The Practice Innovation Institute Successfully Concludes

The Practice Innovation Institute (Pii) was Arizona’s Practice Transformation Network (PTN) under the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (TCPI). In 2015, Health Current, Arizona’s health information exchange, was awarded a four-year grant under the TCPI program, and in collaboration with Mercy Care, Pii was formed.

Established to assist Arizona clinicians in developing innovations in clinical practice and care delivery in order to prepare for successful participation in value-based, alternative payment programs, Pii was comprised of 435 practices. The Pii organizations represented several areas across the care spectrum including Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), behavioral health providers, integrated care clinics, and other primary and specialty services. The goals for the program were based on the bold AIMs set forth by CMS nationally for TCPI including:

At the conclusion of the four-year grant at the end of September 2019, Pii was able to report achieving (and in most cases exceeding) the commitments which were established for the program:

During the four-year grant program, Pii was able to provide countless hours of no-cost technical assistance to participants. Crucial to the transformation that occurred was the support to practices, by the practice transformation consultants, educational webinars and consultation on quality improvement projects as well as providing technical support such as access to Health Current. As a result of the efforts, the following claims can be made by Pii practices:

• Pii practices demonstrate quality improvement processes that far exceed typical practice environments and have implemented evidence-based sustainable solutions that benefit the patient and payer
• Pii Practices have received education on management protocols and have integrated targeted approaches for outreach to address high risk patients, outstanding screenings, and other care needs
• Pii Practices have implemented Patient and Family Engagement metrics
• Pii Practices have integrated Health Information Technology into their workflow including connectivity to Health Current

A critical intervention that attributed to the success of Pii was the use of Health Current which provided Pii practices with a more complete and timely view of a patient’s medical history which allowed for the right care to be provided at the right time. Reductions in unnecessary testing and procedures, emergency department, inpatient hospitalizations, and overall healthcare costs, along with improvements to overall health outcomes have been credited to utilization of information made accessible by Health Current.

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