Achieving excellence in colorectal cancer care through performance improvement: KP Georgia's implementation of the national vision.

Abstract

207 Background: The Care Management Institute and The Permanente Federation have partnered over the past two years to develop an Improvement Portfolio for Colorectal Cancer, with the objective of accelerating improvement of Colorectal Cancer Care quality, timeliness, reliability, and the member care experience across the continuum, from prevention, reliable screening and diagnosis, through treatment and survivorship. The portfolio includes: 1) National clinical algorithms for diagnosis and treatment (colon), and for survivorship (colon and rectal); 2) Timeliness metrics for Time to Diagnosis, Time to Initial Treatment, and Time from Surgery to Adjuvant; 3) Patient Friendly Pathway. Methods: The National team has partnered with KP Georgia's clinical and operational leaders to successfully operationalize the Colon Cancer Diagnostic Clinical Algorithm using KP's Performance Improvement methodology. Results: KP Georgia improved time from diagnosis to treatment by 40.3% and reduced variation by 60.5%. Conclusions: Development of the National CRC Improvement Portfolio consisting of clinical algorithms, and timeliness metrics within the same scope of the colorectal cancer care journey, has provided KP regions with the basic tools and resources to significantly improve the quality, timeliness, reliability, and member care experience across the cancer continuum.