Qualis Health Wins Medicare Contract for Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI)
December 28, 2015
$1.96M contract extending over 3.5 years will improve quality of services, reduce costs and improve health
Seattle, WA – In late 2014 CMS made $840 million in funding available to support efforts to accelerate broad-scale quality improvement by advancing practice transformation and participation in payment reform through the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded Qualis Health a contract under the TCPI.
As a component of a plan advanced by the Affordable Care Act, the goal of this initiative is to drive large-scale clinical practice transformation and improve the quality and cost effectiveness of healthcare. As a Medicare Quality Innovation Network – Quality Improvement Organization, Qualis Health will assist Practice Transformation Networks throughout Washington and Idaho with evaluating and assessing their providers’ practice transformation progress, and collaborate to drive practice transformation among primary care and specialty providers.
“Qualis Health is well-positioned for this work,” said Jonathan Sugarman, President and CEO of Qualis Health. “Through our groundbreaking Safety Net Medical Home Initiative, we co-developed the Change Concepts for Practice Transformation, which were utilized by CMS in developing the TCPI Practice Transformation framework. We have significant experience supporting small and rural practices, as well as those that care for underserved populations, targeted populations for the TCPI. We look forward to applying our practice transformation expertise to support the success of the TCPI.”
In collaboration with the Practice Transformation Networks, Qualis Health will evaluate and assess providers’ progress by: conducting baseline and follow up assessments; assisting with recruitment of small practices, rural providers and those that serve medically underserved communities; engaging in learning and diffusion activities; delivering technical assistance; and collaborating with Practice Transformation Networks to support practices needing further transformation support.
The U.S. healthcare system is transitioning rapidly toward a reimbursement system based on quality and value rather than fee-for-service. The TCPI will broadly advance practice transformation and participation in payment reform by delivering educational support and training to providers through Practice Transformation Networks (PTNs). PTNs will provide quality improvement tools, education and training, and Support and Alignment Networks (SANs) will provide foundational support to the PTNs. Qualis Health will assess PTN-enrolled providers’ progress, and collaborate to drive practice transformation among primary care and specialty providers.
Additional information about the Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative is available at http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Transforming-Clinical-Practices/.
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This material was prepared by Qualis Health, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network – Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) for Idaho and Washington, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. ID/WA-A1-QH-2112-01-16
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