Doctor’s Note: February Newsletter Introduction from Dr. Eduardo Fox

Dear Pediatric Health Network,

Greetings! It was great fun to see so many – in 3D! – at the recent Business of Pediatrics meeting. Gathering and sharing insights provide us much to consider as we move along our collaborative journey of improvement. We are already looking forward to Future of Pediatrics in June!

I would like to highlight a few current efforts and resources. Based on feedback from providers, PHN will soon launch a quality improvement initiative focusing on Depression Screening & Follow-up for Adolescents (DSF). This effort will build on work from last year’s Adolescent initiative and hopefully augment our capacity to effectively care for our patients. Of note, the DSF measure continues to be included in the CareFirst and HSCSN (Health Services for Children with Special Needs) contracts. Central to our mission, our quality improvement work allows us to participate in value-based contracts as a network.

The QI (Quality Improvement) team will use Arcadia, our network’s data management tool, to gather data and generate reports for the DSF initiative. This will decrease the need for individual practice teams to perform chart reviews. A special thanks to the PHN Information Technology team for their dedication to the data integration process! Use this link to register for the QI initiative.

In February, we will also reach out to practice representatives to complete a needs assessment. Our goal is to make this an annual opportunity to gauge strengths and challenges, as well as inform our goals and priorities. Elsewhere in our newsletter, please find more information about behavioral health and social work community resources.

As always, we love to hear from you so please reach out any time. Thanks for all you do!