PBS and QIO Special Study Deliverables
Southwest Senior article – July 2006
Health Care Quality Explored in National PBS Series and in Local Programs
By Jennifer Trotter, NMMRA Communications Manager
Remaking American Medicine™ … Health Care for the 21st Century will explore the quality crisis and the innovative solutions being undertaken in health care today by providers, patients and their families. Four one-hour programs showing ways in which health care is being transformed are scheduled to air on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television in October (check local listings). Local efforts occurring in conjunction with this program and coordinated by the New Mexico Medical Review Association (NMMRA) were introduced to Southwest Senior readers last December. Now that Crosskeys Media® (the producers of Remaking American Medicine) have completed filming and secured an airdate, local and national efforts around this series are building.
Each program in the national series examines critical health care issues facing Americans today including patient safety, medical and medication errors, hospital-acquired infections, family-centered care and effective management of chronic diseases like diabetes. These issues also are the focus of NMMRA’s work as this state’s Medicare Quality Improvement Organization. Rather than assign blame for the failings in health care, the programs offer solutions and showcase the efforts of individuals and institutions working to ensure better health care for everyone.
“We wanted to present detailed and emotionally engaging profiles of people like Dr. Donald Berwick, founder of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), who are struggling to fix our broken health care system. Remaking American Medicine is their story, told through the eyes of doctors, nurses, administrators and patients, showing their struggles, their setbacks and their victories. We call these people and their institutions Champions of Change,” said Frank Christopher, Crosskeys Media executive producer.
The first program, “Silent Killer,” sets the stage for the issues that will be explored throughout the series. The program highlights the efforts of Sorrel King, whose 18-month-old daughter died at one of the most respected hospitals in the world, Johns Hopkins. King has gone from grieving victim to activist, partnering with Johns Hopkins to make safety a top priority at the institution. Sorrel also joined forces with Dr. Berwick to save 100,000 lives in American hospitals, the equivalent number of people who die each year from medical errors according to IHI. Notes Dr. Berwick, “What we need is outrage. We need the public to say, ‘No, I don’t want a health care system at any price, let alone close to two trillion dollars, which is going to hurt me when it tries to help me.”
Program Two, “First Do No Harm,” takes a critical look at the impact of medical errors and patient safety in two hospitals and follows the efforts of physicians who are challenging their colleagues to live up to their oath to “first do no harm.” In Pittsburgh, Chief of Medicine Richard Shannon, MD, is confronting an epidemic of hospital-acquired infections that are shattering the lives of their victims. Using information technology, New Jersey’s Hackensack University Medical Center is engaged in an effort to completely transform the way the institution delivers care. The need for change is illustrated through the needless suffering of 89-year-old Anna Terrano, a victim of a medication error at Hackensack.
Program Three, “The Stealth Epidemic,” examines the human and economic costs of effectively managing diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions that consume nearly 70 percent of all health care resources. According to physician, epidemiologist, and internationally recognized expert on care systems for chronic illness, Edward H. Wagner, MD, MPH, FACP, “If we don’t improve the basic care of diabetic patients, I worry for the financial survival of those systems.” Two very different communities – Los Angeles and Whatcom County in the state of Washington – show how they are fundamentally transforming the physician-patient relationship and offering hope for patients struggling with their chronic conditions.
As medicine continues to become more and more technologically sophisticated and the systems that deliver medical care become increasingly complex, the relationship between providers and patients and their families is more important than ever. The final program, “Hand in Hand” tells the story of patients and families who have formed a unique bond in a teaching hospital in Augusta, Georgia. The story of the Moretz family, for example, is about Daniel Moretz, born with serious heart disease and enduring numerous medical procedures, culminating in a heart transplant. Daniel’s mother Julie, vowing to be with her son through his many hospitalizations, and other families helped transform the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) Health System in Augusta into a nationally recognized facility where partnership among patients, their families and providers became the guiding vision for the care it delivers.
According to Co-executive Producer Matthew Eisen, “We want to tell inspiring stories of people – consumers, health care providers, policy-makers – who are transforming systems of care. Our goal is to show what is possible when people confront problems head-on, and work together to reduce harm and save lives.”
