Provide Consultation:  VIMI provides staff expertise or identifies local experts to serve as quality advisors and consultants on the issues associated with our 10th SOW aims.  VIMI identifies leaders and resources at state/territory agency programs, civic associations, social and religious organizations, patient advocacy groups, disease awareness programs, private health insurers, innovators, thought leaders and researchers.  The QIO catalogues the resource list for use by Learning and Action Networks, collaboratives and others in need of technical assistance related to local area resources.

Knowledge Management:  VIMI provides technical assistance to providers, facilities and partners requesting assistance in order to facilitate improvement through the sharing of knowledge, enthusiasm, confidence and follow up so that change is not only possible, but also sustainable. In partnership with, and as a local voice for conveying information from our National Coordinating Center, VIMI ensures relevant and up-to-date, evidence-based information as well as innovative approaches suggested by leaders in the field and catalogued by the QIO to make available to the local provider community.

Face-to-Face and Hands-On Teaching and Information Exchange: For certain activities identified by CMS, VIMI provides onsite teaching or mentoring: Providing initial training concerning potential intervention strategies based on literature, innovation developed by a collaborator or intervention developed by consensus of the local provider community, or interventions based on other local provider communities’ special projects and other prior work, and insights from experts. Provides teaching adaptations of major intervention strategies for use in special populations when experience or evidence indicates a need and opportunity, attending to such populations as the chronically mentally ill, patients that have dual eligibility, racial or ethnic minorities, low-income, rural, or long-term disability.

Sustainable Infrastructure: A spread effort is successful only when the new ideas or practices become the way an organization “does its business.” Transferring the responsibility for facilitating the adoption of change from a QIO to a provider, provider group or health care system is essential. Planning for adoption and spread must include training and new skill development, supporting people in new behaviors that reinforce the new practices, problem solving, and assignment of responsibility. VIMI ensures that each initiative includes a sustainability plan and the QIO works to achieve consensus among participants so that the quality improvement efforts will continue as the need continues.

Data: VIMI identifies pertinent data resources available to support the local provider community. This includes claims data, data organized by other contractors, data available from the CDC, NIH, World Health Organization, and Census Bureau, the community information available through the coordinating center, the Centers for Medicare Management and Innovation (CMMI) and AHRQ.

VIMI conducts data analysis and develops meaningful data reports to be used by the local provider community, Learning and Action Networks and breakthrough initiatives.