A Case Study: Identifying Overuse in Ambulatory Care
Kaiser Permanente is a nonprofit health plan that provides care for more than 12 million people in eight states and the District of Columbia. The Kaiser Permanente Georgia (KP Georgia) region has 25 medical offices in 14 counties, representing around 300,000 members. KP Georgia has implemented a Choosing Wisely initiative focused on adult primary care that includes 170 physicians.
Problem
Key KP Georgia leaders, including Scott Pugel, MD, Physician Program Director of Resource Stewardship and Helen Ward, MD, FCCP, Senior Physician Director of Inpatient Quality Management and Hospital Services, wanted to determine and address areas of medical overuse among its provider practices in the ambulatory setting.
Solution
Drs. Pugel and Ward collaborated with KP Georgia’s Chief of Adult Primary Care on four program-wide ambulatory care reduction initiatives, including: complete blood counts (CBCs) and electrocardiograms (EKGs) during routine physical exams, bone density scans among women and men without risk factors, and imaging for uncomplicated headaches. The Choosing Wisely® recommendations they instituted were developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Radiology, and the Society of General Internal Medicine.
Read about the keys to success in the full case study here.
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