Congressman Kennedy to ASQ on Healthcare Reform: "This is your moment!"

Washington, D.C, September 15, 2009 — At an ASQ forum on healthcare information technology on Capitol Hill, Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) invited ASQ’s involvement in discussions about healthcare reform legislation — particularly in the ensuing work at the federal agency level.

Congressmen Patrick Kennedy (left) and Tim Murphy (right), co-chairs of the 21st Century Health Care Caucus, gave an update on health reform debates in Washington and talked about the role of information technology in changing the ways health care is delivered. The Caucus invited ASQ to present a panel discussion on quality in health IT issues.

“This is your moment,” Kennedy said in response to a question about whether operational excellence and process improvement would be a focus of healthcare reform efforts. He made it clear that he would welcome ASQ’s input on those issues.

Congressman Tim Murphy (R-PA), who co-chairs the 21st Century Health Care Caucus with Kennedy, concurred, saying, “I look to organizations like you to help us.”

The 21st Century Health Care Caucus invited ASQ to conduct the forum on health IT — a primary interest of the Caucus.

The ASQ panel focused not on IT hardware and software packages, but rather on the many things that have to be done to prepare the way for successful implementation of health IT systems.

Panel moderator Joe Fortuna, chair-elect of the ASQ Healthcare Division, set down some guiding principles for successful implementation. He cautioned that preparation was essential, stressing that before IT implementation begins, healthcare organizations should first optimize their business environments, reengineer their workflows, and establish a receptive culture.

“The proven tools of quality management, change management, and process improvement can be of immense help in preparing healthcare environments for HIT and other transformative activities” Fortuna said.

At the ASQ forum, ASQ Healthcare Division chair-elect and panel moderator Joe Fortuna (right) with panelists Paloma Hernandez and Robert Burney, who shared success stories and lessons learned from implementing health IT strategies in ambulatory care settings. Not shown are panelists Chris DeFlitch and Doug Sears, who talked about experiences in hospitals.

The panelists were: Robert Burney, M.D., director of quality improvement for the Medical Department at the U.S. Department of State; Christopher DeFlitch, M.D., chief medical information officer at Penn State Hershey Medical Center; Paloma Hernandez, president and chief executive officer of Urban Health Plan in Bronx, N.Y.; and Doug Sears, director of performance improvement/knowledge transfer at Bon Secours Health System, Greenville, S.C.

Panelists shared success stories and lessons learned from health IT implementation in their organizations. Attendees at the event also saw the first of a series of ASQ healthcare case studies that will soon be available on the ASQ Healthcare Division Web site.

Through its Washington representative, Sellery Associates, ASQ followed up with Congressmen Kennedy and Murphy to respond to their request for ASQ’s help. ASQ will work with the congressmen and their staffs in finding ways to eliminate waste and to bring knowledge of process management and quality improvement into efforts to transform health care.

Healthcare is one of the priorities of the ASQ Public Policy Advisory Council, which provides strategic guidance for ASQ on issues impacting quality in Washington.