Maine Consortium for Clinical Office System Improvement (COSI)

The Maine Consortium for Clinical Office System Improvement is a collaboration among clinicians, purchasers, public health programs, and insurers which seeks to facilitate and support changes in outpatient clinical office systems to improve adherence by providers and patients to evidence-based practice guidelines.  The Consortium will put an array of tools into the hands of primary care practices to facilitate individualized quality improvement efforts, focusing on prevention and chronic disease management.

About the Program

Technical Assistance for Pilot Sites

The Consortium

Publications Available

Questionnaire

Resources

 

About the Program

Resources to Enhance Your Office Systems

Many primary care physicians in Maine have made innovative changes in their practices to effectively use evidence-based medicine, enhance communication between clinicians and patients, and to streamline office systems.

Whether your practice is interested in standardizing its approach to the management of diabetics or encouraging adherence to cancer screening guidelines, the Maine Consortium for Clinical Office System Improvement may be able to assist you with a variety of resources.

The Consortium offers an array of strategies, techniques, and materials to primary care practices including:

A manual describing easy step-by-step approaches offices can take to establish comprehensive prevention, wellness, and chronic disease management systems.

Specific modules for selected chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease).

Training and technical assistance for selected sites on identifying and implementing new office systems.

A "best practices" clearinghouse of information and materials for practices interested in office systems and quality improvement.

Networking meetings for practices interested in sharing their experiences and approaches.

Interest groups on specific issues, such as information systems.

 

 

In Your Practice

Do you have a clear process for reviewing and adopting preventive and chronic disease guidelines?

Do you systematically screen for individual patients' needs at each visit?

Do you use a system to screen the population of patients covered by various guidelines (e.g., all diabetic patients)?

Does your present system provide accurate, up-to-date information on percentages of patients who receive specific regimens of care?

Do you have written protocols for referrals and follow-up services related to preventive care and chronic disease management?

Do you have explicit procedures to ensure good communication between doctors and nurses about preventive services and chronic disease care?  Between clinical staff and office staff?

Do you have systems in place to involve patients actively in their own care?

 

 

 

 

 

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Technical Assistance for Pilot Sites Includes:

Overview of state-of-the art preventive care and chronic disease tracking and reminder methods.

Assistance with assessing current office systems.

Guidance on the process of developing and implementing new office systems.

Selecting and developing written protocols that reflect the processes your practice favors.

Facilitating role and responsibility delegation and building effective quality teams.

Developing reminder prompts, recall cards, and procedures.

Sustaining continuous quality improvement in your unique practice.

 

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The Consortium

The Maine Consortium for Clinical Office System Improvement is a new collaboration sponsored by Medical Care Development and supported with a two year grant from the Bingham program and other sources.  Partners and supporters include the Maine Bureau of Health, the Partnership for a Heart Healthy Maine, Managed Care Organizations, the Medicare Peer Review Organization, and Maine Medical Assessment Foundation.

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Medical Care Development, Inc., 11 Parkwood Drive, Augusta, Maine  04330

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