Patients in need of care often face social and emotional barriers to health improvement. And sometimes these barriers don’t come up during doctor visits.

VHAN’s Pamela Bruce, Director, Quality and Clinical Transformation, has joined the NAACOS Quality Committee. This committee evaluates quality initiatives and requirements related to ACOs, while focusing on the role of quality performance in population-based payment models. The NAACOS Quality Committee also works to develop and guide the NAACOS quality strategy as it relates to Medicare ACO models including the Shared Savings Programs and other payers with ACO contracts. Congratulations, Pam!

VHAN’s behavioral health team took on the challenge of managing pediatric depression by making it the subject of the network’s first Project ECHO program. Project ECHO seeks to address health care disparities with low-cost, high-impact interventions. 

To manage the dual challenges of prescribing antibiotics appropriately and preventing unnecessary usage, VHAN launched a new Antibiotic Stewardship Program.

The American Migraine Foundation found that fewer than 5% of patients who suffer from migraines have been seen by a health care provider, received an accurate diagnosis and obtained appropriate care.

According to a 2017 study in Annals of Internal Medicine, 20-30% of medication prescriptions are never filled, and about 50% of medications for chronic disease are not taken as prescribed.

Coordinated care provides multiple touchpoints to ensure that no symptom goes untreated, and no patient falls through the cracks. At Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network (VHAN), clinical pharmacists, social workers and nurse care navigators collaborate to deliver proactive, timely care to patients who need it most. 

For Population Health Clinical Pharmacist Lauren Cook, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP, VHAN’s cooperative approach means staying alert for complications that may arise unexpectedly with patients. Cook’s vigilance recently helped a 64-year-old blind patient avoid a potentially catastrophic health event.

On December 6, VHAN experts Jacky Bradley, PharmD, MBA, and Sophie Katz, MD, facilitated a Learning Exchange for network members to share best practices and learn how to leverage the resources from VHAN’s new Antibiotic Stewardship Program.

As 2022 comes to a close, we at VHAN are reflecting on this 10th year in service as a clinically integrated network. To thank our members for their contributions, VHAN worked with the legendary Hatch Show Print Company in Nashville to create a commemorative poster. Read the full article to see footage of VHAN’s poster being printed at Hatch Show Print in Nashville.