HIP Data

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. 

To reduce disparities in healthcare quality, we are partnering with the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality and the Collaborative Center for Health Equity to measure and publicly report on disparities in the quality of healthcare in Wisconsin.

In 2019, we will release a statewide report documenting disparities in the quality of care for health systems across Wisconsin by race, ethnicity, and payer.

To find high-risk patients who might benefit from additional health and social services, we have developed and implemented an artificial intelligence system to identify patients in need of enhanced care coordination in partnership with one of our state’s largest health systems (UW Health).  We are currently screening over 120,000 patients in Dane County each month using the system.

In the upcoming year, we will extend this system across the southern half of Wisconsin in partnership with one of the state’s largest health plans, screening an additional 166,000 patients each month.

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.

Approximately 1 in 15 young adults in the United States have high blood pressure, but young adults have the lowest rates of blood pressure control (achieving a blood pressure <140/90 mmHg) compared to other adult age groups, and many young adults have reported having few resources to address their needs for heart health education.

To address these problems, the MyHEART program was developed with young adults and healthcare team members to address a broad range of topics. MyHEART has multiple components, including young adult education and research programs across multiple healthcare systems. 

Management of diabetes lies almost entirely in the hands of those who live with the condition. The Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging and the Health Innovation Program are providing individuals with diabetes the resources they need for effective self-management of their disease.

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.