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January 2014

2014 Colloquium Registration Now Open!

17th Annual ICSI Colloquium on Health Care Transformation
May 5-7, 2014 - St. Paul RiverCentre - St. Paul, MN

Building a Sustainable Health System

Care delivery organizations are undergoing phenomenal change in their pursuit of the Triple Aim, yet questions remain: Will the emerging system rein in unsustainable health care cost increases and still ensure patients get appropriate care and value? How are health care systems reducing costs and remaining viable? What payment systems are working? Can we succeed without community and patient engagement? What are the new leadership skills required? These topics and more will be addressed in support of this year’s theme of “Building a Sustainable Health System.” Register today and save! Early bird savings end April 8, 2014.

Pre-Conference Workshops Designed for Leader, Team and Individual Skill Building

The Pre-Conference Workshops offer tremendous value again this year whether you’re a health care executive, medical director, quality improvement leader or care manager. Each one is built around emerging concepts and/or practical skill-building essential for moving your organization and staff forward.

  • Unlocking Your Organization’s Internal Capacities Through Relationally Coordinated Teams This workshop will explain the key components and implementation strategies for building strong, team-based, patient-centered care, and how relational coordination can support your organization’s mission, strategy, and performance goals while yielding a quantifiable return on investment. For a preview, attend our February 13, 2014 webinar.
  • Orchestrating Care for Better Patient Experience This workshop will provide expert and practical information on how your organization can provide more patient-centered care. Attendees will learn how providers and care teams are improving communication and creating stronger partnerships with patients.
  • Quality Improvement Basics Plus! In today’s health care environment, delivering excellent quality improvement is not for the fainthearted and definitely not for the unprepared! Sign up for this workshop to learn the foundational elements of quality improvement – the ICSI way!

Learn more about the workshops and the rest of this can't miss event as details become available. Keep an eye on our website's Colloquium page for all the details as our program develops. Register today and save!

Congressman’s Visit, star tribune article Recognize ICSI's htdi Initiative

ICSI’s work to advance the use of decision support based on American College of Radiology (ACR) criteria to order high-technology diagnostic imaging (HTDI) scans has influenced legislation now before the House of Representatives.

The Excellence in Diagnostic Imaging Utilization Act of 2013 (H.R. 3705) would require providers to consult appropriateness criteria specified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services when ordering HTDI studies for Medicare patients. The bill would require the secretary to identify mechanisms, such as clinical decision support (CDS) tools, by which ordering professionals could consult criteria specified from among those developed/endorsed by national professional medical specialty societies such as the ACR.

Rep. Erik Paulsen (R- MN), pictured above, seated at center, who introduced the bill along with Jim Matheson (D-UT), visited ICSI headquarters to thank representatives from medical groups, health plans, radiology organizations and patient groups that designed and supported the ICSI initiative.

Press releases announcing the submission of this bill noted that CDS systems in Minnesota and Massachusetts that used ACR criteria have reduced duplicate and/or unnecessary scans and their associated costs. Over the past six years, ICSI’s HTDI initiative has saved an estimated $234 million, prevented an estimated 100 potential cancers caused by overexposure to unnecessary CT scans, increased clinic efficiency, and strengthened the provider/patient relationship. The initiative “officially” ended in 2012 because more than 80 percent of all HTDI scans in Minnesota are now ordered using decision support.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on the impact of the HTDI initiative and the Congressman’s visit in this Jan. 7, 2014 article. Learn more about ICSI's work in this area.

Noteworthy Events

Workshop: The Symphony and Synergy of Care

Thursday, March 6, 2014, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Eagan Community Center

Symphony reflects harmonious complexity, each musician contributing their unique sound to the whole. Synergy is displayed when two or more entities produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate efforts. In the same way, motivational interviewing, shared decision-making and health coaching can come together to change how you listen to your patients, offering the symphony and synergy needed to guide their choices toward health.

