Prevention Program.
- QSource, part of atom Alliance, was awarded a SIP to advance a community approach to fighting back against opioid misuse.
- HealthInsight will work to spread the impact of a program to reduce opioid harms in older adults through clinic training and technical assistance.
- Health Services Advisory Group was given the award for their program that addresses opioid misuse and behavioral health disorders using innovative interventions in southwestern Ohio.
- TMF Quality Innovation Network was awarded a SIP to address the early diagnosis and treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD) via an integrated, systemic approach that targets at-risk beneficiaries with diabetes or hypertension.
- Great Plains Quality Innovation Network will work to scale a project to recognize sepsis through patient, family and emergency medical services.