Project Description

High blood pressures are the most prevalent and reversible cardiovascular disease risk factors among adults with chronic conditions, who are often vulnerable to gaps between specialty and primary care. Increasing preventive services to address hypertension could prevent more early deaths than any other preventive service. To address these issues, the BP Connect staff protocol was created to connect patients with high blood pressure in a specialty visit back to primary care for timely follow-up.

Areas of Interest

Chronic Conditions, HIP Data, HIPxChange, Quality and Safety, Systems Engineering

Project Description

Rural patients with diabetic foot ulcers currently face 50% higher odds of major (above-ankle) amputation and 40% higher odds of death than their urban counterparts, a health disparity identified by Dr. Meghan Brennan’s team and others. Over 70% of Wisconsin residents live in rural areas, making this a particularly important topic to address in our state.

Areas of Interest

Chronic Conditions, Disparities, Older Adults, Quality and Safety

Project Description

To prevent the long-term complications of diabetes among children, our program tailored diabetes self-management resources offered to children and their families at two pediatric diabetes centers, meeting the individual needs of over 2,200 Wisconsin children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and their families.  In addition, elements of this program were incorporated into diabetes clinics at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.  The study’s methods for engaging youth and families has inspired others like the American Diabetes Association and the Wisconsin Department of Public Health to make use of similar strategies.   

Areas of Interest

Children and Young Adults, Chronic Conditions, HIPxChange

Project Description

To prevent death from colorectal cancer, we increased colorectal cancer screening in UW Health clinics from 63% to 81% within four years and have maintained screening rates above 80% for the past five years.  This represents an average increase of ~11,000 additional patients screened for colorectal cancer each year at UW Health.

We are currently working to expand our screening program across rural Wisconsin in partnership with the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality. 

Areas of Interest

Cancer, HIP Data, Quality and Safety

Project Description

Diabetic eye disease is the leading cause of blindness among working-age adults in Wisconsin, where there are currently over 135,000 adults with diabetes. Early screening and treatment can prevent 90% of blindness, but only half of adults with diabetes get their recommended yearly eye screening.

In response, Dr. Yao Liu created the UW Teleophthalmology Program that enables patients in rural locations to get screened by their primary care providers during regular clinic visits without having to make a second trip or appointment. The images are then sent to UW-Madison, where eye specialists read the images and send reports back to primary care for local follow-up as needed. 

Areas of Interest

Chronic Conditions, HIPxChange, Older Adults

Project Description

To reduce tobacco use, we improved quit line referrals for tobacco users by 20-fold through Quit Connect, a 90-second clinic staff protocol that integrates the electronic health record with the Wisconsin tobacco quit line. This protocol is being implemented in both primary care and specialty care clinics in multiple Wisconsin health systems including Gundersen and UW Health, with a pending grant to implement at Grady Memorial public hospital in Atlanta (83% African American, 40% uninsured).

Areas of Interest

Chronic Conditions, Disparities, HIPxChange, Quality and Safety

Project Description

Opioid misuse and abuse has become a significant public health problem in virtually all areas of the United States, including Wisconsin, where 827 people died from opioid overdoses in 2016-- up 35 percent from the previous year. Clinical guidelines for safer use of opioids were initially proposed in 2009, and have since evolved into the CDC’s widely publicized 2016 guidelines for opioid prescribing. The uptake of these guidelines has been variable across the U.S. healthcare system.

To assist in the uptake of clinical guidelines, University of Wisconsin researchers implemented a program to coach primary care doctors to follow opioid prescribing guidelines. This work was done through the use of a novel implementation strategy, called systems consultation, which was designed to promote clinical guideline implementation for opioid prescribing in primary care.  

Areas of Interest

Chronic Conditions, HIP Data, Quality and Safety, Systems Engineering