This free one-day workshop, funded by a patient experience grant from AF4Q awarded to ICSI and MN Community Measurement, will allow you to experience motivational interviewing, shared decision-making and health coaching, and learn how and when to use them effectively. With a blend of didactic presentation, skills training and practice sessions, plus time for team discussion, you'll leave with a plan for how to implement these strategies in your practice. All are welcome, including specialty clinicians, MDs, nurses, educators, mental health workers, and care managers. Open to ICSI members and non-members. CMEs pending. Learn more and sign up today to secure your place at this "patient experience concert." Registration closes on Friday, February 21, 2014.

Webinar: New ICSI Acute Pain Assessment and
Opioid Prescribing Protocol

Monday, February 10, 2014, Noon - 1 p.m. CT

Every chronic pain patient started out with acute pain, so what can be done to manage pain and minimize the risk of dependency or addiction? At this webinar you'll hear from a panel of clinicians from the work group that developed ICSI's new protocol that considers care and treatment of patients in acute pain. The new protocol is expected to be available online by the end of January. Learn about the assessments that every provider considering prescribing opioids should include to keep the patient safe. This is an interactive session with the panel so come prepared with your questions. The webinar is free and open to members and non-members. Learn more and register by Wednesday, February 5, 2014.

Webinar: Building Dynamic Teams Through Relational Coordination

Thursday, February 13, 2014, Noon - 1:30 p.m. CT

Gene Beyt, MD, visiting professor from Brandeis University, will explain the components of relational coordination, which offers the ability to improve coordination across the team through improving our understanding of communications in an environment of shared goals, shared knowledge, and mutual respect. You’ll learn about a seven-item survey that can be incorporated into your work and provide a valid psychometric assessment of the dimensions of teamwork associated with improved clinical and performance outcomes. You will also hear about an exciting, upcoming opportunity for ICSI members interested in working to improve their team dynamics in these changing times. This webinar is free and is open to members and non-members. Learn more and sign up by Tuesday, February 11, 2014.

MMGMA Winter Conference Explores Healthcare Value Proposition

Selling Healthcare: Presenting Your Value Proposition is the theme for the Minnesota Medical Group Management Association’s (MMGMA) annual Winter Conference, March 4-5, 2014 at The Depot in Downtown Minneapolis. Topics include:

  • Change Happens!
 Best-selling author Jim Mathis examines how organizations successfully reinvented themselves in response to changes in health care.
  • Generational Workforce Strategy Chuck Underwood, author and host of PBS television “America’s Generations With Chuck Underwood,” examines generational staffing in health care.


  • Medicine Minus the Middleman Matt Brandt, Multicare Associates, reviews direct contracting models in use now.
  • Reaching for the Triple Aim: Measuring What’s Important Barbara Daiker (Daiker & Associates) and Candy Simerson (Minnesota Eye Consultants) explain how a specialty group used their data to benchmark Triple Aim performance.



Visit mmgma.org for more details and to register.

Our Work: Call for Participation

Moving the Needle on Patient Outcomes and Experience Scores —
How Can Decision Aids Help You?

There's still time to join ShareEBM! The goal of the project is to promote evidence-based patient-centered care in the primary care setting. We have developed a set of tools, including decision aids, to facilitate a conversation between the patient and clinician that incorporates the best research evidence and the patient’s preferences and values. We have also developed a ShareEBM implementation toolkit.

Our study will have two arms; one arm in which decision aids are passively disseminated and one strategically implemented with the study team assisting the adoption (ShareEBM Plus). Participating practices in both arms will have full access in perpetuity to the decision aids most pertinent to the primary care of patients with diabetes and concomitant chronic conditions (hypertension, depression, statin use, aspirin use, osteoporosis). Participation requirements have been updated; learn more and join us today!

Our Work: Progress Reports and Updates

Enhancements to ICSI's Scientific Documents Program

Through the hard work of our members, ICSI has been developing evidence-based clinical guidelines and protocols to improve patient care since 1993. These guidelines are considered some of the best in the world. Our goal is to continue to lead the nation in the practice of evidence-based medicine, and one of our strategies to achieve this is to enhance ICSI's clinical guideline development process. Starting in 2014, we plan to implement these changes:

  • Continued enhancement of ICSI guidelines over time to meet the 2011 Institute of Medicine standards.
  • Instead of developing all our own guidelines, we plan to endorse some guidelines from other respected organizations.
  • We will review our guideline revision timelines and see which can have their revision cycle extended without affecting the practice of best medicine.

