University of California Center for Health Quality and Innovation: experiences from a system approach to scaling up effective interventions

Edith O'Neill-Page,Maxime Cannesson,Wendy G Anderson,Karyn Digiorgio,Michael K Ong,Nathaniel Gleason

doi:10.1186/1748-5908-10-s1-a16

Abstract

The challenge of improving outcomes, costs, and access in health care among academic health systems is not a dearth of innovative research; but the difficulties encountered when attempting the dissemination and implementation of effective interventions throughout health systems. The University of California (UC) Center for Health Quality and Innovation (CHQI) was established to mitigate barriers to improvements among UC academic health systems. UC recognizes that engagement by leadership, strong evaluation processes, and innovator champions are key to overcoming dissemination and implementation barriers within large health systems. CHQI, led by five UC health system CEOs, six medical school deans, and the UC Senior Vice President of Health Sciences and Services, integrates evidence-based interventions by supporting a collaborative approach to innovative research and spreading best practices through grants, leadership, change management training, and convening task forces to facilitate system-wide change. CHQI employs a tactical and methodical performance-monitored approach to disseminating and implementing proven models of care, including quantifying the ROI (in quality and costs) of all programs prior to initiating a spread program. Once the ROI is assessed for scale and feasibility, a team of senior UC researchers provides guidance by reviewing program implementation and process measures with a focus on spreading best practices, as well as ongoing cost and outcome analyses. Since 2011, CHQI has funded 50 innovation projects, and trained and supported 23 fellows who additionally manage their own innovation projects. This panel presents CHQI's approach and experiences with scaling up effective interventions, through 3 of its multi-site programs that demonstrated a proven ROI before integrating and spreading evidence-based interventions across 5 UC health systems. The panelists will discuss barriers, challenges and successes of project design, evaluation, and implementation, such as data integration issues, organizational barriers (including culture and policies) among health systems, institutional impediments (workflow, workforce), and future plans.

Highlights

From 7th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health North Bethesda, MD, USA. 8-9 December 2014
University of California (UC) recognizes that engagement by leadership, strong evaluation processes, and innovator champions are key to overcoming dissemination and implementation barriers within large health systems
Once the ROI is assessed for scale and feasibility, a team of senior UC researchers provides guidance by reviewing program implementation and process measures with a focus on spreading best practices, as well as ongoing cost and outcome analyses

Summary

Introduction

From 7th Annual Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation in Health North Bethesda, MD, USA. 8-9 December 2014. University of California Center for Health Quality and Innovation: experiences from a system approach to scaling up effective interventions The challenge of improving outcomes, costs, and access in health care among academic health systems is not a dearth of innovative research; but the difficulties encountered when attempting the dissemination and implementation of effective interventions throughout health systems.

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Conclusion