Home Health Agencies Should Partner with Quality Improvement Organizations, Urges AAHomecare

Main Category: Caregivers / Homecare
Article Date: 09 Oct 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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AAHomecare President and CEO Kay Cox is joining with other homecare leaders to urge home health agencies to partner with their state Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO) in achieving transformational change in quality over the next three years.

In the QIOs' 8th Scope of Work, CMS, home health agencies, and the QIOs will work together to achieve a number of priority goals: reducing the rate of acute care hospitalization, increasing the rate of immunization for influenza and pneumonia, integrating telehealth services, and changing organizational culture to achieve transformational quality improvement.

Home health agencies will have the opportunity to call on the expertise of their QIOs to reach these goals and lay the foundation to succeed in the upcoming era of pay for performance. AAHomecare will continue to collaborate with CMS, the QIOs, and other partners to facilitate home health agencies' achievement of maximum performance over the next three years. AAHomecare staff will also serve on CMS's QIO Executive Steering Committee to foster the goals of this partnership. See the letter from homecare leaders at under Advocacy Priorities / Home Health at aahomecare.org.

CMS Open Door Forum October 20
The next CMS Home Health, Hospice & DME Open Door Forum is scheduled for October 20, 2005, 2:00 p.m. ET. Call 800-837-1935 and use conference ID 2865480.

Still Time to Register for Medtrade and AAHomecare Continuum of Care Conference
There is still time to register for AAHomecare's Continuum of Care Conference, October 17, and Medtrade, October 18-20. For registration information, visit: aahomecare.org/cde.cfm?event=101963.

American Association for Homecare
http://www.aahomecare.org

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