As part of our PCMH transformation, Pediatric Medicine of Wallingford is measuring outcomes and we will be sharing quality-improvement data with our patients periodically.
For example, our current HPV vaccination rate for 18-year-old patients is close to 75%. This is not bad, but given the known benefits of HPV for cancer prevention, we are hoping to improve that rate over time.
We are also working hard to improve resource stewardship measures, like the proper use of antibiotic medications. Our current rate of appropriate treatment for viral upper respiratory infections (meaning antibiotics were not given in cases of non-bacterial illness) is about 95%, which is a respectable number but there is still room for improvement.
Lastly, in a recent set of patient satisfaction surveys, a small number of families requested shorter wait times for scheduling well visits, which is very understandable. We are happy to report that our newest provider, Dr Sarah Baum, will be joining us in the office starting in January. Sarah will have lots of room in her schedule for seeing patients who need checkups and we expect wait times for these appointments to decrease substantially.
We will continue to monitor these and other quality metrics over time. Please let us know if you have any questions about PCMH or quality improvement measures.