Foundation Programs Overview
The foundation supports several on-going member-based programs and long-term projects, in addition to short-term and/or one-time initiatives, which help us advance the shared health information needs of the community.
Performance Measurement
The Clinical Outcomes Assessment Program (COAP) is a physician-led quality improvement activity initially focused on the cardiac revascularization procedures in Washington State. Visit COAP at www.coap.org.
The Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program (SCOAP), modeled on the cardiac COAP quality improvement activity, is a statewide, physician-led QI activity expanding the COAP processes and principles to selected abdominal surgical procedures. Visit the SCOAP website at www.surgicalcoap.org.
Patient Safety
The Washington Patient Safety Coalition’s (WPSC) mission is to reduce medical errors and improve safety for people receiving health care in Washington. The Coalition is a Coordinated Quality Improvement Program (CQIP) approved by the Washington State Department of Health. Visit WPSC at www.wapatientsafety.org.
Electronic Commerce and Information Technology
The Community Health Information Technology Alliance (CHITA) is a membership-driven alliance of healthcare and technology organizations in the Pacific Northwest which advocates marketplace activities and provides leadership that will help expand and enhance the use of electronic commerce in the healthcare industry. Visit the CHITA website at www.chita.org.
Cross-Cultural Health
The Foundation’s work on cross-cultural health fills a needed gap between health care organizations that want to advance their cultural and linguistic services to their minority patients and the solid base of knowledge they need to do this confidently; it develops the research findings to construct that base of knowledge. It also guides health care organizations in approaches through which they may come to understand and serve their minority community patients better. Indeed, the “cultures” in which they are to become competent are the very cultures that reside in the served community. Our current work in this area is being conducted as part of a contract with The California Endowment.
Health Data Surveillance and Analysis Toolkit
The Outbreak Detection Information Network (ODIN) is part of a research project funded by the Department of Defense. The intent of ODIN is to implement the emerging science of syndromic surveillance by using information gathered in health encounters to predict disease outbreaks ahead of clinical certainty of lab results. While being funded as a research project, one of the major goals of the project is to produce a product that will have extensive functionality for the public health community and provide a long term toolset for the epidemiological activities. Visit ODIN’s website at www.odin-nw.org.
Quality Improvement
The Clinical Laboratory Initiative is a demonstration project that is part of the National Laboratory System (NLS). The goal of the NLS is to strengthen critical testing for public health surveillance and investigations through systematic improvements in the delivery of laboratory services, establishment of enhanced communication, collaboration, and coordination between public and private laboratories.
The NLS state-based model emphasizes assessment of laboratory practice, focused training, continuous monitoring of quality to improve laboratory testing and promotion of testing, that is consistent with consensus standards. The Clinical Laboratory Initiative is funded through a cooperative agreement with CDC and is conducted in collaboration with the Foundation of Health Care Quality and numerous stakeholders in the state of Washington as a quality improvement initiative.
The Clinical Laboratory Initiative study of antimicrobial susceptibility testing practices and the interventions used in clinical and hospital laboratories to improve this diagnostic service has been published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2007, p.2230-2234. "Systems Approach to Improving Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing in Clinical Laboratories in the United States". Click here to access the abstract or here to download the full article (.pdf).
