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Upstate is recognized for enhancements in care

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—Upstate University Hospital has been recognized by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Hospital Performance Incentive Program (HPIP) for enhancing quality in several key areas over the last year.

“Working with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, complements our robust quality improvement program at Upstate University Hospital,” said James Legault, Upstate’s director of clinical practice analysis. “The ability to combine our goals with Excellus BlueCross BlueShield works well for both organizations.”

The quality improvement program is a collaboration between the health insurer and participating hospitald. It uses nationally recognized standards and guidelines to address specific areas for improvement. Incentive payments are tied to improvements in health outcomes and patient safety.

To earn incentive points, Upstate:

• Improved the pneumococcal vaccination rate for pneumonia patients from a rate of 68 percent to 86 percent.

• Improved stroke care by increasing stroke education with patients by going from a rate of 59 percent to 97 percent.

• Improved stroke care by increasing dysphasia screening with patients by going from a rate of 53 percent to an 83 percent.

• Enhanced the hospital’s medication management process and improved patient safety through the implementation of bar coding technology.

The improvement program evaluates participating hospitals on more than 300 performance measures. Target outcomes are jointly agreed upon by each hospital and the health insurer using benchmarks established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Leapfrog Group, Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and others.

The four areas targeted for improvement are: clinical outcomes, patient safety, patient perception of care and patient satisfaction, and efficiency.

Caption: Patricia King, RN, BSN, CCM, CDMS, clinical nurse case manager of the Neuro ICU/Neuro Stepdown Unit, shares information with a patient during discharge planning.