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The National Transitions of Care Coalition is being led by the Case Management Society of America (CMSA) with support from sanofi-aventis US LLC.
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Transitions of care include situations in which a patient moves from primary care to specialty physicians or moves within the hospital, including moves from the emergency department to other various departments, such as surgery or intensive care; or when a patient is discharged from the hospital and goes home or to an assisted living or skilled nursing facility. Patients, especially older persons, face significant challenges when moving from one level of care or practice setting to another in the healthcare system. During these transitions, lack of communication can result in redundant or conflicting information that often creates serious issues for patients, their caregivers, and their families.
The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has taken a leadership position in hospital and community collaboration. A successful pilot focusing on pressure ulcers and transitional care has been conducted in two Oregon communities. Plans are underway to apply the processes established and the lessons learned to other issues and to expand to additional communities.
OAHHS has worked with members to standardize practices and processes in hand hygiene, color-coded alert wristbands, overhead emergency pages, reporting of hospital acquired infections, and personal medication records.
Barbara Prowe, Executive Director of the Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers stated that their goal with these events was to highlight the role of each stakeholder in resolving the issues being discussed. Purchasers in Oregon are playing a crucial role in promoting quality improvement and transparency as key components of value-based purchasing.
About Oregon Coalition of Health Care Purchasers (OCHCP)
Formed in 1998, OCHCP offers networking, education, tools, shared initiatives, and advocacy to improve purchasers' ability to contract for high quality and cost-effective health care for their employees/members; and, to help purchasers steer their employees/members toward optimal health and high value health care providers. Representing over 400,000 commercially insured Oregonians, OCHCP participates in local multi-stakeholder health system reform initiatives. On the national level, OCHCP is a member of the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH). Visit www.ochcp.org and www.nbch.org.
About the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS)
Founded in 1934, the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS) is a statewide, nonprofit trade association that works closely with local and national government leaders, business and citizen coalitions, and other professional health care organizations to enhance and promote community health and to continue improving Oregon's innovative health care industry.
While the association's primary focus is state and federal government relations and advocacy efforts on behalf of its members, OAHHS also is the state's premier data collection source on hospital and h
