Selecting New Topics for 2017

Thank you to all who gave us input on selecting new topics. We discussed all these suggestions at our July meeting, decided on six, and will narrow this down to three final topics in September. The topics coming out of July’s meeting are:

– Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
– Addiction
– Blood and Blood Product Use
– Clinician Wellness
– Hysterectomy
– Prior Authorization

Our next steps are to gather information and present a case for each of these. We will look at many factors including:

– What this looks like for patients in our country and in Washington State (e.g., how many patients are diagnosed with dementia)
– Whether the patient care is different between clinics and hospitals
– Waste and inefficient care
– Patient safety and health outcomes
– Cost
– Whether there is good evidence for strategies that can address the topic like guidelines from expert associations
– Whether our recommendations would be implementable
– Available data
– Whether our collaborative is uniquely able to make a difference
– Shared-decision aids
– Whether Choosing Wisely has addressed the topic
– If the topic fits well or is aligned with other work going on across the state

We also decided to review our Total Knee and Total Hip Replacement Bundle and Warranty. We will be developing a workgroup around this topic.

Do you have experience with any of these areas? We would love to get your feedback. Please send it to me at gweir@qualityhealth.org