• 2017 Colloquium — "Health: A Team Sport"
• Upcoming ICSI Events
• Other Noteworthy Events
• Updates on our Work
• New & Noteworthy
• Scientific Documents

SAVE THE DATE FOR 2017 COLLOQUIUM

The theme is set for ICSI's 20th Annual Colloquium on Health Care Transformation, to be held May 8 - 10, 2017 at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest in Brooklyn Park, MN. Our focus on Health: A Team Sport, will allow us to explore the new and evolving teams and teamwork needed, both inside of health care and reaching outward beyond our walls, to meet the coming shift to value-based payment systems and achieve better health for all. More and more, we realize the importance of everyone on the "health team," including all types of providers, patients, payers and the community, to meeting our improvement goals. Plan to join us as we explore together how to make your "health team" a winning one! Registration opens in January.

Call for Speakers

We are currently developing the program, and are accepting abstracts from members and others who wish to share their work with the Colloquium audience of health care organization leaders; primary and specialty care physicians, nurses, and other providers; quality improvement managers; and others such as care managers, patients, and more. Detailed information and requirements are available on the Colloquium web page and on the submission form. The deadline is November 11, 2016.

Submit an abstract.

ICSI also wants to thank everyone who completed our Colloquium survey in September! We had a terrific response, and plan to incorporate your feedback into the 2017 event, and beyond. One message that came through clearly is a need for sessions that deliver practical information and actionable next steps you can take back to your organizations and communities; we're working hard to include just that throughout the event. Stay tuned as the program develops, and watch our website and ICSI News as more details become available. Please contact Lisa Carlson with any questions.

other Noteworthy Events

Learning & Action Network Summit

Tuesday, October 25, 2016, Washington, D.C.

The Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN) invites you to participate in the 2016 LAN Fall Summit. The Summit’s theme, “Aligning for Action,” supports implementation and adoption of alternative payment models (APMs) nationwide. Join hundreds of other leading health care payment innovators and reserve your space today. This is a free event. Learn more and register.

The Bakken Symposium 2016: How Data Drives
Quality, Safety, and Innovation

Monday, November 21, 2016, Minneapolis

This course will be held on the University of Minnesota campus and is ideal for health care executives, industry leaders, physicians, advance practice providers and allied health providers interested in improving patient outcomes by using data driven measures. The agenda includes speakers from the insurance industry, clinical administration and medical device industry as we discuss how data is used by different entities. Learn more and register.

Updates on our work

Shifting to Value: Awareness, Action, and Alignment

In September, 100 health care leaders, consumers, and others gathered to gain a deeper understanding of the national shift to value-based care and the proposed MACRA* rule. The aim of the day was to begin addressing MACRA questions, discover key issues relative to Minnesota, and learn how others are preparing, gaining ideas to bring back to participants’ own organizations.
*Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015.

Convened and facilitated by ICSI, the event opened with a “fascinating peek behind the curtain at CMS,” as one participant stated. Learn more.

Critical Connections from the Mental Health
Community Partners Network

We recently wrapped up the Mental Health Community Partners Network, where more than 200 people from 75 organizations across the state participated in network events, making new connections and learning about great examples of collaboration to improve transitions for people with mental illness. This project was made possible by the Minnesota Hospital Association Hospital Engagement Network, funded by the Partnership for Patients program of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

A recently published brochure captures some of the stories of this initiative, including Chris Walker, nursing director for inpatient mental health services at CentraCare Health's St. Cloud Hospital (pictured). We encourage participants to continue to collaborate and partner in their local communities to develop successful behavioral health models leading to improved patient care. Download and share with others today! Learn more.

Team Quality Improvement Learning Community: Refocusing on Team

Nine months ago, five health care organizations in West Central Minnesota engaged in a Team Quality Improvement Learning Community as ICSI brought training and collaborative learning opportunities to their region, funded by the Minnesota Department of Health's State Innovation Model (SIM), Minnesota Accountable Health Model.

Too often, the importance of including the team and engaging those affected by the change is dismissed or minimized. ICSI's goal was to revitalize change efforts in each of the organizations by re-focusing on team and collaborative communications skills while applying quality improvement basics. Many participants expressed a desire for onsite trainings to spread the learning to more staff, including one at Ortonville Area Health System (pictured).

ICSI will provide an overview of the learning community activities and organizations’ progress, and share a taste of the training provided, at an MDH webinar on Tuesday, October 18, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. Learn more and register.

Population Health: A Third Collaborative Conversation

At the request of members, in August 2016, ICSI facilitated a third conversation with members and other stakeholders around population health activities and related measurement. The primary objectives of the conversation were to learn about organizations’ current population health activities, share how representative organizations are thinking about population health measurement, and discuss and consider population health activities within the context of shifting from volume to value. The following organizations were represented at the meeting: Allina Health, HealthEast, CentraCare, Fairview Health Services, University of Minnesota Physicians, North Memorial, HealthPartners, Medica Research Institute, Departments of Human Services and Health, and Minnesota Community Measurement. Learn more.

Meet Our Staff

ICSI’s staff information on our website has been updated to now include brief bios and photographs. To learn more about our staff or to connect a face with a name, please visit the ICSI Staff page.