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May 16, 2008Quality Matters: Developmental Screening for Children |
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From The Commonwealth Fund: A review of efforts to encourage developmental screening for young children as a routine part of preventive care; a case study of how one pediatric practice implemented a standardized screening tool; and more. Among the challenges is getting pediatricians, family physicians, and other child health care professionals to recognize the need for formal developmental screening. The academy launched a nine-month pilot project, called D-PIP or the Developmental Surveillance and Screening Policy Implementation Pilot, to examine the feasibility of implementing the screening tests among 17 pediatric practices. Some state Medicaid agencies, for example those in Hawaii and Massachusetts, have implemented policies requiring the use of validated developmental and behavioral screens at well-child visits in response to lawsuits against the agencies. Organization and Leadership: Oxford Pediatrics has five physicians and two nurse practitioners in its main office, located in Oxford, Ohio. Providers also work out of two satellite facilities in Ross, Ohio, and Brookville, Ind. The demonstration project focused on six practice areas: use of a preventive services prompting system, implementation of structured developmental assessments, evaluation of parents' needs and use of strength-based approaches, use of reminder systems for appointments or follow-up care, development of links to community resources, and creation of a registry of patients with special heath care needs. They note that these conditions are closely related to smoking, high blood pressure, and obesity, all of which are amenable to changes in personal lifestyle and public health initiatives. The states have each identified particular areas of focus, including value-based purchasing, quality reporting, care coordination, disease prevention, and wellness promotion. An AHRQ editorial team chooses the innovations and tools to feature on the site, selecting those that they deem to be new, have significant potential to change patient care delivery, and are designed to address health disparities.
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