News and Events
April 2014 Director's Update: The Medical Neighborhood
Last month I attended the Complexity of Care in Primary Care Practices Conference convened by Western Washington University in Bellingham, a town 90 miles from Seattle. The MacColl Center has through the years enjoyed strong relationships with Bellingham provider teams, as much due to their innovative practices as our close physical proximity.
Alignment of patient and primary care practice member perspectives of chronic illness care: a cross-sectional analysis
After the Chronic Care Model has been implemented, is it possible to compare patient and provider team views on quality of care? A new study provides the first published report exploring this question by administering the Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (ACIC) and Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) scales in 39 primary care settings.
March 2014 Director's Update: The MacColl Symposium
On January 31, 2014, the MacColl Center hosted its first Symposium, supported by the Group Health Foundation's Ed Wagner Endowment for Health Care Transformation. Primary Health Extension Programs: Current Models & Future Directions featured guest speakers Craig Jones, MD of the Vermont Blueprint for Health, Art Kaufman, MD from the University of New Mexico and Lyndee Knox from the Los Angeles Practice-Based Research and Resource Network.
Emerging Leaders Share Primary Care Innovations
MacColl's PCT-LEAP Emerging Leaders Program provides leadership development and mentoring to selected primary care staff members from PCT-LEAP sites, supporting them in becoming effective drivers of change in their own communities, as well as role models for successfully envisioning and creating rewarding health care careers.
15th Annual IHI International Summit: Ed Wagner on The Future of Primary Care
“Quality improvement is not a project, it is an approach to how you do your work, and it is either continuous or not at all...we need to reestablish primary care as the foundation of American health care." - Ed Wagner
February 2014 Director’s Update: The Global Reach of MacColl
It’s a fact: the global burden of disease has shifted from infectious to chronic. The leading causes of death and disability around the world have changed from communicable diseases in children to non-communicable diseases in adults. Heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are on the rise in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. If HIV/AIDS is considered a chronic infectious disease – as is increasingly the case – the tipping point becomes an avalanche.
2014 MacColl Center Symposium
On January 31st, we hosted the first annual MacColl Center Symposium in Seattle. Featuring guest speaker Craig Jones, MD, of the Vermont Blueprint for Health, the event brought a panel of national experts and a select group of participants together to explore ways that primary health extension programs may serve as a framework to support better care throughout our state.
New research shows the Chronic Care Model helps improve teen asthma symptoms
A team at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center recently conducted a quality improvement effort guided by the Chronic Care Model that is believed to be the first exclusively targeting teenagers. The initiative resulted in dramatically improved symptom control and outcomes.
Read "Improving Outcomes for Underserved Adolescents With Asthma"
PCT-LEAP Emerging Leaders chosen for leadership training and mentorship
The MacColl Center for Health Care Innovation selected 19 outstanding individuals for participation in the year-long Emerging Leaders program. The Leaders were nominated from exemplary primary care practices across the US and represent a diversity of clinical roles including physicians, nurses, medical assistants, and quality improvement profressionals. Participants were selected based on their demonstrated commitment to quality and enthusiastic recommendations from their colleagues.
New Staffing Models for Primary Care
This WIHI "talk show" webinar from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement focuses on some of the workforce innovations observed by the PCT-LEAP project team. Listen to the archived webinar.