Hartford HealthCare’s Digestive Health Center has been using a data collection system called GIQuIC for about a year now, and the information being gathered will help providers improve the processes and procedures around colonoscopy and upper endoscopy.

All 14 Hartford HealthCare sites that offer colonoscopy and upper endoscopy across the state are providing data to the system. The GIQuIC system sets quality benchmarks that measure physician and site performance in these diagnostic procedures. Whether it be colon cancer detection rates or fewer patient adverse events, the benchmarks are designed to help improve outcomes for patients.

Among the benefits cited for the Digestive Health Centers are:

  • Providing benchmarking reports to participating physicians and facilities to support quality improvement initiatives.
  • Identifying gaps in care and develop quality indicators to address gaps.
  • Improving clinical and patient outcomes through higher quality procedural services.

“This is a game changer for quality improvement,” said Pravina Khant, RN, Quality Data Coordinator for Digestive Health. Khant oversees the data collection system and works to help the Digestive Health leadership team understand the analytics and make decisions based on the results. “This sets the gold standard for how we do our jobs clinically, and gives us the documentation we need to make decisions to improve the quality of care we provide to our patients,” she said.

GIQuIC tracks 11 different measures of colonoscopy and 12 upper endoscopy measures. Khant said the three critical measures in colonoscopy include tracking against the national goals that have been set by the GI societies.

  • Adenoma detection rate.
  • Average withdrawal time.
  • Cecal intubation rate.

And the two priority areas for endoscopy are:

  • Appropriate specimen acquisition in Barrett’s esophagus.
  • Appropriate management of anticoagulation in the peri-procedural period.

“These quality benchmarks inform us on how our physicians at various Hartford Healthcare locations are performing,” said Kristen Papanos, RN Clinical Program Manager for Digestive Health. “We want to ensure that we are providing the same standard of care for all our patients regardless of who you see or which location our patients visit. The standards that GIQuIC measures not only amongst our Hartford Healthcare physicians, but in comparison to national benchmarks, will prove that our clinical teams are dedicated to surpassing clinical excellence.

“Our mission as a healthcare system is dedicated to continuously looking for ways to improve our clinical practice, patient outcomes, and setting the standard for future quality improvement initiatives,” she added. “If the quality of the exam being performed is improved and held to a closely monitored standard, the detection rates and findings are greater, and therefore results in improved patient outcomes.”