Common use of Key Activities Clause in Contracts

Key Activities. 4.1. When performing Quality Improvement (“QI”) facilitation work with practices, Contractor will: 4.1.1. Upon first working with each participating practice and in the event of any significant organizational changes within the practice, analyze the practice’s organizational culture to determine structure and resources in place to support QI and their internal and external QI requirements (such as Blueprint attestations, ACO participation, Federally Qualified Health Center requirements, or Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act (MACRA) quality programs) to tailor QI and educational interventions to meet their internal needs and external requirements. 4.1.2. Meet in person with each practice bi-weekly or no less than monthly, depending on practice needs and priorities. 4.1.3. Offer consultation via phone or email on clinical and QI topics no less than monthly and respond to all practice questions within seven (7) working days. 4.1.4. Guide each practice through NCQA recognition process, ensuring that practices prepare and submit high quality evidence required by NCQA within the timeframes specified by NCQA and the Blueprint for Health. 4.1.5. Notify the local Blueprint Project Manager and State Blueprint for Health staff immediately upon the determination that a practice is reasonably unlikely to achieve NCQA recognition and work with all parties to resolve any issues. 4.1.6. Report all key NCQA milestones and scores in the Blueprint for Health Portal within five (5) working days of the milestone or score being achieved. 4.1.7. Report progress of applicable clinical outcomes through applicable registries within the timeframe specified by the State or other governing entity. 4.1.8. For NCQA recognition or any ongoing quality improvement work with practices, the Contractor will complete the following and provide evidence during regular check ins that they: 4.1.8.1. Assist each practice with forming a functional multi-disciplinary quality improvement team, composed of clinical providers and administrative staff (“Practice Team”), and ensuring leadership involvement and communication throughout the process. 4.1.8.2. Work with the Practice Team to incorporate strategies, such as mentoring, coaching, and team facilitation, that are mutually agreed upon by the Practice Team and Contractor, into daily practice to improve care and measure change in health care delivery systems. 4.1.8.3. Support Practice Teams in the implementation of continuous quality improvement, which includes the use of Blueprint practice and HSA profiles and ACO data, PDSA cycles, A3 problem solving processes, collective impact, or other strategies agreed to by the practice and facilitator to work toward desired outcomes, such as shared decision making, self- management support, panel management, integrated cross-organization care coordination, or mental health and substance abuse treatment into clinical practice. 4.1.8.4. Provide clinician and practice specific training for screening tools and localized resources, bringing in subject matter experts as required. 4.1.8.5. Support the incorporation of health and community services and tools for cross-organization care coordination into practice workflow. 4.1.9. Purchase necessary National Association for Healthcare Quality Exam Resources (e.g. HQ Solutions: Resource for Healthcare Quality Professional) and complete the “Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality” certification within the timeframe of the contract. 4.1.10. Submit a professional development and learning plan to the State prior to purchasing exam resources. 4.2. The following additional requirements apply to QI facilitation work with practices: 4.2.1. Contractor is required to maintain up to date knowledge of the latest developments pertaining to Health Reform and requirements impacting Vermont practices, through attending in person and online learning sessions and facilitate dissemination of this information to practices from the information provided and/or by developing appropriate educational content that will communicate and support practices in understanding the benefit of Continuous Quality Improvement in the context of Vermont Health Reform 4.2.2. When opportunities for improvement are identified for a practice, Contractor will use clinical knowledge to research best practices, assess clinical guidelines, and suggest updates and revisions to standards of care. Contractor will 4.2.3. assist with translating research into practice by designing concepts, tools, and processes that can be implemented by improvement teams. 4.2.4. Contractor will work directly with practices to understand how to identify opportunities for improvement and trends in outcomes from data available from Blueprint for Health Practice Profiles and other data sources in order to encourage/▇▇▇▇▇▇ practice ownership and support for Continuous Quality Improvement to improve patient-centered care. 4.2.5. Contractor will keep practices apprised of all relevant learning collaboratives, learning sessions, and special initiatives, encouraging their participation as appropriate. 4.2.6. Contractor will attend learning collaboratives with participating practices and will attend QI Facilitator meetings relevant to learning collaboratives or initiatives that the practices may choose to participate in the future. 