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Physician and Patient Resource Center -- Quality (PRC-Q)

Resources for Physicians

This area is designed for medical professionals dedicated to providing quality care for the health and safety of their patients. Links provided below can help physicians to access evidence-based clinical recommendations reviewed by their peers, and sites that promote physician leadership.

Medical professionals are urged to keep track of their time utilizing the tools within the Physician Resource Center, as they can be credited as CME Category II. NCMS members are urged to log into NCMS Online and utilize the new CME tracker called "Your CME."

For your convenience, we've created a timer for you to keep track of time spent browsing this area for Category II CME credit. Launch Timer Now.

Peer-Reviewed Resources

  • American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology [http://www.aaaai.org] - This professional website contains practice parameters, Academy position statements, and updated asthma guidelines.
  • American Academy of Family Physicians [http://www.aafp.org] - The AAFP's site contains helpful information for physicians, including clinical care and research. Tell your patients about the AAFP's patient website, the Family Doctor, at www.familydoctor.org.
  • American Academy of Pediatrics [http://www.aap.org] - Current Clinical Practice Guidelines, policy statements, clinical reports and technical reports are available online. In addition, an up-to-date print edition of evidence-based decision-making tools for managing common pediatric conditions has been revised and is available for purchase.
  • American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - The ACOG website provides links to Clinical Updates in Women's Health Care is a new series designed for practicing obstetrician- gynecologists who provide primary health care to women. Topics will include screening, evaluation, diagnosis, counseling, and management. In addition, the site offers New Liability & Risk Management Teaching Modules and web pages with patient information, including downloadable pamphlets for your practice.
  • American College of Physicians: The Patient- Centered Medical Home. [http://www.acponline.org/running_practice/pcmh/] - The ACP produces "evidence-based clinical practice guidelines" that cover many areas of internal medicine. Clinical fields include: cardiology; endocrinology and metabolism; general internal medicine; infectious diseases; and pulmonology. Patient guidelines are also available, including topics such as depression, antibiotic use, diabetes, and more.
  • American College of Preventive Medicine [http://www.acpm.org] - ACPM works closely with many governmental and non-governmental agencies to strengthen the practice of Preventive Medicine, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the National Cancer Institute, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
  • American College of Surgeons [http://www.facs.org] - This site contains clinical guidelines as well as the American College of Surgeons' Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, which aims to improve the quality of surgical care by enabling all surgeons to apply the best scientific evidence available in all aspects of their daily practice with respect, compassion, and dignity for all patients.
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute [http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov] - The NHLBI lists clinical practice guidelines for asthma, cholesterol, hypertension, and obesity.

Quality of Care and Patient Safety Resources

Evidence-Based Medical Tools

  • EBM Education Center of Excellence [http://library.ncahec.net/EBM/pages/index.htm] - This site provides a collection of resources that support teaching and learning in Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) for faculty, librarians, students, and other health care professionals.

