FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Reggi Veatch
Senior Communications Manager
veatchr@dfmc.org
410-872-9646

Delmarva Foundation Announces
Improvements in Maryland Healthcare Quality
Marylanders receiving better care in nursing homes and hospitals

Easton, MD, May 8, 2006 - Delmarva Foundation, Medicare’s Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) in Maryland announced today that Marylanders are receiving better care than ever as documented by Medicare and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

“The data shows that major improvements are being made in the care that Maryland nursing homes and hospitals are providing residents” said Maulik Joshi, DrPH, President and CEO, Delmarva Foundation. “Because Maryland providers are tackling the difficult task of examining the care they provide and looking for ways to improve that care, Marylanders can expect safer, better care.”

AHRQ released on March 17th new state-level data that presents an overview of the quality of health care for each state.  Some of the data AHRQ reports are measures that QIOs work with providers to improve.  AHRQ reports that at a national level, QIO-driven clinical measures for heart disease and pneumonia showed a combined rate of improvement that was almost four times higher than non-QIO measures – 9.2 percent compared to 2.5 percent.  In Maryland, nearly 70 percent of the Maryland indicators that Delmarva Foundation addressed improved, according to the AHRQ report.  In contrast, only 31 percent of the non-Delmarva Foundation indicators improved. 

In addition to the AHRQ report, information gathered by Medicare shows specific improvements in several quality of care measures by Maryland providers across all healthcare settings.

For example:

• Through Delmarva Foundation’s collaboration with Maryland hospitals, the appropriate care measure rate (a composite of 10 heart attack, heart failure, and pneumonia measures) improved by nearly 30 percent in less than three years.
• Maryland nursing homes working with Delmarva Foundation to address quality improvement projects for statewide showed a 17 percent improvement.  Nursing Homes that were part of Delmarva Foundation’s focused improvement group improved in the areas of pain and pressure ulcers by 42 percent.
• Maryland physicians continue to make strides in improving the quality of diabetes care. Rates of diabetes care (A1c, Lipid profile, and Eye Exam) among Maryland physicians working with Delmarva Foundation improved by 18 percent.

“The AHRQ information is both reassuring and challenging, “ said Rex Cowdry, MD, Executive Director, Maryland Health Care Commission. “Health care quality is improving - but there are many areas in need of further improvement.  Collaborations of providers, payers, QIOs and government can help produce a health care system with even better outcomes, safer care, and higher value."  

For more information on quality indicators or any of the quality improvement resources available at Delmarva, please visit www.delmarvafoundation.org.  To view AHRQ’s full National Healthcare Quality State Snapshot Report, please visit www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov.

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About Delmarva Foundation
Delmarva Foundation is a national, not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving healthcare quality in over 20 states. Since 1973, Delmarva has assisted in improving care in hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical practices and health plans. Delmarva performs quality improvement, quality assurance, utilization review, external quality review and Program Safeguard activities. The company's corporate headquarters are located in Easton, Maryland with other offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, DC; Columbia, South Carolina; Tampa, Florida; and Tallahassee, Florida. For more information, please visit Delmarva Foundation on the web at www.delmarvafoundation.org.