Alexandria, VA, February 6, 2018 — The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA), representing providers and suppliers of home and specialty infusion therapy and Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP), a healthcare data and technology services company and affiliate of Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (MHA), have agreed to collaborate on the collection of clinical and business performance data to support the development of national standards that will improve the quality of patient care and support the overall advancement of the home and specialty infusion industry.

The partnership between NHIA and SHP supports the association’s longstanding Data Initiative effort created to collect and report patient outcomes data in a standardized manner and to provide the industry with the tools needed to establish national benchmarks for home infusion quality. Utilizing its web-based, automated, real-time data solution for home infusion pharmacies, SHP will work with NHIA to collect, aggregate, and report data from any eligible provider that can be used to establish future national standards for the field.

SHP has been collecting outcomes data and performing patient satisfaction surveys for the home infusion industry for more than 15 years. In 2017, it replaced its proprietary home infusion patient satisfaction survey with NHIA’s validated survey tool for measuring the home infusion patient experience. The survey questions represent a major advancement for home infusion providers and will likely serve as one of the first benchmarking opportunities for home infusion providers. Additionally, SHP updated its SHP for Home Infusion software product to align with NHIA’s standardized patient outcomes definitions to further support the industry-wide move to quality measurement, benchmarking, and value-based care.

“Our shared vision of improving patient care by tracking clinical, financial, demographic and utilization data, and optimizing performance of infusion pharmacies is what brought SHP and NHIA together. We are pleased to be collaborating with the association on this initiative to provide NHIA members with the tools and data they need to further support their care of patients,” said SHP President Rob Paulsson.

”Almost every home and specialty infusion provider collects quality data as part of their regular performance improvement activities. We are pleased to work with SHP to facilitate the creation of national quality standards while maintaining NHIA’s neutrality and ensuring the security and privacy for members who participate in our data activities,“ said NHIA Vice President of Research and Innovation Connie Sullivan. ”We look forward to providing more information about our joint effort to infusion providers over the next several months. NHIA encourages providers to work with the association and SHP in their efforts to collect relevant data that will support activities related to education, development of best practices, advocacy, and other data-driven efforts that promote the advancement of the field.

About the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA)

NHIA is a trade association that represents companies that provide infusion therapy to home-based patients as well as companies that manufacture and supply infusion and specialty pharmacy products. Infusion therapy involves patient-specific compounded medications, supplies, and a range of pharmacy, nursing, and other clinical services for delivering care to patients in the home setting. For more information, visit the association at: www.nhia.org.

About SHP

Strategic Healthcare Programs (SHP), an affiliate of Managed Health Care Associates, Inc. (MHA), is a leader in data analytics and benchmarking that drive daily clinical and operational decisions. Its solutions bring real-time data to post-acute providers, hospitals, physician groups and ACOs to better coordinate quality care and improve patient outcomes. Since 1998, SHP has helped more than 6,500 organizations nationwide raise the bar for healthcare performance. For more information, visit: www.shpdata.com