[COMMUNITY, HOSPITAL AND IN-BETWEEN: QUALITY MEASURES FOR THE CONTINUITY OF CARE].

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Quality Improvement
• Health Informatics

Background:

• The Southern Region, a collaboration between Clalit Health Services and Soroka University Medical Center, sought to enhance medical care quality and resource utilization.
• A need for an objective, continuous assessment method was identified to evaluate care continuity between community and hospital settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop objective, quantifiable tools for assessing the quality of continuity of care.
• To enable ongoing evaluation of care continuity and the impact of improvement initiatives.
• To leverage pre-existing data systems for continuous quality assessment.

Main Methods:

• Defined a comprehensive set of measurements for continuity of care across various community-hospital transition points.
• Ensured all measurements were directly retrievable from existing computerized data sources.
• Mapped patient pathways and identified obstacles to streamline the implementation process.

Main Results:

• Approximately forty distinct quality measurements were defined across diverse clinical domains.
• A dozen of these measurements have been successfully implemented.
• Implementation involved mapping patient journeys, identifying barriers, and developing targeted solutions.

Conclusions:

• An objective assessment system utilizing existing data sources is vital for advancing continuity of care initiatives.
• This approach represents a significant breakthrough in quantifying the quality of continuity of care.
• The Southern Region has implemented this novel system for dozens of quality measurements, offering direct assessment for individual patients.