News

Saturday, May 19th is World IBD Day - a day set aside for raising awareness about Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (together known and Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD).  These chronic illnesses affect millions of people worldwide and currently there is no cure.  In the United States kids with Crohn’s and colitis have a better chance at remission.

Recognizing the importance of the work of ImproveCareNow and the C3N Project, the Wall Street Journal has published a major article today, in print and online, describing innovative approaches developed by the C3N Project for patients and families in the ImproveCareNow Network.

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 is pleased to report that a recently completed survey shows that the 29 participating sites of ImproveCareNow have approximately 270 physicians and nearly 10,000 patients. The Advanced Track teams, which began the collaborative in 2007, have about 3,000 patients and currently 2,200 (71%) of them are enrolled.  The Foundations Track Teams, began in 2008, and have about 7,000 patients and are just beginning to enroll them.  

Below is a summary of the Enhanced Registries grant

Building Modular Chronic Disease Registries for QI and Comparative Effectiveness Research

     A learning healthcare system comprises a community of front-line clinicians, patients, and scientists who view each clinical encounter as an opportunity to learn and to improve patient outcomes.  In its most advanced state, it combines comparative effectiveness (CE) research with quality improvement (QI) science to ensure the delivery of new knowledge at the point of care. 

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.