IPRO Wins Innovation Contracts Aimed at Opioid Prescribing, Kidney Disease

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The IPRO-led Atlantic Quality Innovation Network (AQIN) has been awarded special federal funding to address opioid prescribing and kidney disease management.

The two multi-year Medicare Special Innovation Projects are funded by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as part of the national Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) Program.  

For the first project, IPRO's Drug Safety Team will develop a standardized pharmacist-patient counseling program, including direct patient- and prescriber-level interventions aimed at decreasing the risk of opioid-related adverse events in New York, the District of Columbia and South Carolina. The two-year project will provide pharmacist counseling to patients using a standardized counseling checklist and address the potential for misuse and overdose. Goals include an increase in the number of naloxone prescriptions dispensed by participating pharmacies and a decrease in the incidence of opioid-related emergency department visits by Medicare beneficiaries.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is described as an under-diagnosed disease with dramatic long-term public health costs and consequences. Since CKD is asymptomatic until its later stages, it is often not recognized by primary care clinicians until it progresses and becomes a chronic condition. For the second project, IPRO will engage clinicians, patients, caregivers, and local stakeholders with the goals of increasing CKD screenings, delaying disease progression, and improving patient outcomes. IPRO's multi-cultural, multi-faceted approach aims to elevate CKD diagnosis and management to the front lines of preventative health for New Yorkers.  IPRO's team will work with providers and community-based organizations to achieve two bold aims within a two-year period: a 10% reduction in the rate of patients that progress from CKD Stage 3 to Stage 4 and an increase CKD screenings for at least 40% of project participants.

"We're pleased that CMS is funding our teams to attack these two very important public health challenges," according to Clare Bradley, MD, MPH, IPRO's Chief Medical Officer. "We expect that these projects will have a substantial impact on Medicare quality improvement?not just in our geographic regions but nationally."  

A nationally-recognized nonprofit organization, IPRO works with government agencies, providers and consumers to implement innovative programs that bring policy ideas to life. For more than 30 years, IPRO has made creative use of clinical expertise, emerging technology and data solutions to make the healthcare system work better. An ISO-certified organization, IPRO is headquartered in Lake Success, NY, with offices in Albany NY, as well as Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio and California. For more information, please visit IPRO at ipro.org.

This material was prepared by the Atlantic Quality Innovation Network (AQIN), the Medicare Quality Innovation Network ? Quality Improvement Organization for New York State, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The contents do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.  11SOW-AQINNY-TskSIP1-Opioid Safety ? 17-01, SIP2-CKD-17-01.

SOURCE IPRO