HRET is accepting applications for a new Hospital Perinatal HIV Learning Collaborative, which has a special emphasis on engaging physicians in HIV testing and linking infected patients to care. It is open to individuals from Sole Community Hospitals and Rural Referral Center Hospitals. Proposals are due Friday, September 17, 2010. Six sites will be selected through this proposal process. The collaborative is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention; Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention; Epidemiology Branch.  For more information on this exciting opportunity and to see the Request for Proposal please contact Joan Miller at jmiller@aha.org.

Health reform presents new challenges and opportunities for hospital leaders.  A new resource from AHA offers a wealth of actionable information to help take your hospital to the next level of performance in this new environment.  Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence: A Compendium of Implementation Guides is a collection of 11 guides and toolkits that cover areas such as care coordination, disparities reduction, health information technology, health care reform implementation, and more.  The compendium includes the following resources:

• Competency-Based Governance:  A Foundation for Board and Organizational Effectiveness
• ACHI Community Health Assessment Toolkit
• A Guide to Achieving High Performance in Multi-Hospital Health Systems 
• HRET Disparities Toolkit 
• Using Workforce Practices to Drive Quality Improvement:  A Guide for Hospitals 
• Health Care Leader Action Guide to Reduce Avoidable Readmissions 
• Health Care Leader Action Guide on Implementation of Electronic Health Records
• AHA Research Synthesis Report: Bundled Payment 
• AHA Research Synthesis Report: Accountable Care Organizations 
• Early Learnings from the Bundled Payment Acute Care Episode Demonstration Project
• AHA Health Care Reform Implementation Timeline 

Click here for more information and to download the complete compendium.

While there have been numerous success stories about the power of health IT to help hospitals provide safer, more efficient care, realizing the true promise of health IT can be harder than it looks. Together with the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, as part of the Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence Signature Leadership series, HRET has released the Health Care Leader Action Guide on Implementation of Electronic Health Records.  The guide gives hospital executives a basic understanding of the challenges of implementing an electronic health record and sets forth seven high-level categories of action that executive teams should consider in planning and implementing an EHR. Click here to learn more and to download the guide.

The Acute Care Episode Demonstration is a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services project whose goals are to improve coordination and quality of care, align incentives between hospitals and physicians, and provide financial incentives for Medicare beneficiaries. Is the demonstration a successful model that can be applied by other hospitals around the country? A new HRET guide, Early Learnings from the Bundled Payment Acute Care Episode Demonstration Project, explores this question. The guide describes the experience of Hillcrest Medical Center, a Tulsa, Oklahoma hospital participating in the Acute Care Episode Demonstration project. The guide details how the demonstration project functions and sets forth six recommendations based on lessons learned at Hillcrest. Click here for more information and to download the guide.

Hospitals and health systems considering whether to participate in accountable care organizations (ACOs) should assess their capabilities in several key areas and be prepared to strengthen those competencies where necessary, according to a report released by the AHA Committee on Research. The report synthesizes the research literature on ACOs, including their potential impact, required organizational competencies, and key questions to consider as the federal and private sectors prepare for widespread implementation of the model. “Although the ACO concept has been discussed for years, there is great opportunity for learning as we move forward,” notes Committee Chair Al Stubblefield. According to the report, “Hospitals and health systems considering ACO participation should assess their capabilities in several key core competencies that will likely be necessary for successful ACO implementation, including IT infrastructure, resources for patient education, team-building capabilities, strong relationships with physicians and other providers, and the ability to monitor and report quality data.” Click here to access the full report.

HRET has developed a new toolkit for cost and reimbursement issues surrounding HIV testing and screening, which is available online at http://www.hret.org/disparities/projects/hiv-testing-and-screening-cost-and-reimbursement.shtml. The toolkit includes a downloadable calculator to help assist hospitals in understanding the costs surrounding HIV testing programs. For more information, contact Joan Miller at jmiller@aha.org.

Health Services Research’s August issue includes articles on nursing and home care, information technology, public programs, and health care quality and cost. The article, Implications of the California Nurse Staffing Mandate for Other States, is available for free. The journal recently presented the 2010 John M. Eisenberg Article of the Year award to Richard Kronick, for his article, Health Insurance Coverage and Mortality Revisited. HSR established the award in 2003 to recognize excellent and original research among all articles published in the journal during the prior year. Click here for more information about the award and to access the 2010 winning article for free.

In the July issue of H&HN, Glenn Steele Jr, MD, PhD, president and CEO of Geisinger Health System and recipient of the 2010 HRET Trust Award, shares five lessons regarding innovative solutions for reforming the delivery of and payment for health care at the local level. His lessons address the need for payment for quality rather than quantity of work, shared accountability, care coordination, and innovation. Click here to read more.

While value-based purchasing has the potential to improve quality and decrease costs, there is limited evidence on how to structure and implement value-based purchasing programs most effectively. In a new article published online this month at http://www.hsr.org/, HRET President Maulik S. Joshi, DrPH and HRET Director of Research Megan McHugh, PhD explore approaches to improving evaluations of value-based purchasing programs. The article recommends approaches to enhancing implementation research and impact research and ways to improve the capacity of evaluations to inform policy and practice. Click here to access the article online.