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New IOM report calls for core competency requirements to promote quality
Organizations plan to pay physicians for quality
Patient safety grants available from AHRQ

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, April 15, 2003

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NEW IOM REPORT CALLS FOR CORE COMPETENCY REQUIREMENTS TO PROMOTE QUALITY

Think clinicians should cooperate more? So does the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Health professionals often lack training in areas, such as teamwork, that contribute to quality and patient safety, according to the new IOM report, "Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality."

The report recommends that all clinicians, regardless of their discipline, should meet the following five core competencies:

- Provide patient-centered care, including identifying and respecting patients' individual needs and differences
- Work in interdisciplinary teams, so that care is continuous and reliable
- Use evidence-based practices so that they can put research into practice to give patients the best care possible
- Apply quality improvement techniques such as identifying hazards to patient care, understanding safety design principles, and understanding and measuring quality
- Use information technology to communicate with each other and reduce the chances for error

Accreditation, certification, and licensure organizations should require these competencies, recommend the authors of the report, which follows up on the IOM's 2001 report, "Crossing the Quality Chasm." They also suggest that organizations such as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality develop training organizations and quality measures related to those skills.

Go to Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality to read the report.

ORGANIZATIONS PLAN TO PAY PHYSICIANS FOR QUALITY

Physicians may soon reap monetary benefits for improving the care they provide to patients. Under a new pilot program, certain large employers such as General Electric and Verizon will pay doctors up to 10 percent of their income in bonuses for giving quality care. Provider directories would also highlight high-performing physicians so that company employees could identify them. The program, called "Bridges to Excellence," will initially target the following three areas:

- Diabetes care
- Cardiovascular care
- Patient care management systems

Representatives from Partners Community Healthcare, Inc., the Lahey Clinic, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid are among those who helped develop the program.

"It's our belief that this approach to physician compensation will improve the quality of care that patients receive and will, ultimately, lower overall costs of care," said Francois de Bantes, the program leader of health care initiatives with General Electric and the coordinator of the Bridges to Excellence program, in the press release.

Boston, Cincinnati, and Louisville, KY will pilot various programs. Go to www.bridgestoexcellence.org to learn more.

PATIENT SAFETY GRANTS AVAILABLE FROM AHRQ

New avenues are opening up for patient safety advocates looking for money to fund great error-reduction ideas. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) is planning to dole out up to $3 million in grants to five to 10 hospitals or other organizations that want to assess risks to patient safety and figure out how to prevent them, the organization recently announced.

As part of its Safe Practices Implementation Challenge Grants, AHRQ will fund up to 50 percent of a project's total cost, or up to

- $200,000 for up to 12 months for organizations identifying areas of risk
- $500,000 per year for up to 24 months for organizations developing plans to implement and evaluate a practice that targets a specific risk

For-profit and non-profit organizations, such as universities, clinics, hospitals, state and local government agencies, and faith-based organizations are welcome to apply. Send your letters of intent to AHRQ by June 16, 2003, and your application by July 15, 2003. Go to Challenge Grants for more information on how to apply.

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