Physician-Hospital Organization Overview
Tri State Child Health Services, Inc. Physician-Hospital Organization (PHO) is a not-for-profit, taxable corporation joint venture that was incorporated in 1995 and became operational in 1996. The PHO strives to raise the quality of care for patients in the Tri-State area by standardizing treatments and providing a way for clinicians in the PHO to share patient outcomes.
The PHO comprises Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Convalescent Hospital for Children, Ohio Valley Primary Care Associates (an independent practice association), contracted and employed specialist physicians and community-based specialist physicians. The organization provides a vehicle for collaboration between community physicians, hospital-based physicians and Cincinnati Children's.
The PHO's purpose is to represent the above constituencies with regard to contracting with area payers, as well as to pursue initiatives which improve the quality of pediatric healthcare. The organization has a number of committees which oversee contracting, credentialing and performance improvement activities.
PHO Asthma Improvement Initiative and Outcomes
The PHO at Cincinnati Children's launched an Asthma Improvement Initiative in October 2003 across 40 community-based primary care practices and 165 pediatricians, impacting 12,000 asthma patients (30 percent of the regional asthma population).
The Asthma Improvement Initiative strives to raise the quality of care for asthma patients in the Tri-State area by standardizing treatments and providing a way for clinicians in the PHO to share patient outcomes.
Primary Objectives
The primary objectives of the PHO Asthma Improvement Initiative are:
- To improve the quality of asthma care for patients.
- To embed a higher level of improvement knowledge and capability within physicians' practices.
The model for engaging community physisians, as well as accelerating and sustaining improvements, can be spread to other conditions, practices and hospitals. Clinicians who would like to track a patient's progress are invited to download the Asthma Data Collection form PDF which was used in our Asthma Improvement Initiative.
| Outcomes of PHO Asthma Initiative (12-month rolling averages) |
| ED Visits: The percentage of asthmatics having an asthma-related Emergency Department or Urgent Care visit. A lower number is better because it means fewer asthma patients are having emergency visits. This statistic is based on a 12-month rolling average ending August 2009. |
1.98% |
| Admissions: The precentage of asthma-related admissions to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is a direct measure of the value of the asthma project’s interventions. This number is based on a 12-month rolling average ending August 2009. |
0.93% |
| Perfect Care: The percentage of patients in the PHO who were given perfect care is made up of three evidence-based components: 1) Patient's severity level was diagnosed and logged; 2) Patient was given a management plan for his or her asthma; 3) Those diagnosed with persistent asthma were prescribed controller medication. This statistic is based on a 12-month rolling average ending August 2009. |
93.62% |
