HealthTeamWorks Services

Successful medical practice transformations have two key components: coaching and technology. Our experienced quality-improvement coaches and HIT specialists can facilitate the transformation for your organization or help you develop your own capacity to deliver efficient, effective, patient-centered care. HealthTeamWorks provides long-term support to practices and their communities, beginning with patient-centered medical homes and leading to "medical neighborhoods." Our ultimate goal: an effective, integrated community — an accountable care organization. 

See the three delivery options HealthTeamWorks offers for Transformation Services. The table below will give you more detail about the many ways HealthTeamWorks may be able to assist your organization:

Transformation Services

 
 
 

Training and Mentoring

 
 
 

Consulting Services

 

Coaching and Facilitation

Health Informatics and Technology

 

 

  


Transformation Services

Coaching and Facilitation
 

> Managing Your PCMH/Integrated Medical Community Programs

HealthTeamWorks can help your organization develop and launch a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and take your vision all the way: to a sustainable program that supports an integrated medical community based on the business model of the accountable care organization. Services include defining success, communicating the vision, selecting participating practices, and recruiting and training quality-improvement coaches. We provide tools and resources, including data analysis, to manage large-scale improvement initiatives and demonstrate quality of care to payers. In training coaches, HealthTeamWorks follows the "See One, Do One, Teach One" method to ensure experiential learning. Contact us to discuss how to structure the most effective program for your organization.

Back to top>

> In-Office Quality Improvement Coaches

Most primary care practices require in-office facilitation to make the transformation to improve care, reduce cost trends and enhance the healthcare experience for patients and caregivers. HealthTeamWorks’ coaches are expert facilitators who help practices develop successful systems, processes and work flows. Experience has taught us the core components needed in all practices, but each location must adapt to those principles at its own pace. Coaches use a practice transformation checklist to assess and guide each site's evolution. Fundamental to each transforming practice are:

• Leadership development;
• A team approach to care;
• Patient registry functionality;
• Data-driven decision making that includes collection, review and reporting of quality measures;
• Patient engagement; and
• The development of effective self-management support skills within practice teams.  

HealthTeamWorks can provide facilitation for your organization or assist you in developing your own coaching staff. Contact us to discuss which approach is best for you.

Back to top>

> Practice Redesign for Specialists

HealthTeamWorks offers a two-day, on-site program to help specialty practices develop work flows and systems to manage and track referrals, close the feedback loop with other medical services and engage patients in their care. Our comprehensive program involves pre-work, on-site facilitation and post-intervention follow-up. Practices can choose among several areas of focus: 

• Coordination of care;
• Patient access;
• Patient self-management support;
• Population management; and
• Early work in building a medical neighborhood.

Contact us to learn more about how HealthTeamWorks can assist your specialty practice. 

Back to top>

> Residency Programs

HealthTeamWorks can assist medical residency programs with PCMH implementation. Our team introduces a multifaceted program that integrates the residency curriculum with the PCMH model of care delivery in a residency practice. The program includes support for technology modifications, leadership development, work flow redesign and assistance with NCQA recognition for residency programs. For more information, please see the Colorado PCMH Family Medicine Residency Program or contact us to discuss the approach that's best for your organization.

Back to top>


Health Informatics and Technology
 

> EHR System Selection, EHR Implementation and Meaningful-Use Attainment

HealthTeamWorks is a Regional Extension Center Services Provider for Colorado. Our experienced project managers and implementation consultants have helped hundreds of providers select electronic health record (EHR) systems, implement EHRs and attain meaningful use of EHRs as defined by the U.S. government, using lean work-flow and practice redesign techniques. HealthTeamWorks' proprietary methodology combines adaptive change management with our experience in quality improvement, PCMH and integrated medical communities. We can help prepare your EHR to be an effective tool now and in the future. Contact us at info@healthteamworks.org for help with EHR implementation and health information technology tailored to support your organization’s march to healthcare reform.

Back to top>

> Quality Data Analytics

Tools to collect and analyze practice-quality data are critical to monitor the impact of improvement efforts. They also allow an organization to demonstrate quality of care across multiple practices. In addition, such information supports contract negotiations that call for demonstrated quality of care based on clinical and claims data. HealthTeamWorks has developed a powerful data analysis program using business intelligence infrastructure. It allows an organization's leaders and participating practices to compare data across clinics by network, by coach, by region, by condition or by any specific measure. Moreover, data analysis is essential in evolving healthcare compensation models. Contact us at info@healthteamworks.org to learn more about the measures and comparative metrics we can make available for your organization.

Back to top>

> Quality Reporting

The HealthTeamWorks approach to reporting on clinical quality starts with embedding evidence-based guidelines in practice operations. We assist you in tapping clinical decision-support from your EHR. This approach, combined with templates to capture standardized data, allow your practice to build clinical-quality reports that are easy to use. They support quality improvement and new compensation models that require demonstrated quality care. HealthTeamWorks’ staff also provides training and staff mentoring to ensure your internal ability to provide ongoing clinical quality-reporting. Contact us to learn more about how we help you report clinical-quality measures using your EHR.

Back to top>

> HIPAA Privacy and Security

HealthTeamWorks staff provides HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy and security risk assessments and can assist in remediation efforts. We also conduct security audits to ensure that your organization complies with the new HIPAA requirements. Contact us to learn more about this critically important component of healthcare regulation.

