PORTERVILLE – Sierra View Medical Center is a pioneer in the field of collecting patient data electronically, a key component in creating a national database of information that can improve the nation’s health care system.
Earlier this month, The Joint Commission recognized Sierra View Medical Center (SVMC) as one of its “2017 Pioneers in Quality Data Contributor” for the hospital’s contributions to electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for quality improvement in health care.
Until recently, most hospitals collected information to measure health care quality by manually abstracting data from patient records. Today, through eCQMs — which rely on encoded data embedded in the electronic health record — hospitals can electronically collect and transmit data on the quality of care that patients receive. The electronic data can then be analyzed to measure and improve care processes, performance and outcomes.
“Many hours have been spent on the eCQMs and it has paid off. We have a dedicated team in the Quality Improvement department who work day in and day out to ensure that our data is correct prior to it being reported out,” said Melissa Fuentes, SVMC Director of Quality, Care Management and Performance Improvement.
The Joint Commission, the United States’ leading accreditor of health care organizations, established the Pioneers in Quality program to assist and recognize hospitals that report eCQM data, as well as share best practices for all hospitals in gathering, analyzing and leveraging eCQM data for quality improvement.
Of more than 3,200 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals that reported 2016 data, the hospital in Porterville, Calif. was one of only 480 who have been named 2017 Pioneers in Quality hospitals for embracing new technology to submit data about the care it provides to patients.
“This achievement affirms the continuing efforts of Sierra View Medical Center to be a transparent quality driven organization,” said Dr. Jeffery Hudson-Covolo, VP of Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse Executive at Sierra View. “Transmitting validated data allows us to learn from the shared data experience of other organizations across the country and ultimately improve the quality of our care for local patients.”
Sierra View also hosted a successful survey from The Joint Commission in September after two new service lines were evaluated for quality patient care: Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Urgent Care. Though these two areas of care were not part of the accreditation process in 2016, The Joint Commission reported a successful survey meaning they are on the right track for accreditation in the future
“We commend Sierra View Medical Center as a 2017 Pioneers in Quality organization for its contributions and commitment to electronic clinical quality measure data and practice toward quality improvement,” said David W. Baker, MD, MPH, FACP, executive vice president, Division of Health Care Quality Evaluation, The Joint Commission.
“At Sierra View Medical Center, we are continuing to grow and achieve the next steps in health care to provide the highest quality care to our patients,” said CEO, Donna Hefner. “This year we received The Joint Commission Gold Seal of Approval, had two new service lines receive excellent survey scores, were named Large Employer of The Year by the Porterville Chamber of Commerce and now have received this honor as a Pioneers in Quality organization.”
