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Established in 2006, NTOCC brings together 27 multidisciplinarystakeholders from across the healthcare spectrum to address improving thequality of care coordination and communication when patients are transitionedbetween practice settings and levels of care.
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The new tools under development will address several areas which canprovide immediate benefit to healthcare providers, payers and patients:
"The development of these critically needed tools represents an importantstep in solving transitional problems," Cheri Lattimer, RN, BSN, CMSAExecutive Director said. "In just under a year, the 27 NTOCC Advisory TaskForce organizations have accomplished a tremendous amount by identifying theissues, gaps, and barriers that create transitional challenges and agreeing towork together to address an industry-wide problem."
Most significantly, NTOCC announced plans to update and enhance theircurrent website www.ntocc.org. The new website will feature four portaldomains geared to consumers, healthcare providers, media and policy makers.Transitions of care include situations in which a patient moves from primarycare to specialty physicians or moves within the hospital including moves fromthe emergency department to other various departments, such as surgery orintensive care; or when a patient is discharged from the hospital and goeshome or to an assisted living or skilled nursing facility. Patients,especially older persons, face significant challenges when moving from onelevel of care or practice setting to another in the healthcare system. Duringthese transitions, lack of communication can result in redundant orconflicting information that often creates serious issues for patients, theircaregivers and their families.
Formed in 2006, the NTOCC Advisory Board includes the Academy of ManagedCare Pharmacy (AMCP), American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging(AAHSA), American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), American GeriatricsSociety (AGS), American Medical Directors Association (AMDA), American Societyof Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), American Society on Aging (ASA), AmericanSociety of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP), AXA Assistance USA Inc., CaseManagement Society of America (CMSA), Consumers Advancing Patient Safety(CAPS), Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG), Institute for HealthcareImprovement (IHI), Joint Commission International Center for Patient Safety(ICPS), Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care, Mid-America Coalition onHealth Care (MACHC), National Association of Directors of NursingAdministration - Long Term Care (NADONA / LTC), National Association of SocialWorkers (NASW), National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), National CaseManagement Network of Canada (NCMN), National Quality Forum, PredictiveHealth, LLC, sanofi-aventis, Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM), The JointCommission Disease - Specific Care Certification, United Health Group (UHG)and URAC.
About the National Transitions of Care Coalition (NTOCC): NTOCC was formedin 2006 to address a serious U.S. health care issue: filling the gaps thatoccur when patients leave one care setting and move to another care setting.These transitions include patients movin
