Our recent HMS Collaborative Wide meeting took place on July 16th at Frederik Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. This meeting aimed to maintain our focus on health system-level collaboration while also offering opportunities for interactive learning and peer exchange.
Sage Greenlee, PharmD, BCIDP, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, ID from Henry Ford Macomb, and Amy Beaulac, PharmD, BCPS, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, ID from Henry Ford West Bloomfield, presented on the Impact of Transition of Care Antimicrobial Stewardship Interventions on Discharge Prescriptions for Uncomplicated CAP.
A key component of the agenda was an interactive working group session. Participants were organized into groups that consisted of hospitals with similar bed sizes and resource levels. Our objective was to promote meaningful and relevant discussions that addressed the operational realities and challenges faced by hospitals with comparable capacity and infrastructure. Insights gained from this session informed various breakout discussions in the afternoon, some of which concentrated on health system-level issues. In contrast, others delved into additional topics related to hospital-level quality improvement (QI) efforts.
In the afternoon, we led a series of breakout sessions:
Discharge Care Coordination Measure Updates
- Presenters reviewed changes to the measure for the 2026 Performance Year and shared supporting research.
- Best practices and literature were discussed to guide implementation.
- Participants had time to reflect on how they could apply these updates within their systems.
Preparing for Updated UTI Guidelines
- Attendees explored alignment strategies for the upcoming IDSA urinary tract infection guidelines.
- The session covered updated UTI categorizations, performance measures, and treatment recommendations.
- Participants collaborated to begin integrating these updates into their local clinical operations.
Improving Sepsis Care in the Emergency Department
- HMS hospitals participated in a panel sharing quality improvement initiatives to enhance sepsis care.
- The discussion centered on early identification, timely treatment, and effective transitions within the ED.
- Strategies and evaluations focused on practical improvements and clinical outcomes.
Boosting Physician Engagement
- The session focused on enhancing physician engagement with HMS Value-Based Reimbursement measures.
- Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit opportunities were introduced as a new incentive.
- A Q&A allowed attendees to exchange ideas and ask questions about implementation strategies.
The day also included a 2-hour abstractor appreciation and education session with a focus on patient-reported outcomes (PROs). This session aimed to sincerely express our gratitude for the remarkable dedication and hard work demonstrated by our abstractors in support of patients throughout Michigan. They not only gather the essential data required to develop best practices aimed at reducing adverse events, but they also actively contribute to quality improvement activities within their hospitals.