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HospitalsNMMRA works with New Mexico’s hospitals in a variety of ways. Under its Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Ninth Statement of Work (SOW), NMMRA’s efforts relate primarily to beneficiary protection and patient safety, building upon much of the progress made during previous SOWs. As part of NMMRA’s CMS work, quality data reporting, improvement of processes and systems related to key measures of patient care, and coordination of patient care between hospitals and nursing homes are a few key focus areas. NMMRA also works with hospitals under state contracts that involve reducing health care-associated infections (HAIs) and improving performance and patient safety within rural and critical access hospitals. Learn more about NMMRA’s work related to: Opportunity for Quality ImprovementNMMRA has worked with hospitals throughout its history as the CMS Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for New Mexico. Hospitals have made remarkable progress over the past several years in reporting quality data, improving results on key performance measures, and implementing processes to ensure that their patients receive better care. However, hospitals in this state still have opportunities for even greater improvement, and with an increasing national focus on the quality of medical care and potential movement in the industry toward pay-for-performance models, the incentive has never been greater for hospitals to focus significant energy and resources on quality improvement. Learn more about NMMRA's patient safety work. Specific Activities with HospitalsThe majority of NMMRA’s current activities with hospitals are part of CMS 9SOW patient safety efforts, also known as the CMS National Patient Safety Initiative, or NPSI. NMMRA works with hospitals on improving surgical and heart failure care, as well as improving drug safety. In addition, NMMRA has recently embarked on new initiatives to reduce rates of health care-associated infections like methicillen-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Learn more about NMMRA’s work related to: NMMRA, as part of a network of QIOs across the country, has a wealth of tools available to assist hospitals in reaching their goals for specific quality measures. These include survey instruments geared toward leadership and/or patient safety processes in hospitals and nursing homes. Additionally, NMMRA can draw upon successful tools from its previous work and that of other QIOs. Access a variety of health care provider tools and resources. NMMRA also includes a variety of patient safety partners in its efforts, encouraging participation in its quality improvement work to a broader community and expanding the momentum created by the CMS NPSI. If you are a partner or stakeholder and would like to receive general information about NMMRA's work, see NMMRA’s partners and stakeholders Web page and request quarterly updates. NMMRA’s beneficiary protection work promotes and supports hospitals in the submission of quality data for reporting and Annual Payment Update (APU) purposes. NMMRA offers hospitals assistance with the use of CMS systems and reporting tools such as the CMS Abstraction and Reporting Tool (CART), QualityNet, and the QIO Clinical Warehouse. The data from the APU reporting process equips CMS with vitally important quality information, which is posted on the Hospital Compare Web site to inform the public about the quality of care available from hospitals. Read more about NMMRA’s efforts related to public reporting. Under its current SOW, NMMRA no longer is responsible for implementing the Hospital Payment Monitoring Program (HPMP). Hospitals may wish to contact the following organizations for answers to questions previously directed to NMMRA related to compliance or payment error reduction activities:
NMMRA hosts quarterly Focus On Quality meetings for hospital quality improvement managers. These meetings serve as a forum for training, networking, sharing of best practices and information updates and for fostering collective quality improvement activities in New Mexico. NMMRA provides training, networking and continuing education opportunities, free of charge, to empower individuals to become change agents for their facilities. All hospital staff involved in quality is encouraged to attend. Upcoming meetings are posted on NMMRA's Events Web pages where hospital staff can register online to attend in person. Access a variety of hospital and patient safety resources. NMMRA also regularly publishes useful quality, patient safety and public reporting information for hospitals in its newsletter, Focus on Patient Safety. NMMRA also serves, along with the New Mexico Hospital Association, as the New Mexico Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Node to support hospital efforts to implement IHI interventions (many of which overlap with NMMRA's QIO directives). Additional Resources
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