In New Mexico, NMMRA’s Medicare quality improvement work -- with hospitals, physician offices, nursing homes and home health agencies -- addresses many of the same issues featured in the series. For example, as part of the national IHI 100,000 Lives campaign, NMMRA is working with hospitals in New Mexico to save 1,000 Lives and improve patient safety. Through NMMRA’s Doctor's Office Quality-Information Technology (DOQ-IT) project, primary care physicians who serve Medicare patients are receiving NMMRA’s support during all stages of electronic health record (EHR) implementation. NMMRA is also involved in promoting telemedicine in the home health arena and educating long-term care facility staff about the benefits of adopting person-directed care models.
NMMRA also has joined with approximately 30 organizations in New Mexico to form the New Mexico RAM Coalition, bringing together and strengthening relationships among various stakeholders in the state involved in improving the quality of the state’s health care delivery system. The Coalition is working with local PBS stations to promote RAM efforts, produce local programming, develop a resource guide of quality improvement efforts, and post a local Web site (see www.nmmra.org/nmram/index.php).
Produced last year in conjunction with RAM and in cooperation with the New Mexico RAM Coalition was a program called Tasty Solutions for Diabetes. The New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service produced the program that first aired in November 2005 in recognition of National Diabetes Month on KRWG-TV in Las Cruces and KENW-TV in Portales. The program features eating and exercise tips from two people who are successfully managing their diabetes and expert medical advice from a physician and a clinical psychologist. It was designed to show everyone, not just diabetics, how easy it is to eat healthy meals that are simple to prepare and taste delicious. Healthy recipes like these are perfect for summer:
Chicken Lettuce Wrap Sandwich
Serves 4 (1 Serving = 1 sandwich)
2 (6 to 8 oz. each) chicken breast halves
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 to 6 leaves of green leaf lettuce
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups shredded red cabbage
2 cups sliced mushrooms
½ cup minced cilantro
1. Sauté garlic in olive oil in large skillet.
2. Add chicken and cook until the juices run clear and the chicken is
lightly browned.
3. Remove from skillet and cool to room temperature.
4. Take a lettuce leaf and place two heaping spoonfuls into the leaf.
5. Top with your choice of carrots, cabbage, mushrooms, and cilantro.
6. Roll the leaf around the chicken, burrito style.
Dipping Sauces:
Cream Chili Sauce
1 cup nonfat yogurt
¼ cup chopped green chile
3 green onions minced
1 clove garlic
1 pinch kosher salt
Combine and pulse in the blender until smooth.Asian Dipping Sauce
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 minced green onions
1 teaspoon Splenda or sweetener
1 clove garlic, minced
Combine in a small bowl and serve.
Lola Cunico, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator, is a local Champion of Change. She hosts Tasty Solutions and tells people with diabetes to, “Start changing their lives by taking baby steps. Don’t rush, set priorities, and eat healthy. Keep in mind that you don’t have to give up your favorite foods.” Go to www.tastysolutions.org for additional recipes, helpful diabetes information, Web links and to order the Tasty Solutions programs.
In conjunction with this effort and to help facilitate healthier eating habits, NMMRA developed artwork for refrigerator magnets in English and Spanish showing recommended portion sizes for commonly consumed foods. Magnets are available through a variety of diabetes health facilities in the area and at the KRWG-TV office, room 100, Milton Hall, New Mexico State University. Organizations are encouraged to use this artwork in diabetes and other health-related programs (see www.nmmra.org/nmram/tvefforts.php).
Last year, Albuquerque-based PBS station KNME-TV worked closely with the New Mexico RAM Coalition to identify and film compelling stories about real people – champions and patients – who are transforming health care in our state. Segments feature how telemedicine is being used to expand education in rural areas, how a mentor program is improving communication between senior citizens and medical students, and how one community-based effort helps Hispanics who have diabetes. These local film segments will help promote the series and be highlighted as part of a town hall program to air in conjunction with the national programs.
“Creating Remaking American Medicine has been an extraordinarily enlightening project due largely to the individuals and institutions we’ve met along the way. These people and others at the institutions where they work are all champions. They’ve taught us that while there are serious problems in our health care system, solutions are being sought. Everyone has a stake in health care, which is why we adopted the phrase for the campaign, ‘it’s your health ... you call the shots.’
Consumers must be active partners with their caregivers in order to ensure quality health care,” concluded Christopher.
For more information, contact Jennifer Trotter, NMMRA communications manager, at (800) 663-6351 or by e-mail at jtrotter@nmqio.sdps.org.
This material was prepared by NMMRA, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for New Mexico, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy.
8SOW-NM-RAM-06-03
