ABQAURP is pleased to announce the selection of Tess Kryspin Lombard, MD, MBA, CHCQM, FACP as the recipient of the 2019 CHCQM Diplomate Achievement Award.

To read about the other Award Submissions: Click HERE.

Congratulations to Dr. Lombard who demonstrated outstanding examples of effective population health management through risk stratification and a data-driven paradigm to improve clinical, utilization, and cost of care outcomes for underserved patients.

In her tenure as Chief Medical Officer, StayWell Health Center has already achieved exemplary outcomes for patients. By using risk stratification to effectively segment care to ensure care is provided at the level needed, they have improved outcomes and reduced hospital use. A data-driven approach to clinical performance has motivated and educated providers on providing quality care, while simultaneously driving other members of the care team to work at the top of their license. Using a combination of risk stratification and data-driven performance is the foundation for population health management success. These approaches have led to demonstrated value in quality-based payment arrangements. Most importantly, validating the importance of a culture of quality, driven by patient feedback and involvement in their care. StayWell Health Center uses a combination of two resources for identifying high-risk patients. The first is the risk stratification model developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). The second is the High Cost Members Report received from the state's Administrative Services Organization (ASO), which identifies cost of care by Medicaid patient.

Patients are assigned a risk level and are segmented according to risk receiving enhanced nursing care and real-time hospital utilization tracking for higher risk patients. An active process allows clinical care team members to alter the risk score as they receive new information on the patient. The highest risk patients are enrolled in PatientPing to track hospital utilization. PatientPing provides real-time notification when a high risk patient is admitted or discharged from a hospital or presents at an emergency department. Notification is sent to a Link Nurse, who identifies the patient's care team and forwards the notification to the nurse assigned to that team. The nurse then follows up with the patient to plan transitional care.

Data-driven performance has led to remarkable results; transitioning from reporting data to utilizing that data to drive performance has allowed for transparent and accurate reporting. Employing data staff, validating data in the electronic health record and utilizing a dashboard to summarize clinical performance by provider allows providers to assess their performance and better understand measures. Providing enhanced training to clinical staff gives them the opportunity to master the fundamentals of care. This approach to population health management requires highly functioning care teams; a shift in responsibility allows a higher value use of staff time allowing providers better access to managing a patient’s health. StayWell Health Center coordinates its improvement activities through a Process Improvement Quality Assurance Committee where patient participation is significant; including 51% participation on the Board of Directors. Patients provide active feedback, including assessing handwashing compliance during visits. In addition to earning payment incentive awards of over $100,000, accurate quality reporting and a fully engaged value-based payment model generates funds for the organization allowing cost savings to carry over into impactful quality programs. The project clearly embodies the health care quality and management and patient safety principles ABQAURP was looking for in the award selection process.

ABQAURP’s CHCQM Award Selection Panel and association Board Members felt that Dr. Lombard’s project “highlights the dedication to improving the quality of patients in challenging circumstances” and successfully is “building a culture of quality”. Dr. Lombard’s entry demonstrated positive results on improving quality based on structures and processes focused on provider education, patient engagement, and transparency of data sharing.

ABQAURP would like to extend a sincere Thank You to Dr. Lombard, her team, and all those who submitted outstanding achievements in quality and patient safety that have led to improvement, positive outcomes, and the advancement of Health Care Quality Management and Patient Safety. Join us at the 42nd Annual Health Care Quality & Patient Safety Conference to congratulate Dr. Lombard and celebrate all of our Diplomate’s achievements.

For more event information, please visit: www.abqaurp.org/AnnualConference.

About Tess Kryspin Lombard, MD, MBA, CHCQM, FACP, FABQAURP, FAAPL, CPE
Chief Medical Officer - StayWell Health Center

Dr. Tess Lombard is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician for over 20 years. Born and raised in Connecticut, she graduated from Fairfield University and attended New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. She earned her MBA from the University of Hartford and was a member of many campus organizations and honor societies. As a fellow of several professional organizations, she has been an active ABQAURP Diplomate since 2008. She has woven experiences of her education, personal, and professional life to create a perspective of service; realizing each patient encounter has influenced the physician she has become and the perspective she sees and understands “health”. A proud Mom of two college students, she enjoys serving in a career of quality, reading, and traveling.