The Midwest QIN-QIO collaborates with nursing homes to share evidence-based practices and resources to screen for depression, chronic pain, and substance use disorders and ensure patients are connected to services for effective intervention and treatment.

Poor coordination of care when patients move across the care continuum places patients at risk for adverse outcomes, including medication errors, adverse drug events and preventable emergency room visits and readmissions. The Midwest QIN-QIO works with hospitals to improve discharge processes and communication with downstream providers to smooth the transition when patients leave the hospital for home or a lower level of care. We also connect hospitals to community services that enable patients to stay healthy at home by supporting patients and caregivers and ensuring access to continued care through outpatient services.

Hospital inpatients experienced an estimated 2.7 million harm events in 2016, accounting for $29 billion in costs, and leading to more than 80,000 deaths. CMS estimates that about 44% of these events and deaths are preventable. The Midwest QIN-QIO supports hospitals in reducing areas of harm and initiating patient safety initiatives. These include opioid stewardship, adverse drug events (ADE), central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), sepsis and septic shock, pressure ulcers, and readmissions.

There is an essential need for coordination with public health authorities and immediate activation of resources to address healthcare threats including natural disasters, infection outbreaks, and breaches of security and technology outages. The Midwest QIN-QIO collaborates with hospitals to conduct self-assessments for preparedness to manage emergencies, and build system level capacity for rapid response and assist with operationalizing emergency plans.