Back to top> 

 


Training and Mentoring

Programs in development:
Training for medical practice care coordinators and office managers in the PCMH/ACO (accountable care organization) environment

> Quality Improvement Coaches

HealthTeamWorks’ Coach University trains individuals to develop patient-centered medical homes in their own organizations. The curriculum is delivered by expert, active coaches. Week-long training programs take place in Colorado four times a year. Attendees benefit from a variety of learning approaches and coach-mentors whose experience informs solutions to the challenges that arise in practice situations. Coaches are available for ongoing mentoring as program graduates begin their work with practices.

We employ didactic, online, simulation and other forms of training to maximize attendees' opportunity for success. Coach University covers:

• Models for Improvement, Chronic Disease Prevention and use of Evidence-based Guidelines
• Leadership Development and the dynamics of the Team Approach to Care
• Adaptive Change Management to set goals and expectations
• Tests of Change 
• Measures and Population Management
• Using health information technology to improve patient care

Contact us to learn more, or enroll in our next coach training program

Back to top>

> NCQA Recognition

HealthTeamWorks is uniquely qualified to offer a special learning series for practices and organizations interested in pursuing medical-home recognition from the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA). We encourage practices to bring key members of their leadership and clinical teams so they can champion the organization's effort. HealthTeamWorks holds one-day workshops in your area and schedules them at the beginning of the transformation process.

The workshop builds the foundation of the application and PCMH practice transformation. Participants gain an understanding of what it takes to transform a practice into a model of patient-centered care. The workshop is followed by a series of five one-hour webinars delivered over 10 to 12 weeks. During the action period between webinars, when practices are working on specific standards, we offer designated “open line” telephone consultations to answer questions on process or documentation. Before this webinar series, practices must purchase the NCQA PPC-PCMH Interactive Survey Tool. Contact us to register for the next training session.

As an added benefit and to help ensure a complete application of the medical home training, HealthTeamWorks will assist your practice in applying for NCQA recognition as a PCMH. For an additional fee, an experienced practice coach will review your application and supporting documentation. 

Back to top>

> Motivational Interviewing

Our experienced team has developed both electronic and in-person training modules to guide office staff in effective Motivational Interviewing. Motivational interviewing engages patients in behavior change so essential to improving health status. Strong evidence supports the effectiveness of motivational interviewing in affecting patient behavior with minimal staff time. Contact us to learn more about our training programs.

Back to top>

>Rapid-Improvement Activities

A rapid-improvement activity (RIA) is a one-hour, on-site training session offered by a trained facilitator for the entire practice team (clinical and nonclinical staff) with lunch or breakfast provided. RIAs serve as the first step toward implementing a clinical guideline into routine care, and also introduces the basics of quality improvement. Contact us to learn more about our training programs.

Back to top>

 

 


Consulting Services
 

Strategic consulting to help organizations plan and develop the infrastructure to support high-performing integrated medical communities with:

> Organizational Transformation

HealthTeamWorks can guide your practice's to become a member of a high-performing integrated medical community supported by the accountable care organization model. We help you to identify strategic goals, objectives and timelines, including detailed project plans to ensure that your visions become reality in a realistic timeframe. Taking advantage of our experience helps mitigate common barriers, challenges and oversights. Whether you want a methodical pilot-testing approach with a few practices or a blitz approach for your whole organization, we can help you plan and implement the endeavor. Contact us to discuss strategic planning for your organization.

Back to top>

> Payment Reform Strategies

Aligning financial incentives is a key component of any long term initiative.  HealthTeamWorks understands the challenges of navigating the complexities and realities of payers, understanding fully insured and Administrative Services Only (ASO) distinctions and their impacts, balancing the practice needs for financial support to transform care delivery, with the payers reluctance to pay until there is a demonstration of transformed care delivery. Leveraging our experience in the Colorado multi-state multi-stakeholder PCMH pilot, and our role on national payment reform task forces, our consultants can help you be more successful in these complex discussions with both performance and legal implications.  Contact us at info@healthteamworks.org to determine how we can help you with payment restructuring.

Back to top>

> Convening multiple stakeholders

HealthTeamWorks has broad experience convening multiple stakeholders in the patient-centered medical home, many of which are competitors. We serve as a neutral party that encourages members to reach consensus, agree on methodology, make decisions and move forward together. Recognized clinical guidelines form one foundation of an integrated medical community, and HealthTeamWorks began as the Colorado Clinical Guidelines Consortium. We know how to develop consensus around complex issues. Contact us to learn how we can help you manage multiple stakeholders with divergent interests.

Back to top>

> Health information technology and health information exchange infrastructure

A health information technology (HIT) platform is essential for a practice to evolve into a PCMH and function in an integrated medical community. Our HIT experts help practices of every size develop and implement HIT strategies and health information exchange expertise. 

Back to top>

> Residency Program Consulting

Our staff, with our partners at the University of Colorado Department of Family Medicine, is available to help residency programs develop a PCMH model. HealthTeamWorks has ongoing programs with all the family medicine residencies in Colorado, giving us deep experience to share. Contact us to for asssitance in structuring your primary care residency program.  

Back to top>