The National Quality Forum (NQF) recently announced that Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA), a not-for-profit healthcare organization based in Johnson City, Tenn., has been named the recipient of its 2012 National Quality Healthcare Award. The healthcare organization created and implemented ten patient-centered care guiding principles which aim to illustrate safe, customized care, transparently and openly communicated with the patient, family, and caregivers throughout the course of treatment.
The MSHA plan engages the patient and their family after discharge through hosted support groups and patient events, calls from care providers to patients post-discharge, and the recruitment of former patients and family members to serve on patient advisory committees throughout the system. The organization uses performance metrics that align with the National Quality Strategy. They are reported to internal staff through their quality dashboard on a monthly and annual basis, compared against projected year-to-date targets, and tracked regularly by senior leadership and board members.
“The focus of this year’s National Quality Healthcare Award was the extent to which an organization is providing patient-centered care and achieving better health outcomes at lower per-capita costs,” Laura Miller, NQF interim president and CEO, senior vice president and COO, said in a statement. “Through their comprehensive planning and successful deployment of programs focusing on continuous quality improvement, Mountain States Health Alliance has illustrated their commitment to providing a positive and safe experience not just for patients, but for their families and caregivers as well.”
The award will be presented at the NQF Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. next year.
