Would you be interested in an enhanced doctor/patient interaction when visiting your physician? Do you feel rushed through an office visit? Do you ever consider how physician offices can become more efficient? The St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, Primaris (Missouri’s Quality Improvement Organization), and Dartmouth Medical School have been working under a grant sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund to help educate physicians and the community about the Ideal Missouri Practice (IMP).

What is the Ideal Missouri Practice?
The Ideal Missouri Practice (IMP) is a patient-centered, efficient, accountable, and accessible practice style with low overhead. The program is based on extensive testing and work by faculty at Dartmouth Medical School and is the core component of IMP. More than 30 practices nationwide have achieved significantly better results on quality measures such as access, continuity, efficiency, and patient-centered care. Learn more at www.impmo.org.

Physician involvement with IMP
Thirty nine physicians in Missouri are actively enrolled. They include:

• Michael J. Adams, M.D., St. Peters
• Thomas Alderson, M.D., St. Joseph
• Gregory Bailey, M.D., St. Louis
• Peggy Barjenbruch, M.D., Mexico
• Michael Barron, M.D., Belleville, IL
• Aaron Bjorn, D.O., St. Louis
• Christopher Bowe, M.D., St. Louis
• Stephen Christiansen, M.D., Springfield
• Todd Craig, M.D., Washington
• Bridget Early, M.D., Ashland
• Michael Fedak, M.D., St. Louis
• Andrew Grabowski, D.O., St. Louis
• Patrick B. Harr, M.D., Maryville
• Thomas F. Hastings, M.D., Chesterfield
• Felix Herrera, M.D., Chesterfield
• Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D. St. Louis
• Aubra Houchin, D.O., St. Peters
• Gordon Jones, M.D., Sikeston
• Mahrukh Khan, M.D., St. Louis
• Elizabeth Laffey, M.D., St. Louis
• Laura Lasack, M.D., Union
• Armond Levy, M.D., St. Louis
• Tim McCann, M.D., St. Louis
• Kevin Martin, D.O., St. Charles
• Melissa Murray-Bjorn, M.D., St. Louis
• Christopher Normile, M.D., St. Charles
• Miguel Paniagua, M.D., St. Louis
• Randall Qualls, D.O., Lebanon
• Caroline Rudnick, M.D., St. Louis
• Christine Salter, M.D., St. Louis
• Stephen Staten, M.D., St. Louis
• Tania L. Schmid, M.D., Chesterfield
• Kirby Turner, M.D., Poplar Bluff
• Stanley Vriezelaar, M.D., St. Louis
• Charles Wetherington, M.D., St. Louis
• R. Jerome Williams, Jr., M.D., St. Louis
• Susan Yang, M.D., St. Louis
• Paul Young, M.D., St. Louis
• John Zalewski, M.D., St. Louis

The Employer Perspective
IMP supports employers’ goal to achieve dramatic improvements in health care value by making care more patient-centered and consumers more engaged in their care. It aligns with the principles of value-based purchasing by addressing both quality and affordability. Employers have an important role to play by reframing expectations of physicians and understanding the responsibility of maintaining personal health. To view the Employer Guide to the Ideal Missouri Practice click here.

How’s Your Health? (HYH) is IMP’s patient assessment tool designed to help physicians and patients cross the quality chasm by communicating more fully. Completed by consumers, it identifies potential health problems, the patient’s level of functioning, clinical symptoms, and patient satisfaction with care. HYH also provides the individual participant with their own results with online access to educational information specific to those results ---- immediate feedback. Consider using HYH as a vehicle to better understand the health care needs of your employees. Visit www.howsyourhealth.org and compare it to other tools you currently use or have evaluated.