Case studies serve as 'meaningful use' examples

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and American Society for Quality (ASQ) expect to issue a call for submissions for their Stories of Success! Leveraging HIT, Improving Quality & Safety series in early March. The program aims to highlight and demonstrate how healthcare information technology (HIT) has been leveraged to fulfill national patient safety goals of the Joint Commission and national priorities of the National Priorities Partnership.

Sixteen real-world, peer-reviewed case studies from independent practice associations, medical groups and other medical institutions recently were selected for inclusion in the inaugural series.

"These case studies, demonstrating as they do real-world successes in the application of change management and process improvement tools as a prelude to HIT implementation, will serve as excellent, real-world examples for those endeavoring to become 'meaningful users,'" Joseph Fortuna, MD, chairman-elect of the health care division of ASQ and chief executive officer of PRISM, said in a prepared statement. PRISM is a nonprofit corporation seeking to sustainably improve quality and operations of health care practices.

David A. Collins, MHA, CPHQ, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, who is the HIMSS director of healthcare information systems, added, "With the provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act now under way, the information gathered in these case studies will help the industry understand how valuable health IT as a tool can be to improving patient safety and quality. By sharing notable quality improvement scenarios, we hope these best-practice examples will serve as guidance to others for improved healthcare delivery and demonstrate the benefits of health IT adoption."