Quality-Focused Organizations

  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)[http://www.ahrqu.gov] - This site contains comprehensive information for physicians, including: evidence-based practice outcomes & effectiveness; effective health care; technology assessments; preventive services; clinical practice guidelines; and links to the National Guideline Clearinghouse™, a quality initiative created by AHRQ and the US Department of Health and Human Services.
  • American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians [http://www.abqaurp.org] - The ABQAURP promotes quality health care through education and certification. The site offers a number of online courses that advance patient safety.
  • Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation [http://www.apsf.org] - The mission of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation is to ensure that no patient shall be harmed by anesthesia. The purposes of APSF are to: foster investigations that will provide a better understanding of preventable anesthetic injuries; encourage programs that will reduce the number of anesthetic injuries; and promote national and international communication of information and ideas about the causes and prevention of anesthetic morbidity and mortality.
  • American College of Medical Quality [http://www.acmqu.org] - The mission of the American College of Medical Quality is to provide leadership and education in health care quality management. The site offers educational opportunities on quality of care, professional policies, and links to a number of other quality-focused websites.
  • American Health Quality Association [http://www.ahqa.org] -The American Health Quality Association represents Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and professionals working to improve the quality of health care in communities across America. QIOs share information about best practices with physicians, hospitals, and nursing homes. Working together with health care providers, QIOs identify opportunities and provide assistance for improvement. AHQA regularly works with lawmakers, regulators, health care providers, purchasers, and consumers to advocate the policies of the Association and to gain support and visibility for the goals and accomplishments of its members. In addition, AHQA provides a broad range of educational and networking opportunities for its members.
  • Bridges to Excellence [http://www.bridgestoexcellence.org] - Bridges To Excellence (BTE) is a multi-state, multi-employer coalition developed by employers, physicians, health care services researchers and other industry experts. BTE is a not-for-profit organization created to encourage significant leaps in the quality of care by recognizing and rewarding health care providers who demonstrate that they deliver safe, timely, effective, efficient and patient-centered care. In addition to National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH), BTE participants include large employers, health plans, the National Committee on Quality Assurance, MEDSTAT, and WebMD Health, among others. Visit this site to learn more about the three-year pilot project, provider rewards, and recognition program to test ways to improve health outcomes and affordability in North Carolina.
  • Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence (CCME) [http://www2.thecarolinascenter.org/ccme/ ] - CCME, formerly the Medical Review of North Carolina, is a non-profit, physician-sponsored healthcare consulting firm and the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) of North Carolina. The CCME supports hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes, home health agencies, government agencies and others, throughout the state in the pursuit of healthcare excellence.
  • Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) Specialty societies and boards of family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics have joined together to develop the design for a program to support primary care physicians, including family physicians, internists and pediatricians and their care teams, to provide care more effectively for their patients. Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) aims to help practices provide consistently high quality care that improves the health of patients, motivates action and collaboration at the state, regional and practice level, accelerates the pace of improvement, improves physician satisfaction, and enables physicians to be successful under pay-for-performance and board re-certification programs.
  • Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) [http://www.ihi.org] - The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a non-profit organization driving the improvement of health by advancing the quality and value of health care. Founded in 1991 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, IHI offers comprehensive products and services.
  • Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) [http://www.ismp.org/] - The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) is devoted entirely to medication error prevention and safe medication use. ISMP represents over 30 years of experience in helping healthcare practitioners keep patients safe, and continues to lead efforts to improve the medication use process.
  • National Quality Forum [http://www.qualityforum.org] - NQF is a private, non-profit membership organization created to develop and implement a national strategy for health care quality measurement and reporting. The mission of the NQF is to improve health care through endorsement of consensus-based national standards for measurement and public reporting of health care performance data that provide meaningful information about whether care is safe, timely, beneficial, patient-centered, equitable, and efficient.
  • North Carolina Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety [http://www.ncha.org/ncchqps] - Developed by the North Carolina Hospital Association, this quality-focused initiative seeks ways to improve and promote patient safety within hospital settings.
  • American Medical Association's Physician Consortium [http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2946.html] - The American Medical Association (AMA)-convened Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement® (Consortium) is committed to enhancing quality of care and patient safety by taking the lead in the development, testing, and maintenance of evidence-based clinical performance measures and measurement resources for physicians. The Consortium is comprised of over 100 national medical specialty and state medical societies; the Council of Medical Specialty Societies; American Board of Medical Specialties and its member-boards; experts in methodology and data collection; the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
  • 5 Million Lives Campaign [http://www.ihi.org/IHI/Programs/Campaign/Campaign.htm] - The Campaign seeks to save 5 million lives by preventing common in-hospital system errors. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has identified six "interventions" necessary for hospitals to achieve this goal: deploying rapid response teams, delivering reliable evidenc-based care for acute myhocardial infarction, preventing adverse drug events, preventing central line infections, preventing surgical site infrections and preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia. As a campaign partner, the NCMS will help to educate physicians, especially those that work in hospitals, about the program's initiatives. This campaign will help physicians help their patients while improving helath care safety, and will draw much needed attention to the patient safety movement.
  • The National Committee for Quality Assurance [http://www.ncqa.org] - The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. The NCQA seal is a recognized symbol of quality. Physicians and organizations incorporating the seal into advertising and marketing materials must first pass a rigorous, comprehensive review and must annually report on their performance. For consumers and employers, the seal is a reliable indicator that an organization is well-managed and delivers high quality care and service. The Health Plan Report Card and Recognized Physician Directory is also available at this site.
  • Value Driven Health Care from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services [http://www.hhs.gov/transparency] - This site contains information about transparency, a broad-scale initiative enabling consumers to compare the quality and price of health care services, so they can make informed choices among doctors and hospitals. In cooperation with America's largest employers and the medical profession, this initiative is laying the foundation for pooling and analyzing information about procedures, hospitals and physician services. When this data foundation is in place, regional health information alliances will turn the raw data into useful information for consumers.
  • The North Carolina Healthcare Quality Alliance (NCHQA) The Healthcare Quality Alliance began in response to Governor Michael Easley’s call to the health care community to form an alliance of stakeholders to ensure that North Carolinians receive the best available care. Formerly the Governor's Quality Initiative (GQI) the Initiative is transitioning to a more formal structure. NCHQA will execute a three-pronged strategy aimed at improving healthcare quality: 1)Align quality measures across payers to reduce the variation in quality measurement faced by providers; 2) Provide feedback on performance to practices; 3) Support practices.

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