Takeaways from CTC-RI's Clinical Strategy Committee

Following the CTC-RI Clinical Strategy Committee meeting on January 17, there were four key takeaways to share with our wider CTC-RI community:

• The committee endorsed a SOC / Health Plan collaborative planning effort in partnership with RIMS to improve the prior authorization process. Volunteers to participate in the planning process will be solicited. RIMS is applying for grant funds to support the effort. Additional funding may be sought depending on the scope of the project. It was recommended to articulate the larger perspective around ensuring right care at the right time and also to focus on actionable areas.
• There is also a request to form a planning group for the primary care - specialist collaboration project, including some representative specialists on the planning committee. The goal is to launch the project in September. Practice facilitation resources are in the budget, but any practice/participant support would require additional funding.
• A progress report on "Drop the Pre-Op" efforts discussed outreach to Lifespan Department of Anesthesia who reported that a full revamp of nurse-driven pre-op protocols had been done 2 years ago to use updated guidelines and decision trees based on the specific type of procedure and patient characteristics. The Committee is awaiting review of those guidelines as well as potential data to assess the effect on low-value pre-op testing. Kent Hospital has successfully revised their nurse-driven protocols around Choosing Wisely recommendations.
• The BCBSRI Life Index effort was presented and discussed in context of the Rhode Island Foundation long-term health planning effort as well as the upcoming RIDOH efforts to implement the pathways to population health model in 3 regions focusing on diabetes.