4.3. When performing QI facilitation work at the community level, Contractor will: 4.3.1. Attend scheduled Community Collaborative meetings. 4.3.2. Attend applicable quality sub-workgroup meetings, as determined by local need. 4.3.3. Assist Community Collaboratives to use data and evidence-based practices in selecting, prioritizing, implementing, and evaluating their interventions and aims, as determined by local need. 4.3.4. Initiate work with the Community Collaborative to incorporate measuring and monitoring of progress related to their selected interventions and aims using quality improvement strategies and tools, such as PDSA cycles, A3 problem solving processes, collective impact, or other strategies agreed to by the facilitator and the community, as determined by local need. 4.3.5. Respond to Community Collaborative questions between meetings via phone and e-mail within five (5) working days. 4.4. The following additional requirements apply to QI facilitation work with communities: 4.4.1. Encouraging/fostering community ownership and support for continuous quality improvement to priorities selected by the community collaborative. 4.4.2. Strengthening community-clinical relationships to improve referral and co-management of patients’ medical and psychosocial needs through facilitation and implementation of processes and tools for cross-organization care coordination. 4.4.3. Encouraging innovative strategies for communication and learning between community partners, such as learning collaboratives or online learning environments. 4.5. Contractor shall: 4.5.1. Maintain an expert level of knowledge in NCQA recognition and quality improvement methodology. 4.5.2. Maintain an expert level of knowledge of quality requirements associated with Blueprint initiatives. 4.5.3. Maintain a working knowledge of quality requirements associated with ACO participation, Federally Qualified Health Center requirements, and MACRA programs, including understanding who the experts are in each respective program to refer practices to and tools that are accessible to the practices. 4.5.4. Provide peer-to-peer mentoring and support to other contracted QI Facilitators, ACOs and State staff. 4.5.5. Respond to questions asked by other facilitators, ACO, and State staff. 4.5.6. Participate in regular meetings with State (at least one biweekly), regularly scheduled meetings of other facilitators, and other ad-hoc meetings or trainings with State and other facilitators. 4.5.7. Assist with the design and planning of learning collaboratives, at the request of State.

Key Activities. 4.1. When performing Quality Improvement (“QI”) facilitation work with practices, Contractor willshall: 4.1.14.4.1. Upon first working with each participating practice and in the event of any significant organizational changes within the practice, analyze the practice’s organizational culture to determine structure and resources in place to support QI and their internal and external QI requirements (such as Blueprint attestations, ACO participation, Federally Qualified Health Center requirements, or Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act (MACRA) quality programs) to tailor QI and educational interventions to meet their internal needs and external requirements. 4.1.24.4.2. Meet in person with each practice bi-weekly or no less than monthly, depending on practice needs and priorities. 4.1.34.4.3. Offer consultation via phone or email on clinical and QI topics no less than monthly and respond to all practice questions within seven (7) working days. 4.1.44.4.4. Guide each practice through NCQA recognition process, ensuring that practices prepare and submit high quality evidence required by NCQA within the timeframes specified by NCQA and the Blueprint for Health. 4.1.54.4.5. Notify the local Blueprint Project Manager and State Blueprint for Health staff immediately upon the determination that a practice is reasonably unlikely to achieve NCQA recognition and work with all parties to resolve any issues. 4.1.64.4.6. Report all key NCQA milestones and scores in the Blueprint for Health Portal within five (5) working days of the milestone or score being achieved. 4.1.74.4.7. Report progress of applicable clinical outcomes through applicable registries within the timeframe specified by the State or other governing entity. 4.1.84.4.8. For NCQA recognition or any ongoing quality improvement work with practices, the Contractor will complete the following and provide evidence during regular check ins that they: 4.1.8.14.4.8.1. Assist each practice with forming a functional multi-disciplinary quality improvement team, composed of clinical providers and administrative staff (“Practice Team”), and ensuring leadership involvement and communication throughout the process. 4.1.8.24.4.8.2. Work with the Practice Team to incorporate strategies, such as mentoring, coaching, and team facilitation, that are mutually agreed upon by the Practice Team and Contractor, into daily practice to improve care and measure change in health care delivery systems. 