FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is Remaking American Medicine?

Remaking American Medicine…Health Care for the 21st Century is a four-part primetime television series that will be broadcast on PBS in October 2006. Crosskeys Media, an award-winning media company, is the producer. KQED in San Francisco is serving as the presenting station.

Remaking American Medicine will tell stories of change. The goal is to inspire and empower viewers, both members of the general public and health care professionals, to join in efforts to transform American health care.

Drawing on unprecedented access to health care institutions across the nation, the series will present detailed and emotionally engaging profiles of individuals struggling to fix our broken health care system. The stories will be told through the eyes of doctors, nurses, administrators and patients, showing their struggles, their setbacks and their victories.

For more about the series visit About Remaking American Medicine.

What is the National Outreach Campaign surrounding Remaking American Medicine?

The campaign is intended to help motivate, re-energize and inspire individuals, organizations and institutions to support activities that improve the quality of patient care in their respective communities. The overall goal is to stimulate a national dialogue about the importance of improving American health care.

The campaign will:

Raise public awareness about the need to improve quality health care
Help support the creation of local community coalitions
Promote best practice models and Champions of Change
Encourage Americans to become their own health care advocate

Who is involved in the campaign?

One of the major elements of this massive effort is a unique National Partnership Program. National Partners have agreed to promote the series and encourage their members to participate in coalition efforts throughout the country. Those participating in coalitions will develop local events and/or local television programming in conjunction with the national broadcast of Remaking American Medicine. National Partners are playing an important role including alerting their members and encouraging them to participate in community-based activities.

National Partners

There are currently 48 national organizations (as of July 2006) representing health care providers, purchasers, consumers, patient-advocacy groups, health care quality experts and government and regulatory agencies. Collectively, National Partners reach more than 100 million Americans.

In addition to the National Partners, the campaign is also working closely with the nation's Quality Improvement Organizations. Operating under a specific contract from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) work with consumers, physicians, hospitals, and other caregivers to refine delivery systems to make sure Medicare beneficiaries receive quality care.

Many QIOs have developed local coalitions, working collaboratively with PBS stations and other important stakeholders. Some of these QIOs have received special grants from CMS to undertake campaign outreach activities designed to help further their ongoing quality improvement work.

What is the purpose of the RAMcampaign Web site?

RAMcampaign.org acts as the "nerve center" for the Remaking American Medicine national outreach campaign. The site presents information about the series, the companion outreach effort and many of the issues involved in improving the quality of health care in America. The site is designed to provide a way for those interested in Remaking American Medicine to connect with each other, especially with QIOs, which are spearheading the development of local coalitions around the country. The Web site is intended to facilitate discussions; provide useful, promotional and motivational information and ultimately to encourage viewers to become involved in their respective communities. The site also acts as a portal to the quality improvement tools and resources available through National Partners and QIO Web sites.

How can I become involved in the campaign?

We encourage you to contact representatives from National Partner organizations and QIOs, many of whom have already begun to develop local coalitions in their respective communities. There are several places you can learn about National Partners and QIOs. We suggest you start with the Connecting with Others section to learn Partner and QIO contact information.

How can I access various tools and resources such as events (conferences/seminars, etc.) in my area that support the RAM campaign?

There are several ways to access tools and resources. Click on the Resources and/or Calendar of Events buttons on the Navigation Bar on the left side of this and every page on the Web site. The downloadable Leadership Guide, available in the Resources area will assist organizations in developing sustainable quality coalitions. Other items available include: promotional flyers that can be used as handouts at meetings and conferences; and a PBS Primer that will help coalition organizers work more effectively with their stations. Also available will be localizable press materials that coalitions can use to promote media coverage of efforts to improve the quality of health care, as well as their own coalition activities.

Where can I find Best Practices models in health care improvement?

Remaking American Medicine's goal is to highlight effective improvements in the quality of health care taking place around the country. Some of the best practice examples in quality improvement stories that will be presented in the television series are also included in the Champions of Change section of this site. In addition, many examples of best practices are presented by the campaign's National Partners and the QIOs and featured in this same section. You can also visit the Connecting with Others area to lean about more great examples of effective improvement practices.

How can I learn more about the campaign?

Subscribe to the Remaking American Medicine bi-monthly E-Newsletter. The sign-up form is available at the top of the Home Page and on every page throughout this site. Also, visit this Web site often. We'll be adding new information to the "Connecting with Others" section, more information in the "Resources" area, and the "News" area will be updated on a regular basis. That's where you can get the latest information about the television series and the campaign.