News

ImproveCareNow (ICN) is a Learning Health Network that enables patients, families, clinicians and researchers to work together to accelerate innovation, discovery and the application of new knowledge.

ICN’s Outcomes registry is a key enabler of new research and innovation for our community. To date, more than 27,000 patients have given their consent for their data to be used for research in support of ICN’s mission to improve outcomes for children and adolescents with IBD.

ImproveCareNow (ICN) is pleased to announce that Missy Ketchum has been elected to the role of Chair of the Board of Directors beginning on July 1.  Missy will be replacing Howard Baron, MD, FAAP who has served as Chair of the Board since 2020, and a member of the ICN Board for upwards of 10 years. Howard will be missed on the Board but his leadership in ICN will continue both as a member of the Physician Leadership Group and a site lead for his own care center.  

ImproveCareNow (ICN) is excited to share the findings from a years-long clinical trial COMBINE (Clinical Outcomes of Methotrexate Binary treatment with INfliximab or adalimumab in practice). The aim of this trial was to study if treatment with a single anti-TNF medication (infliximab and adalimumab) or dual therapy that includes methotrexate is more effective in children with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease.   

ImproveCareNow has been integral to this clinical trial from the beginning, including leading a research prioritization project in which the aim of this study was a top priority for members of the ICN community, to voting for the name of the study at the 2015 Community Conference. ICN care centers recruited for participation in this trial were vital to its success.  

Below is an excerpt from an article highlighting the key takeaways of this important trial from Principal Investigator Mike Kappelman, MD, MPH’s care center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  

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ImproveCareNow (ICN) has had enormous success since it began 16 years ago, including increasing remission rates for thousands of young people with IBD, transforming how pediatric IBD care is  provided, enlightening and exciting clinicians and other care providers, and engaging patients and parents in a shared purpose and work. We are pleased to share our ImproveCareNow Annual Update, which includes highlights and achievements from 2022 and plans for our continued work to improve health, care, and costs for young people with IBD in 2023 and beyond.

An ImproveCareNow (ICN) care center, Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, recently shared that their remission rate for children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) cared for at their Karjoo Family Center for Pediatric Gastroenterology improved from 60% in 2013 to 87% in 2022. The director of the IBD program, Prateek Wali, MD, attributes this remarkable improvement in the health of children with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, at least in part to Upstate Golisano Children’s participation in ImproveCareNow.

According to the recently released report by U.S. News & World Report (USNWR), ImproveCareNow (ICN) care centers are among the best children’s hospitals, ranking at the top of the Honor Roll and in the Gastroenterology & GI Surgery specialty. USNWR rankings are based on a reputational survey sent to pediatric specialists and a data survey that is sent to a handpicked set of hospitals.

ImproveCareNow (ICN) will move to offering one in-person Community Conference and one Live Online Community Conference (LOCC) each ICN fiscal year. This hybrid conference model will allow the Network to reach and serve a large and distributed community of clinicians, parents/caregivers, patients, researchers & improvers to collaborate and improve care processes and outcomes in pediatric IBD.

The ICN community has benefited from increased and broader participation in our LOCCs over the past several years. We recognize, however, the invaluable connections that are made when we come together in person. We hope that this new model of alternating between in-person and online conferences will enable more participants to engage with each other in the ways that make the most sense for them, to advance our shared mission. We will use these first few years of this new cadence as a test and adapt as needed based on community feedback. 

Kristin Howe, President & Executive Director, ImproveCareNow

In 2021, Executive Leadership and key members of the ImproveCareNow network, completed a successful strategic planning period. Through this planning, the following domains were identified as key focal areas for the next three years: Outcomes; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion or “DEI”; Sustainability; Engagement; Technology.

ImproveCareNow has had enormous success since it began 15 years ago, including increasing remission rates for thousands of young people with IBD, transforming how pediatric IBD care is being provided, enlightening and exciting clinicians and other care providers, and engaging patients and parents in a shared purpose and work. We are pleased to share our ImproveCareNow Annual Update, which includes highlights and achievements from 2021 and plans for our continued work to improve health, care, and costs for young people with IBD in 2022 and beyond.