Important update: Due to COVID-19, the Learning Collaborative and its associated events are postponed to a future date (to be determined). Please check our Events page for updates. If you have questions about the Learning Collaborative, contact:
Erin Creley, MBA, CPHQ, Quality Improvement Specialist
(802) 847-6259
erin.creley@onecarevt.org
2020 Learning Collaborative: Asthma and COPD: A collaborative project organized by OneCare Vermont, the Vermont Department of Health (VDH), the Vermont Blueprint for Health, Support and Services at Home (SASH), Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) and Bi-State Primary Care Association.
Do you treat asthma or COPD in your practice? OneCare is excited to announce registration is now live for the 2020 Learning Collaborative on asthma and COPD best practices.
Take advantage of this free educational resource! To register your practice, please complete the registration form by Friday, February 28, 2020.
Video: Gail Colgan, RN, BSN, explains during the 2019 Asthma and COPD Best Practices Conference how a learning collaborative provides educational and experiential training to providers and organizations and also serves as a a way to network and partner with other practices.
What is a “Learning Collaborative”?
A learning collaborative is an initiative where peers learn from each other and apply quality improvement techniques with the goal of improving in a focused area of their work. Learning collaboratives also bring in subject-matter experts to provide participants with the latest evidence-based best practices for participants to try in their own work. In 2017, OneCare Vermont and its state partners organized the first in an ongoing, free series of learning collaboratives for primary care providers across Vermont. Each year’s learning collaborative focused on supporting providers as they worked to improve the quality of care and patient experience for patients with chronic conditions. In 2017, the goal was controlling high blood pressure. In 2018/2019, the focus of the learning collaborative was preventing and managing diabetes. In 2020, the learning collaborative picked two conditions: asthma and COPD, as the focus for the 9-month learning collaborative.
Why asthma and COPD?
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impact the lives of Vermonters in profound ways. 16% of adult Vermonters are diagnosed with the lung diseases asthma (12%) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, 6%) (VDH, 2019). Poorly managed asthma results in decreased quality of life, missed days of work and school, and preventable emergency room visits and hospital stays. If asthma is untreated, it can cause permanent lung damage and increase a person’s risk of developing COPD. Improving the health of patients with asthma and COPD is a stated priority across the Vermont healthcare landscape. The Asthma and COPD Learning Collaborative will take the state-wide focus on lung diseases and translate it to tangible, practical strategies for working with patients and their families to prevent and manage asthma and COPD.
The 2020 Learning Collaborative will be on Vermont Health Learn.
New for 2020, the Asthma and COPD Learning Collaborative will take place on Vermont Health Learn (VTHL), reducing your practice’s need to travel and take time away from the office. Vermont Health Learn delivers education and virtual events to support the health and well-being of all Vermonters using a statewide e-learning platform. To experience VTHL today, register for the stand-alone Asthma and COPD Best Practices course; a virtual presentation of a one-day conference held in September 2019. Please note: the stand-alone Asthma and COPD Best Practices course on Vermont Health Learn is not the full Learning Collaborative.
Objectives of the Learning Collaborative:
By participating in the 9-month (March-Nov. 2020) Asthma and COPD Learning Collaborative, you and your team will:
- Interact with subject matter experts in virtual classrooms.
- Engage in peer-to-peer learning with other practices from across Vermont.
- Develop or change practice workflows to meet quality improvement goals set by your practice team.
The Learning Collaborative will provide you and your team with:
- Expert faculty and facilitators to improve identification of and outcomes for patients with asthma and COPD.
- Learn and practice quality improvement (QI) approaches to aid you in implementing the strategies of the Learning Collaborative.
- QI Coaches provided by Learning Collaborative sponsors who will support you in assessing your current practice, identifying opportunities for process changes, and evaluating the impact of these changes.
Learning Collaborative participants will:
- Form a multi-disciplinary practice team to engage in quality improvement activities.
- Share progress during the collaborative and results as a poster at the November closing.
- Regularly engage with Learning Collaborative QI Coaches to establish or improve workflows and processes.
- Track and report on the core performance measure: “Tobacco screening and cessation.” Practices will have the opportunity to choose from a selection of asthma and COPD best practice process measures to track progress towards individual quality improvement goals.
Timeline and topics of the 2020 Learning Collaborative
March: Start of Learning Collaborative
– March 6 at 12:00 pm: Learning Collaborative Kick-off Call
– March 23 at 12:00 pm: Tobacco Screening & Cessation webinar
April: Medication management
– April 16 at 12:00 pm: Case Studies Asthma and COPD Medication webinar
May: Environmental Triggers and Second Hand Smoke Exposure
– May 11 at 12:00 pm: Environmental Triggers webinar Quality improvement check-in call
June: Asthma and COPD Action Plans
– Date TBD: Establishing Action Plans webinar
July: Intensive self-management
– Date TBD: Self-management Courses and Beyond webinar Quality improvement check-in call
August: Specialist Care Coordination
– Date TBD: Allergy Testing webinar Date TBD: Pulmonary Rehab webinar
September: Advanced Care
– Date TBD: Palliative and Hospice Care webinar
October: Developing Final Posters
– No planned webinar: time for teams to work on posters
– Quality improvement check-in call
November: Closing Ceremonies
– Date and location TBD: presentation of posters, celebration of progress, and in-person networking
June 2021: Six month post-Learning Collaborative check-in phone call
Download the 2020 Learning Collaborative Calendar (PDF)
Register today!
To register your practice, please complete the registration form by Friday, February 28, 2020.
To support overall advancement of care coordination in Vermont, OneCare Vermont is continuously creating educational resources for the healthcare provider community. See all upcoming educational events at: onecarevt.org/events.
For more information:
For more information, please contact Erin Creley, MBA, CPHQ, Quality Improvement Specialist at OneCare Vermont. erin.creley@onecarevt.org | 802-847-6259