This post was authored by Barbara Watkins, administrator at the Heart & Vascular Center of Arizona.

In April, the Heart & Vascular Center of Arizona (HVCA) received the “2014 Gold ArizonaQuality Improvement Recognition Award.” Health Services Advisory Group, Inc., the Medicare Quality Improvement organization of Arizona presented this award to HVCA for making strides in improving patient care by applying best practices and reporting on process and outcomes measures using health information technology (IT). 

When I initially reviewed the award requirements, I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were already doing 99 percent of what was required to apply for the award. I simply had to see what award group (Gold, Silver or Bronze) we fell into and send over a report. Luckily, I was able to pull reports quickly from the PINNACLE Registry to demonstrate how we use health IT to manage patients with chronic and complex diseases and report quality performance measures. I was able to show where HVCA was when we first started using PINNACLE a year ago, and how we had improved our documentation with certain measures; such as LDL control, tobacco use and cessation programs, and use of antiplatelet therapy.

One of the good things about PINNACLE is that I do not have to do anything other than ensure that the physicians and nurses are documenting properly to hit the data points in our electronic health record. The reports are sent back to me in a timely manner and we can see how HVCA is doing and where the practice can improve. Before PINNACLE, our physicians were already following the ACC’s protocols, but the problem was getting the software and documentation to reflect those protocols in the reporting. I personally believe that using the PINNACLE Registry is extremely worthwhile. Physicians love a little “healthy competition” and to see their progress and where they stand in relation to their colleagues locally and nationally. Plus, it wasn’t too hard to demonstrate that our practice is striving toward excellence.

Learn more about the PINNACLE Registry at NCDR.com/PINNACLE. Also learn more about where the ACC and the PINNACLE Registry are heading in a Leadership Page in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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