IHI Kicks Off 2017 National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care

When patients and their clinical teams work as partners, it’s more than a nice idea. There’s a greater likelihood of better outcomes for patients and greater satisfaction for health care providers, many of whom have been suffering high rates of burnout in recent years. Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) President and CEO, Derek Feeley, chose this theme today to open up the 2017 IHI National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care. Feeley addressed nearly 5,500 health care professionals, health leaders, students, patient advocates, and community improvers.

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At IHI's National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care (Dec. 10-13, 2017), IHI President & CEO, Derek Feeley, Dr. Rana Awdish, and Tiffany Christensen discuss why true partnership between patients and clinicians has the potential to significantly change the face of health care. (Photo: Business Wire)

Feeley remarked: “As health care professionals experience burnout at increasingly higher rates, and medical errors continue to occur, it is critical that we achieve true partnership between patients and clinicians.” He shared with attendees the concept of mutuality, a term that describes efforts to create a win-win situation built on a foundation of trust. Applied to health care, Feeley said, mutuality can form the basis for the optimal doctor-patient relationship, in which each participant is fully engaged and brings unique strengths and resources to the relationship.

Feeley shared the podium with Dr. Rana Awdish, Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension program and the Medical Director of Care Experience for Henry Ford Health System, and Tiffany Christensen, Vice President for Experience Innovation at The Beryl Institute. First in brief individual presentations, and then in a conversation moderated by Feeley, Dr. Awdish and Ms. Christensen offered insights as health care professionals who have experienced lengthy and difficult journeys as patients. In that role, neither woman felt she had agency or anything close to mutuality with her providers. Feeley, Awdish, and Christensen join a chorus of improvers who want to take patient-centered care, which focuses on involving patients, to the next phase of partnering with clinicians.

IHI, known as a leader in health and health care improvement worldwide, convened this year’s four-day event (December 10-13, 2017) to showcase new approaches in the US, Canada, and beyond that are resulting in better care and better health for patients and populations. Key to making progress is a much greater focus on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care treatment and outcomes; creating community partnerships that extend beyond the walls of the health care system to address more upstream social determinants of health such as poor housing and lack of employment; and tapping into the talents and knowledge of patients to co-create new models of care.

At this 29th IHI annual gathering, the impact that federal and state policies can have on access to care for millions of Americans is very much on the minds of Forum attendees, as is the impact of innovation on the health care delivery side. “Signal or Noise? Navigating Health Care Policy in 2018” is the title of a session taking place today that will focus on what to anticipate in the year ahead with legislative and regulatory challenges to current federal health care law, vulnerable patient populations potentially losing health insurance, and unclear commitments to continued funding of value-driven transformation initiatives. Moderated by NEJM Catalyst Editorial Director, Edward Prewitt, the panel discussion will feature IHI President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, Don Berwick; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina President and CEO and Former CMS Deputy Administrator for Innovation and Quality, Patrick H. Conway; Vanderbilt University Health Policy Professor and Chair, Melinda Buntin; and President and CEO of Hawaii Pacific Health, Raymond P. Vara, Jr.

Journalists interested in tuning in to a livestream of the session should email: joanna@cxocommunication.com.

Ensuring Health Systems are Age-Friendly

US Census data show that the population aged 65 and older is expected to nearly double during the next 40 years, which will significantly increase the demand for safe, effective, and patient-centered health care services for older adults. In a Learning Lab yesterday, Forum attendees heard about the “4M” model – What Matters, Medication, Mobility, and Mentation – for creating age-friendly health systems. Developed through a partnership between IHI, The John A. Hartford Foundation, the American Hospital Association (AHA), and the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), the model is the cornerstone of an Age-Friendly Health System initiative that’s currently testing new care designs in five health systems. The work will expand in 2018, laying the groundwork for a campaign to spread the 4M model to 20 percent of US hospitals and health systems by 2020.

A Spotlight on Safety

As showcased during a number of Forum sessions, health care organizations in the US and elsewhere have made considerable progress reducing incidents of harm to patients. Yet the results of a recent poll conducted by the IHI/NPSF Lucian Leape Institute and NORC at the University of Chicago show there is more work to be done. The survey found that 21 percent of Americans reported personal experience with medical errors, and also revealed that errors related to diagnosis and patient-provider communications in outpatient settings are the most commonly reported. This aligns with other research in this area and confirms that in order to maintain gains and close further gaps in care, health care delivery needs to move to a “systems of safety” approach – anchored in reliability, continuous learning, and a systems outlook that encompasses and connects multiple care settings.

Following on the May 2017 IHI/NPSF merger and a Call to Action for health care leaders and policymakers to initiate a coordinated public health response to improve patient safety, IHI will be looking more closely at challenges such as the need for measures to assess safety and harm across the continuum of care in ways that are most meaningful to patients and clinicians.

About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
IHI is a leader in health and health care improvement worldwide. For more than 25 years, IHI has partnered with visionaries, leaders, and frontline practitioners around the globe to spark bold, inventive ways to improve the health of individuals and populations. Recognized as an innovator, convener, trustworthy partner, and driver of results, IHI is the first place to turn for expertise, help, and encouragement for anyone, anywhere who wants to change health and health care profoundly for the better. Learn more at ihi.org.

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