Improvement Teams

Antibiotic Stewardship: Works to address the ongoing public health concerns around antibiotic overuse that leads to antibiotic resistance. The group specifically looks at prescribing practices around sinusitis, upper respiratory infection and bronchitis and brings awareness through data and education to WCHQ clinicians.

Asthma: The team works together to understand the use of asthma screening questionnaires by health systems, as well as, barriers they encounter, processes in place and how the questionnaires can drive interventions.

‍Behavioral Health: The Behavioral Health Improvement Team discusses a variety of topics related to the integration of behavioral health into primary care and depression screening. The improvement team also collaborates on projects such as creating a depression screening and treatment toolkit and compiling a registry of Wisconsin health systems that have integrated behavioral health into their primary care practices.
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Chronic Kidney Disease Advisory Group: The Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) Advisory Group’s priority is to increase screening and treatment for CKD for at-risk patients with diabetes and hypertension. The goals are to improve outcomes for patients with CKD, advocating for appropriate coverage with payers, and providing education on the importance of screening and early treatment

Colorectal Cancer Screening Advisory Group: The Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening Advisory Group is looking at WCHQ data within member health systems to understand the disparities that exist for CRC screening in rural populations. The advisory group is in line with the National Colorectal Cancer Screening Round Table’s goal, 80% of eligible patients screened.
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Disparities: The WCHQ Disparities Improvement Team brings health system members and stakeholders together to decrease disparities gaps in both health care access and health outcomes. The Disparities Improvement Team discusses best practices to address disparities related to race and ethnicity, payer, and geography.

Immunizations: The WCHQ Child and Adolescent Immunization Improvement Team’s goal is to increase immunization rates for children and adolescents in Wisconsin. This group is working to improve immunization outcomes by understanding and addressing vaccine hesitancy and addresses disparities among populations experiencing lower vaccination rates.

Lung Cancer Biomarker Testing Advisory Group: This advisory group is working with member health systems to improve the frequency and quality of biomarker testing for non-small cell lung cancer to improve outcomes for patients. The advisory group is working to develop a best practice workflow while also providing education to member health systems.
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‍Maternal Health Advisory Group: WCHQ members, community partners, and payers will partner to reduce the gaps identified in at-risk pregnant women and their families. The populations identified at higher risk are Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian, underserved, rural disadvantaged and urban disadvantaged. WCHQ will use data on known causes of maternal mortality to identify areas for improvement and work with health systems on best practices to drive improvement.
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Obesity Advisory Group: The WCHQ Obesity Advisory Group began work on improving treatment for people with obesity in early 2021. The group is developing educational opportunities for providers and patients and working with payers to address barriers to accessing treatment. In 2022, the group developed two quality measures and a toolkit for primary care providers.