Getting Started :: Improving Chronic Illness Care

Getting Started

Regional Collaborative Sponsor Tools

Collaboratives bring together dozens of organizations to improve care for a designated chronic condition. Teams from each organization attend periodic learning sessions, where they examine proven strategies for improving care and refine plans for incorporating these strategies within their organizations. Between learning sessions are action periods, during which teams implement system change plans in consultation with collaborative faculty. Each collaborative culminates in a closing event, to showcase results and promote expansion of the chronic care strategy.

Sponsors of collaboratives must begin planning months before the first learning session takes place. They must also prepare pre-work materials for teams to review before the first learning session. Once the collaborative begins, each phase requires careful preparation and execution.

With the help of numerous organizations, ICIC has assembled dozens of materials – including worksheets, sample documents and critical tools – to assist sponsors as they prepare for each phase of the collaborative. Materials are currently posted through Action Period #1. Sponsors who require further assistance or have suggestions for other materials should contact us.

Tools for Getting Started

Due to the complexity of redesigning care to meet the needs of people with chronic conditions, the content of a collaborative is presented to the participants in a staged approach. The Chronic Conditions Collaborative Overview describes the aspects of the Chronic Care Model that are generally emphasized in each learning session and action period.

Improving Chronic Illness Care would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the many organizations, individuals and groups who have contributed to the development of these materials:

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, original developer of the Breakthrough Series that continue to work on refinement of the collaborative improvement method;

Associates in Process Improvement, developers of the "Model for Improvement" - the method used in chronic care collaboratives;

Qualis Health and the Washington State Department of Health Diabetes Control Program. Our partnership with each has added to our understanding of statewide improvement efforts. Many of the tools here were developed or polished by the dedicated professionals associated with the Washington State Diabetes Collaborative;

The Bureau for Primary Health Care, whose staff continue to impress us with their dedication to improving care for vulnerable populations;

Faculty members for national and regional collaboratives who generously contributed their time and ideas.

We also extend our thanks to the many health care organizations that participated in collaboratives and willingly shared their lessons and tools with us.