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Health Quality Innovators a Partner
in Improving Heart Health in Virginia
Initiative to Advance Heart Health in
Primary Care a National Movement
EvidenceNow, a grant initiative of the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ), is designed to help thousands
of U.S. practices advance heart health
by implementing quality improvement
infrastructure and the latest medical research
into their practices. The intent is to create a
blueprint of a patient-centered primary care
system that delivers high-quality care.
Heart of Virginia Healthcare Creates
a Commonwealth Partnership
Health Quality Innovators (HQI) is part
of the consortium called Heart of Virginia
Healthcare, which is one of seven regional
cooperatives taking part in the AHRQ
initiative. The collaborative supports the
broad U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) effort for better care, smarter
spending, and healthier people, and is
aligned with the HHS’ Million Hearts® national
initiative to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
HQI’s partners in this consortium include:
• Virginia Commonwealth University School
of Medicine
• Virginia Center for Health Innovation
• George Mason University
HQI Coaching Practices as Part of Heart
of Virginia Healthcare Efforts
HQI’s role in Heart of Virginia Healthcare is
to provide program management, practice
coaching, and evaluation expertise. The HQI
team serves as practice facilitators to build
providers’ capacity for care improvement and
their ability to adopt evidence-based patient
care practices. These efforts are meant
to help practices become more efficient,
patient-centered, as well as to help physicians
restore the joy in caring for their patients.
The Value of Heart of Virginia Healthcare
• Opportunity to improve
quality, team function, patient
and physician satisfaction
• Restore the joy in primary care
• Free personalized coaching
from HQI
• Collaborate with peers during
learning events to share best
practices
• Improve heart health of
patients using the ABCS of
cardiovascular prevention
9830 Mayland Drive, Suite J ‫ ׀‬Richmond, VA 23233 ‫ ׀‬804.289.5320 ‫ ׀‬www.hqi.solutions
“The goal of the EvidenceNOW initiative is to give primary care practices
the support they need to help patients live healthier and longer. By
targeting smaller practices, we have a unique opportunity to reduce
cardiovascular risk factors for hundreds of thousands of patients, and
learn what kind of support results in better patient outcomes.”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell
What Kind of Assistance Can You Expect
to Receive from HQI Practice Coaches?
Educating Patients about ABCS Helps
Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
If your practice is a participant in the Heart of
Virginia Healthcare initiative, HQI will provide
you with free personalized practice coaching
and on-site consultation. Our expert coaches
will assist you with:
Providers are focusing more on the
importance of cardiovascular health
prevention rather than waiting to begin
treatment after problems arise. Developing
healthy lifestyle habits early on can go a long
way in preventing heart disease. As part of
the Heart of Virginia Healthcare efforts, the
ABCS of cardiovascular disease prevention will
be used to improve heart health metrics. The
focus areas include:
• Reporting ABCS and other quality metrics
• Optimizing clinician and staff time through
implementation of team-based workflows.
• Improving EHR and registry utilization,
open access scheduling, pre-visit planning,
and team huddles
Practice coaches will customize their support
while working with practices on site by
observing workflows and then assisting them
with planning and implementing interventions
during a three-month period. This will be
followed by an additional nine months of
virtual support. By improving function and
quality of care, practices will experience
increased staff and patient satisfaction, as
well as improved financial performance.
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Aspirin use by high-risk individuals
Blood pressure control
Cholesterol management
Smoking cessation
For more information about the grant
initiative, visit the EvidenceNOW website at: www.ahrq.gov/professionals/
systems/primary-care/evidencenow.
html. To learn more about HQI's efforts
as part of the cooperative, contact us at
physicianservices@hqi.solutions or at 804289-5320
This material was prepared by Health Quality Innovators, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network Quality Improvement Organization for Maryland and
Virginia, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The
contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. VHQC/11SOW/4/6/2016/2432
9830 Mayland Drive, Suite J ‫ ׀‬Richmond, VA 23233 ‫ ׀‬804.289.5320 ‫ ׀‬www.hqi.solutions