Qualidigm Awarded Contract to Continue Analysis of Nation's Largest, Most Robust Patient Safety Monitoring System

The new award supports further analysis to detect adverse events among patients hospitalized in the United States from 2015 – 2016, as identified from medical records acquired through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program or related initiatives.

Wethersfield, Conn (PRWEB) November 08, 2016

Qualidigm, the mission-driven national healthcare consulting company based in Wethersfield, Conn., was recently awarded a contract by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to continue the company's long-standing work on the Medicare Patient Safety Monitoring System (MPSMS). The new award supports further analysis to detect adverse events among patients hospitalized in the United States from 2015 – 2016, as identified from medical records acquired through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) program or related initiatives.

MPSMS is the nation's largest and most robust source of medical record abstraction-based database designed for patient safety tracking. The system focuses on patient harm rather than medical error by identifying patient exposures to specific in-hospital patient care processes and associated adverse events, along with patient characteristics, co-morbidities, antecedent conditions and patient outcomes. The system includes 21 specific adverse events common among patients hospitalized in the United States in the following five groups:

• Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack)
• Heart Failure
• Pneumonia
• Surgical Care
• All other diagnoses

"Fifteen years ago, Qualidigm developed the MPSMS surveillance system with CMS and AHRQ," said Qualidigm president and CEO, Dr. Tim Elwell. "This critically acclaimed work is used by the Federal Government and researchers across the country to assess and measure national patient safety trends. As demonstrated through this contract award, the importance of the Qualidigm/AHRQ team's work remains well-recognized. We are pleased to be able to continue the work of delivering respected research that has received world-wide recognition," said Elwell.

MPSMS is a primary source of information for the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports and the Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs initiative. Recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services received a Pinnacle Award from the American Pharmaceutical Association for the Department's work to reduce adverse drug events, which was demonstrated by the use of MPSMS data in the Partnership for Patients. Additionally, the team has published several articles on MPSMS findings in leading publications including the New England Journal of Medicine, and most recently an article on ventilator-associated pneumonia in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

About Qualidigm:
With its corporate headquarters in Wethersfield, Conn. and offices in Dover, NH; Barre, VT; and Providence, RI, Qualidigm's mission is to improve the quality, safety, and cost-effectiveness of healthcare through transformational change. Qualidigm provides consulting services to public and private sector clients nationwide. These services include consulting, data analysis, health information technology, patient safety, quality improvement, and utilization review. Qualidigm is part of a team that is serving as the Medicare Quality Innovation Network Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) under contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for New England. Qualidigm is also a Patient Safety Organization (PSO) as designated by the State of Connecticut. http://www.Qualidigm.org

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13791050.htm