4.1.8.34.4.8.3. Support Practice Teams in the implementation of continuous quality improvement, which includes the use of Blueprint practice and HSA profiles and ACO data, PDSA cycles, A3 problem solving processes, collective impact, or other strategies agreed to by the practice and facilitator to work toward desired outcomes, such as shared decision making, self- management support, panel management, integrated cross-organization care coordination, or mental health and substance abuse treatment into clinical practice. 4.1.8.44.4.8.4. Provide clinician and practice specific training for screening tools and localized resources, bringing in subject matter experts as required. 4.1.8.54.4.8.5. Support the incorporation of health and community services and tools for cross-organization care coordination into practice workflow. 4.1.9. Purchase necessary National Association for Healthcare Quality Exam Resources (e.g. HQ Solutions: Resource for Healthcare Quality Professional) and complete the “Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality” certification within the timeframe of the contract. 4.1.10. Submit a professional development and learning plan to the State prior to purchasing exam resources. 4.2. The following additional requirements apply to QI facilitation work with practices: 4.2.1. Contractor is required to maintain up to date knowledge of the latest developments pertaining to Health Reform and requirements impacting Vermont practices, through attending in person and online learning sessions and facilitate dissemination of this information to practices from the information provided and/or by developing appropriate educational content that will communicate and support practices in understanding the benefit of Continuous Quality Improvement in the context of Vermont Health Reform 4.2.2. When opportunities for improvement are identified for a practice, Contractor will use clinical knowledge to research best practices, assess clinical guidelines, and suggest updates and revisions to standards of care. Contractor will 4.2.3. assist with translating research into practice by designing concepts, tools, and processes that can be implemented by improvement teams. 4.2.4. Contractor will work directly with practices to understand how to identify opportunities for improvement and trends in outcomes from data available from Blueprint for Health Practice Profiles and other data sources in order to encourage/▇▇▇▇▇▇ practice ownership and support for Continuous Quality Improvement to improve patient-centered care. 4.2.5. Contractor will keep practices apprised of all relevant learning collaboratives, learning sessions, and special initiatives, encouraging their participation as appropriate. 4.2.6. Contractor will attend learning collaboratives with participating practices and will attend QI Facilitator meetings relevant to learning collaboratives or initiatives that the practices may choose to participate in the future. 4.3. When performing QI facilitation work at the community level, Contractor will: 4.3.1. Attend scheduled Community Collaborative meetings. 4.3.2. Attend applicable quality sub-workgroup meetings, as determined by local need. 4.3.3. Assist Community Collaboratives to use data and evidence-based practices in selecting, prioritizing, implementing, and evaluating their interventions and aims, as determined by local need. 4.3.4. Initiate work with the Community Collaborative to incorporate measuring and monitoring of progress related to their selected interventions and aims using quality improvement strategies and tools, such as PDSA cycles, A3 problem solving processes, collective impact, or other strategies agreed to by the facilitator and the community, as determined by local need. 4.3.5. Respond to Community Collaborative questions between meetings via phone and e-mail within five (5) working days. 4.4. The following additional requirements apply to QI facilitation work with communities: 4.4.1. Encouraging/fostering community ownership and support for continuous quality improvement to priorities selected by the community collaborative. 4.4.2. Strengthening community-clinical relationships to improve referral and co-management of patients’ medical and psychosocial needs through facilitation and implementation of processes and tools for cross-organization care coordination. 4.4.3. Encouraging innovative strategies for communication and learning between community partners, such as learning collaboratives or online learning environments. 4.5. Contractor shall: 4.5.1. Maintain an expert level of knowledge in NCQA recognition and quality improvement methodology. 4.5.2. Maintain an expert level of knowledge of quality requirements associated with Blueprint initiatives. 4.5.3. Maintain a working knowledge of quality requirements associated with ACO participation, Federally Qualified Health Center requirements, and MACRA programs, including understanding who the experts are in each respective program to refer practices to and tools that are accessible to the practices. 4.5.4. Provide peer-to-peer mentoring and support to other contracted QI Facilitators, ACOs and State staff. 4.5.5. Respond to questions asked by other facilitators, ACO, and State staff. 4.5.6. Participate in regular meetings with State (at least one biweekly), regularly scheduled meetings of other facilitators, and other ad-hoc meetings or trainings with State and other facilitators. 4.5.7. Assist with the design and planning of learning collaboratives, at the request of State.