Care Delivery Improvement/CDS Toolkit - Introduction

What is the Care Delivery Improvement/CDS Toolkit?

This Toolkit is a collection of tools and resources designed to help providers, Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and others improve care processes and outcomes.

To visit the Toolkit Homepage, click here. The Toolkit is designed to be straightforward, actionable, and results-oriented.

Purpose of the Toolkit

This Toolkit is designed to help you apply a systematic approach to your quality improvement efforts. Because improving workflows and information flows is a core tool for quality improvement, Clinical Decision Support (CDS) (defined much more broadly than you may be thinking) is an integral approach covered in this Toolkit.

Who will benefit from the Toolkit?

This Toolkit will help RECs, providers and others interested in quality improvement.

Providers (Practices & Hospitals)/Organizations

· Improve workflows, information flow

· Improve patient care and reduce errors

· Address performance incentives and mandates

· Make your EHR more helpful

· To learn more about how providers can use the Toolkit, visit the Getting Started – Providers page

RECs

· This Toolkit will help RECs help providers accomplish the above goals

· To learn more about how RECs can use the Toolkit, visit the Getting Started – RECs page

What’s in the Toolkit?

• Toolkit has three Training Units:
• Training Unit 1 - defines CDS and basic approaches such as the CDS 5 Rights, and outlines interrelationships between Meaningful Use, CDS, and quality improvement
  • Training Unit 2 - addresses implementing CDS interventions to improve specific care delivery goals and Clinical Quality Measures (CQMs)
  • Training Unit 3 - addresses building capacity to advance many quality improvement goals with CDS/QI approaches
• Each unit contains several modules offering more detail and action steps on each unit topic
  • Modules consist of action steps, guidebook excerpts, and other resources such as CDS/QI configuration templates and case examples

How can I use the Toolkit?

• There are different ways to use this Toolkit, for example:
  • as a course on CDS-enabled quality improvement
  • for tools and guidance on a specific phase of CDS/QI initiatives, such as using a CDS/QI configuration template to understand and improve care processes
  • to access guidance on addressing selected quality improvement targets such as the Million Hearts ABCS

Note: Toolkit contains summary "Tasks & Key Lessons" and other key information from the 2012 HIMSS CDS Guidebook in about half of the modules; reviewing this material provides a high-level action-oriented overview of the module content