The Washington State Collaborative to Improve Health is sponsored by the Washington State Department of Health, the Department of Social and Health Services and Acumentra Health.

The Collaborative is based on the nationally recognized chronic care model, developed by Improving Chronic Illness Care, a program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Focus Areas for the Collaborative:

• Adult health conditions: Asthma, Diabetes or Hypertension
• Children’s health conditions: Asthma, Overweight Prevention or Medical Home

Enrollment begins October 2007.

To enroll in Children’s Focus Areas: Asthma, Overweight Prevention, or Medical Home, please contact Nicole Van Borkulo, M.Ed.; NVB Consulting Inc., Phone: 206-963-5001

Email: nicole@nvbconsulting.com

To enroll in Adult Focus Areas: Asthma, Diabetes, or Hypertension, please contact Francisco Arias-Reyes, Washington State Department of Health, Phone: 360-236-3738.

Email: francisco.arias-reyes@doh.wa.gov

• Most of the work happens in medical practices’ offices
• Three one-day sessions are held in the conference center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

• Registration deadline: December 31, 2007
• Technical assistance to install registry - January-May 2008
• 12-month Collaborative - May 2008-May 2009
• Learning Session 1: May 15, 2008
• Learning Session 2: November 5, 2008
• Outcomes Congress: May 5, 2009

• Funding for tuition and travel expenses is underwritten for Collaborative clinical teams.
• Expense stipends - up to $5,000 – are available for practices open to Medicaid clients.

The Washington State Collaborative to Improve Health helps busy medical practices improve their systems of care for patients with chronic disease. A collaborative is a learning process where several medical teams work to improve the quality of care delivered by their practices. Pediatric and primary care practices of all sizes are encouraged to apply. First preference, however, will be given to small practices of five or fewer providers, and first-time participants.

January through May 2008 is devoted to installing a registry, obtaining baseline data on patients, and establishing goals with the help of a practice coach.

Department of Health (DOH) offers a free registry and technical support - Chronic Disease Electronic Management System (CDEMS) - to practices that need an electronic system for tracking and reporting for the Collaborative.

CDEMS is a Microsoft Access database application designed to help medical providers track the care of patients with chronic health conditions. CDEMS is set up to track diabetes, asthma and adult preventive health, and can be customized to change tracking measures or define measures for other chronic conditions. More information about CDEMS.

Team learning through the Collaborative is supported through:

• Practice coaching
• Site visits
• Learning sessions
• Monthly teleconferences
• Web-based information
• Email list
• Complete preparatory work before first learning session
• Participate in learning sessions and teleconferences
• Use email list to share successes and ask questions
• Communicate team progress through monthly reports
• Present final results at the Outcomes Congress
• Maintain your improved system after the Collaborative ends

More information about the Washington State Collaborative.