DFW Partnership for Peak Healthcare Performance

DFWBGH is at the forefront of the health care transparency and value movement in DFW, and proud of its recent designation as a "Community Leader for Value-Driven Health Care", conferred by Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt on March 1, 2007.

In July 2007, DFWBGH launched a new community-wide initiative to improve the quality of care for prevalent chronic illnesses and instill some transparency into the local health care system.

Project Overview
The 3-year project, which has been in the planning stages for nearly a year, brings together DFW area employers, physicians, health plans and consumers in a collaborative effort to measure, improve and publicly report physician performance in the treatment of prevalent chronic illnesses and empower consumers to make informed decisions about health care.

This local initiative is closely aligned with the national movement toward transparency, which is fueled by the employers' demand for health care value, the growth of consumerism, as well as the federal government's recent efforts to provide consumers with information on health care cost and quality.

Focus on Diabetes
The initial focus is on diabetes because of its prevalence in the community and its close relationship to other costly diseases, such as heart disease, cancer and stroke. Other chronic conditions will be tackled later.

This effort will reach approximately 80 percent of the nearly 4,100 primary care physicians in the DFW market and their patients through the provider networks of the five participating health plans - Aetna, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Cigna, Humana and UnitedHealthcare, as well as nearly 300,000 employees of DFWBGH member companies and their family members, as well as the underserved populations who use Parkland Hospital's Community Oriented Primary Care clinics.

Project Components

Performance Measurement
Physician performance measures will be based on nationally recognized and endorsed outpatient care standards for the treatment of diabetes, including lab tests for Hemoglobin A1C, cholesterol, and microalbuminurea, retinal eye exams and foot exams.

Diabetes Care Improvement
The project will engage both physicians and their patients in care management improvement strategies, with a goal of strengthening physician-patient relationships and improving patient outcomes.

The project will provide education and support to physicians and their office staff regarding evidence-based treatment guidelines for diabetes and appropriate diabetes care management processes.

Patient education will focus on increasing understanding of appropriate diabetes care, improving compliance with treatment recommendations, and encouraging self-management of diabetes.

Consumer Engagement
Consumer engagement strategies will target commercially insured populations through worksite educational programs for employees of DFWBGH member companies and the underserved and vulnerable populations in the community who are patients of Parkland's Community-Oriented Primary Care clinics.

Public Reporting
A key goal of this project is to make physician performance results readily available in a regional multi-plan quality report card to consumers at all levels and to the physicians themselves.

Health care transparency provides health care purchasers and consumers with the information necessary, and the incentive, to choose health care providers based on value. Moreover, it is widely believed that what gets measured and reported gets improved.

Organizational Structure

The Collaborative is overseen and directed by DFWBGH, with expertise, guidance, planning support and advocacy provided by a multi-stakeholder Leadership Team formed by DFWBGH.

A Multi-stakeholder Leadership Team and four committees, composed of representatives from each participating stakeholder group, have been formed to plan and oversee implementation of various components of the project. A project manager was recently hired by DFWBGH to facilitate and coordinate the work of each committee, and manage the overall project to goals.

Support for the project is provided by in-kind services from various stakeholders and funding from several pharmaceutical companies. Additional funding will be sought through grants from national and regional foundations and federal agencies.

Click on the links below for additional information about this project:

Mission and Vision

Project Scope

Organizational Chart

List of Supporting Organizations, Leadership Team, and Committee Members

Press Release Announcing the Project

Press Release Announcing Selection of Data Aggregator