The Med-IQ Quality Improvement Institute has joined forces with MedStar Health, the largest healthcare provider in Maryland and the Washington, DC area, to address the substantial burden of unrecognized chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among the baby boomer population (persons born between 1945 and 1965).

Expanding Success: Improving Alignment With Birth Cohort-Based HCV Testing and Linkage to Care is an expansion of a multi-year, award-winning quality improvement (QI) initiative designed to facilitate the identification of HCV infection in alignment with current clinical practice guidelines, thereby decreasing the downstream health effects associated with this silent disease.

Although the United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance in late 2012 for a one-time HCV test for all persons born between 1945 and 1965, numerous barriers to timely identification exist. In response to these challenges, Med-IQ launched its first HCV QI initiative in 2013 in partnership with Duke University to evaluate testing patterns among baby boomer patients. This pilot initiative led to the development of a framework for continual evaluation of HCV testing patterns and facilitation of better alignment with guidelines related to identifying patients with HCV and linking patients with initial positive screening test results to appropriate specialty care. This initiative demonstrated a statistically significant increase in HCV antibody testing among baby boomers, and that success was then replicated in a subset of clinics within three institutions across the country.

Now, Med-IQ and MedStar Health announce further expansion of this work into 15 primary care centers in the greater Washington DC/Baltimore metro area. This initiative will support practice improvements in HCV testing and linkage of HCV-infected patients to appropriate care by conducting continual, focused reviews of current practice patterns, offering a series of electronic and live educational activities, and distributing patient education resources developed by nationally recognized public health agencies.

HCV is a silent disease affecting millions of Americans who are unaware of their serostatus, the future health-related effects of the disease, and their risk of transmission. Epidemiologic data illustrate a large burden of disease among the baby boomer population, and testing guidelines have been updated to reflect the need for earlier identification of these patients so that they may be treated before the unfortunate consequences associated with this disease become their reality,”

said Sara Miller, MS, Director of the QI Institute and CE Strategy and Content at Med-IQ.

“HCV is now a curable disease for almost every infected patient, but to reap the benefits of treatment, patients must first be identified, which occurs primarily in the primary care setting. We are thrilled to bring our proven framework to additional primary care clinics within the MedStar Health system so that more baby boomers in the greater Washington DC/Baltimore metro area will become aware of their serostatus and be able to take action.”

The Med-IQ Quality Improvement Institute has been recognized by the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEhp) for its previous HCV initiatives and has been invited by the Center for Business Intelligence, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the ACEhp to present QI data and findings.

Supported by an educational grant from Gilead Sciences, Inc.

 

About Med-IQ

Med-IQ, America’s most respected provider of continuing medical education (CME), inspires healthcare professionals through award-winning activities that deliver sophisticated outcomes-based educational designs with measurable results in professional competence and performance. Med-IQ is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the California Board of Registered Nursing (CBRN), and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing medical education to physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, respectively.

As a leader in the CME industry, Med-IQ has delivered 32 performance improvement (PI) and quality improvement (QI) initiatives that focus on continuous, data-driven education and performance reviews. These initiatives have achieved improvement in healthcare professional performance, quality of care, and patient outcomes. Med-IQ’s quality-focused work has been published 18 times in peer-reviewed journals. Med-IQ has been recognized by the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions through The William Campbell Felch Award for Research in CE (2013, 2011), Outstanding CE Enduring Material (2016), Award for Outstanding Educational Collaboration (2016, 2013), Best in Class Outcomes Best Practices (2016, 2015, 2014), Leadership Award (2015, 2013), President’s Award (2015, 2012) and the Award for Outstanding CME Outcomes Assessment (2012).

To learn more about Med-IQ, visit www.Med-IQ.com, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and connect with us on LinkedIn.

For more information, contact:

Adam Glazer
Director of Audience Development
866 858 7434
info@med-iq.com

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