AGEC Partners with the Arkansas Chronic Illness Collaborative
The Arkansas Department of Health’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention and the Diabetes Prevention and Control Sections, the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program, and the Arkansas Geriatric Education Center (AGEC) have have joined in a partnership to present the 10th Arkansas Chronic Illness Collaborative.
The Arkansas Chronic Illness Collaborative (ACIC) is dedicated to partnering with health care professionals in order to find ways to improve the management of chronic disease. The target audience for this collaborative includes family physicians, pharmacist, nursing specialties, physician assistants, other healthcare professionals and administrative staff. Approximately $100,000 in scholarship funding is available to fund 8 to 10 clinics. To participate, clinics need a diabetes (DM) or cardiovascular (CVD) patient registry of 100 patients or more and are required to report on certain key measures.
The Collaborative’s systems change approach addresses quality of care challenges for all segments of the population, including disparate and aging persons, and supports the Essential Public Health Services framework. The long-range goal of this collaborative is to maximize the length and quality of life for patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and/or Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), to satisfy patient and caregiver needs and maintain or decrease the cost of care.
The ACIC provides a forum where clinic health care teams learn about the delivery of patient care using the National Health Disparities Collaborative Planned Care Model for people with DM and/or CVD. The Collaborative aims to attain this goal by:
- Sharing ideas and knowledge
- Learning and applying new methodologies for organizational change
- Implementing the Planned Care Model in an effort to align medical practices with evidence-based clinical guidelines
- Utilizing evidence based practice
To meet these goals within a 13-month time frame, the Collaborative offers three, two-day Learning Sessions and a one-day Congress to conclude the program, by sharing and celebrating the success of each team. Clinics receive education on the implementation of the Planned Care Model, learn and practice PDSA Cycles (Plan Do Study Act), and share successes and challenges faced during implementation. Teams also receive professional education as it relates to tobacco cessation, aging, diabetes and heart disease. Participating clinic team members earn a minimum of twenty-five hours of CME.
AGEC will provide speakers to address geriatrics issues in treatment of DM and DVD. Through this partnership, the ACIC clinics will focus on diabetic for the geriatric population, and will monitor and report data about such measures as eye exams, foot exams, maintaining Average HbA1c and blood pressure control. At the end of the Collaborative sessions, the desired outcome is for clinic teams to utilize with the entire patient population the evidence based practice interventions taught to them.
Arkansas Department of Health
Chronic Disease Division Staff