By taking these actions, we can increase our efforts to add decision-support information to key guidelines, and provide more tool kits that enhance the implementation of guidelines in practice. Read more about these changes.

ICSI Applies SBIRT Expertise To Improve Traffic Safety in Minnesota

Through a grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) and Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS), ICSI has begun a demonstration and pilot project to implement the Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) model within the criminal justice system for DWI offenders. The SBIRT program is an early intervention for persons with risky alcohol or other drug use designed to provide systematic screening, brief interventions for behavior change using motivational interviewing, and referral to community services or formal addiction treatment.

SBIRT would be used as an early intervention approach at the time of the offense to improve traffic safety. The demonstration project will be conducted in Duluth, MN, where ICSI will work with members of the criminal justice system, as well as local treatment providers, public health officials and other stakeholders, in a community-wide effort. This novel approach is part of the state’s overall efforts to reduce the human and financial losses caused by risky substance use. Minnesota ranks sixth in the nation in binge drinking. In 2012, 28,418 Minnesotans were arrested for DWI, and 104 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver.

ICSI received this award based on its previous work as part of a three-year initiative funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to implement SBIRT in 34 Minnesota primary care clinics. For more information, contact ICSI's Kathy Cummings at 952-814-7086.

Co-creating a Sustainable Healthy Tomorrow Workshop Makes an Impression at IHI Annual Meeting

ICSI and its partners, Twin Cities Public Television and Citizens League, had the opportunity to present a workshop on Co-creating a Sustainable Healthy Tomorrow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) annual meeting in December 2013. ICSI president and CEO Sanne Magnan, MD, PhD (at right), and team director Joann Foreman, RN, BAN, shared the strategies piloted in select Minnesota communities to engage clinicians, citizens, and community stakeholders in addressing the Triple Aim, and identified the elements seen as critical to the success of building Accountable Health Communities. This work was supported by a grant from the Bush Foundation.

The workshop was well attended, and many of the 125 participants stayed afterward to ask questions and continue the discussion. You can see several videos from the presentation and learn more about this evolving work here.

ICSI Launches Patient-Centered Website for COMPASS Program

ICSI has created a patient-centered website to help the eight COMPASS intervention partners across the country identify and convince appropriate candidates to enter the COMPASS program. The website describes the program in patient terms, explains why it is important to address depression and risky substance use along with diabetes and/or heart disease at the same time, offers patient and clinician testimonials on why the collaborative model works, and directs program candidates to appropriate interventional groups and their clinics.

In December, ICSI hosted a webinar for COMPASS partners on addressing risky substance use. This webinar is of value to any primary care clinic trying to address this health issue, as it offers insights on how to use motivational interviewing to help change the patient’s behavior. The webinar is available here.

ICSI President Sanne Magnan Profiled in MD News

President and CEO Sanne Magnan, MD, PhD, talks about the philosophy behind ICSI, offers examples of how our collaborative process works, and reflects on ICSI's next big challenge. Read the MD News profile.

ICSI's Scientific Documents

All of ICSI's scientific documents are publicly available on our website under Guidelines & More. There are also knowledge resources only available to ICSI members, including toolkits on continuous quality improvement processes, guideline implementation (e.g. low back pain) and rapid cycle improvements. To find these and other resources, go to the Education and Quality Improvement page in the For Members area of the website. ICSI members also have special access to openings for guideline work group participation and a current list of work group members. To view this information, you must be logged in to the website as a member.

New & Recently Revised Guidelines

Please visit our website to stay current on newly updated guidelines. For more details about the updates, download the Summary of Changes document posted on each guideline’s main website page.

Work Group Opportunities

Participation on the Scientific Document (guidelines and protocols) work groups provides professional growth and networking opportunities on many levels. The most current listing of opportunities is available here. Please email Georgette Susla or call (952) 814-7064 with any questions.

Work Group Members

Thank you to the health care professionals who have offered their expertise on ICSI Scientific Document work groups. Click here to see who's involved.

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