Quality Improvement

CHCA focuses on providing the necessary training and technical assistance to CHCs aimed at assuring that patients at health centers receive the highest quality comprehensive and effective care possible. CHCA is actively engaged in developing partnerships which support and embrace quality improvement.

• Clinical Quality Improvement
  CHCA provides, and makes provisions for, TA/training to CHC staff to support clinical quality programs and initiatives.  CHCA gathers and analyzes data from all CHCs and provides training and technical assistance to assist with further development and refinement of the CHC’s clinical quality improvement efforts.

• Business & Financial Operations Management Improvement
  CHCA provides technical assistance, consultation, individual and group training aimed at strengthening CHC operations through increasing efficiency and cost-effectiveness of CHC business and financial operations. Training and TA are provided in many areas including billing/collections, facility/equipment, financial management, front office, human resources, operations, and start-up operations/processes.

• Medical Homes
  CHCA is involved with issues around Medical/Health Care Home initiatives. The goal of the CHCA is to work with CHCs to develop replicable and sustainable implementation model for medical home transformation.  CHCA has been intimately involved in participating on National and State workgroups and committees addressing the various components of the Model and sharing information and resources with the CHCs’ staff through CHCA Network Meetings, trainings, and uploading resources to SharePoint.  CHCA is working to leverage resources through partnerships and collaborations which will help CHCs move towards being fully compliant with the soon to be released standards of the “Medical Home”, such as the “Tele-Mental” Health Initiative led by UAMS Department of Psychiatry; the UAMS Doctor Referral Pilot Project related to access to sub-specialists; Closing the Addiction Gap Project; Retinal Imaging Pilot; and the Tooth Faerie Project.  CHCA is also working to ensure that the CHC EHR systems are in line with “Meaningful Use” requirements and are engaged in partnerships focused on information technology and expansion of tele-health services in Arkansas.

• Community Based Participatory Research
  CHCA is working with UAMS in designing a community based participatory research project designed to increase referrals for Mammograms through a Mobile Mammography Program which will benefit underserved areas which currently have no local access to an FDA approved mammography facility.

• Chronic Disease
  CHCA supports the implementation of chronic disease prevention initiatives in the CHCs and communities they serve. CHCA is actively involved with the Health Disparities Collaborative, The collaborative makes use of three models to improve health outcomes and eliminate health disparities in clinics located in medically underserved communities. The Chronic Care Model and Model for Improvement guide the implementation of evidence based clinical best practice through small tests of change. The Learning Model maximizes the experiences of collaborative members to accelerate change.
  
  CHCA provides technical assistance to CHC Chronic Disease Collaborative teams and Finance and Access/Re-design Collaborative Teams. In addition, CHCA partners with state and local healthcare and social service agencies to support the spread and sustainability of the Health Disparities Collaborative/Chronic Disease Model of care.
  
  CHCA offers technical assistance to CHCs participating in tobacco cessation programs, and hypertension screening programs. Technical assistance includes data collection support, educational materials development, and best practice strategies dissemination.