1. TCPI Data Management Webinar Eddie Fonner, Assistant Project Director
Virginia Cardiac Services Quality Initiative Support and Alignment Network 2.0
TCPI Data Management Webinar
Eddie Fonner, Assistant Project Director

2. TCPI Goals
Support 140,000+ clinicians in their practice transformation work
Improve health outcomes for millions of Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP beneficiaries and other patients
Reduce unnecessary hospitalizations for 5 million patients
Generate $1-4 Billion in savings for health systems
Sustain efficient care delivery by reducing unnecessary testing and procedures
Build the evidence-base on practice transformation so that effective solutions can be scaled
… to do all this, we need DATA!

3. Overview: VCSQI SAN 2.0 Data Collection
Quarterly Data Uploads for selected quality metrics
Measure definitions and mechanisms for data capture
Track programs’ performances and corresponding quality improvements & cost savings

4. Defining Quality Measures
VCSQI has agreed to report 5 measures to CMS thus far:
New Onset of Atrial Fibrillation (CABG Only)
Intra- or Post-operative Blood Products Transfused (CABG Only)
30-Day Readmissions (CABG Only; but could apply to all patients)
Tobacco Use Screening: Smoking Cessation Counseling & Intervention (All Patients)
Hypertension Control (All Patients)
Quality measures can include ANY definable metric — what QI/PI projects are you currently working on?
List of QPP measures for CMS is available at:

5. How to query your data
Cardiac Surgery: Data can come from your quarterly STS reports or from your database vendor
Cardiology: Data can come from your quarterly ACC reports or from your database vendor
Other specialists and family practice: registries and EMR data will be the easiest method, but if you do not have access to these resources then we can work on other options, including claims data or online data capture

6. How to send your data Secure options for data transfer:
Encrypted ZIP File:
FTP Upload
ail.com
To upload your files, simply enter your name and in the form, then click the 'Add a File' button. Navigate to the folder on your computer and select the data file.
If there is no PHI or other sensitive info, you can simply send via

7. Estimating cost savings
TCPI has compiled resources related to cost savings of quality improvement:
e.g. $22,224 per unplanned hospital readmission
Applies to the TCPI common metrics:
Controlling high blood pressure in patients with hypertension
Use of imaging studies for patients with low back pain
Screening for clinical depression and follow-up plan
Substance abuse screening and intervention
Tobacco use and help with quitting among adolescents
Documentation of a comprehensive health and life plan developed collaboratively by the patient and the health professional team
Referral of at-risk patients to community-based prevention and support resources
Medication management
VCSQI has also published about the costs of post-operative complications following heart surgery

8. Additive Costs: Primary and Secondary Complications: (CABG only) 2011-2015; N=15,358
Granularity in the database allowed us to identify the most costly complications, prioritize quality improvement work and evaluate cost savings of quality initiatives
Blue = baseline (no complications or mortality)
Red = Primary Complication -- solely attributed to that complication
Gray = Secondary Complications – separated out by statistical techniques

9. Estimating cost savings (continued)
Example calculation:
In Quarter , Practice X had an A-Fib Rate of 25% for its 100 total cases (N = 25)
In Quarter , Practice X had an A-Fib rate of 20% for its 100 total cases (N = 20)
Based on this improvement by 5 percentage points, we estimate that 5 cases of atrial fibrillation were prevented, saving the practice 5 * $6,890 = $34,450

10. Summary
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
~ Aristotle
Pick at least one measure that aligns with your practice’s quality improvement goals
Send your data securely to the VCSQI SAN 2.0 team
As VCSQI provides coaching that will help improve quality of care, we will track quality improvement and cost savings for your practice
Recurrence: VCSQI requests quarterly data uploads ( reminders will be sent)

11. Thank You! Questions / Comments? Feel free to reach out: