News

When physicians work together it can accelerate improvements in quality of care.  That’s the lesson from a new study by ImproveCareNow, a national quality improvement and research network. The study, published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is now available online and is scheduled to appear in their printed journal in April 2012.

CIRCLE is a new eNewsletter that is being published by ImproveCareNow - an established network of pediatric gastroenterology care centers dedicated to improving care and outcomes of kids with Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis.  

The patient voice is one to be heard. In 2011, the Patient Advisory Council (PAC) for theImproveCareNow Network was established to provide valuable input and act as an advocate, as well as serve as a resource and co-designer for the Collaborative Chronic Care Network (C3N).

ImproveCareNow is wrapping up a week-long media campaign, delivered in partnership with the C3N│Collaborative Chronic Care Network. Our campaign aimed to engage our supporters to share their voices and stories; to help expand our circle and raise awareness about Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis during the first annual Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week (December 1 – 7). 

ImproveCareNow is pleased and proud to introduce an excellent new self-management resource for young patients and their families who are living with Crohn’s Disease and ulcerative colitis (Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD). Living Well with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Self-Management Handbook for Patients & Families with IBD, or “the Handbook”, is a comprehensive resource for patients and families who are learning about these conditions.  

ImproveCareNow makes its abstracts available on its website. These abstracts, authored by a collaboration of researchers, physicians, and quality improvement experts dedicated to helping children and adolescents with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, have been presented at national scientific meetings such as the 2009 NASPGHAN Annual Meeting and Advances in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Conference, among others.

ImproveCareNow is pleased to announce that two additional hospitals will be joining the ImproveCareNow Collaborative Network, including the first site from outside the US Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London, England, with Physician Leader Mamoun Elawad, will be joining the Collaborative.

• Dr. Elawad will be attending the Learning Session in Chicago this weekend with two other members of the GOSH core QI team, Nikki Acton and Sibongile Chadokufa.

To determine the potential effectiveness of programs such as ImproveCareNow, it's important to understand how care is provided in the absense of such programs. The study found that there are significant variations in care, and that gaps exist between recommended and actual care.  An abstract of the study is provided below, followed by a link to the full article on the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition web site.

Watch ImproveCareNow physician Dr. Chris Forrest present via web/NIH VideoCast for the Conference on Methodological Challenges in Comparative Effectiveness Research, December 2-3, 2010. Please find below the details for accessing the video.

The Children's Hospital in Denver, Colorado, which made Honor Roll as one of the nation’s ten best pediatric hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2009 edition of America's Best Children’s Hospitals, joins Improve Care Now. By joining Improve Care Now, The Children's Hospital participates in the nationwide collaboration of medical care facilities dedicated to helping children and adolescents with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease get better.