Application Of Quality Improvement Methodology Research Articles

A qualitative study of adult protection procedures: threshold screening of new referrals by designated adult safeguarding practitioners

Purpose This qualitative study set within Northern Ireland aims to explore professional perspectives on the application of evidence-informed practice to the adult safeguarding threshold screening process. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from seven social workers in one health and social care trust area, who perform the designated adult protection role, through individual semi-structured interviews in one region of Northern Ireland. The interview schedule comprised of a series of questions examining the role of the designated adult protection officer and included three vignettes (Appendix). A thematic analysis was undertaken using NVIVO software. Findings This paper reports main findings under the themes of: the role of the designated adult protection officer, threshold decision-making, evidence-informed practice and service improvement. One of the main findings was that professionals viewed the current process as too bureaucratic, and there was a desire to engage in more preventive safeguarding in collaboration with service users. There was a need to promote awareness of evidence-informed practice as it applies to the threshold screening process. Furthermore, the study raised the question of the need to consider the application of models or methods of assessment to the threshold screening process. Originality/value This in-depth exploration of the role of designated adult protection officers in Northern Ireland provides a valuable insight into the complexity involved in managing adult safeguarding referrals and investigations. This study adds to the existing knowledge base, identifies potential service improvements and highlights the gap in evidence-based practice as it applies to the threshold screening process. Threshold screening of adult safeguarding referrals remains a subjective process and is open to interpretation and differences in professional judgement. The study highlights the need to consider the application of quality improvement methodology to the threshold screening assessment and the need to promote the exchange of safeguarding knowledge.

Addressing ethical clinical dilemmas with quality improvement methodology

Application of Quality Improvement methodology to nuanced clinical scenarios may be useful to ensure consistent delivery of equitable and comprehensive care. The purpose of this article is to inform the pediatric surgical readership of opportunities where quality improvement methodology may aid in navigating ethical nuances of complex surgical care. We present three case scenarios and discuss how quality improvement methodology could be utilized to address issues of provider autonomy, patient autonomy, and justice.

Culture as infrastructure in learning health systems.

Building Learning Health Systems requires the combination of information, regulatory, and cultural infrastructures that create communities focused on changing health outcomes through the application of quality improvement methodology, focused data collection, closed feedback loops, and community‐participatory techniques. Accomplishing the vision of the Learning Health System relies on building robust infrastructures, and teaching a wide variety of stakeholders to participate in these novel socio‐technical systems. In this commentary, I draw on empirical examples from fieldwork with Learning Networks to describe how social scientists view culture and what this concept might hold for learning health sciences.

Development and Progress of a Collaborative Learning Model for Quality Improvement in the Field of Palliative Care in India.

Quality is central to healthcare and even more so in the field of palliative care. Palliative care approach is centered around discovering facets of care crucial to improving the quality of life of the patient; be it symptom control, emotional concerns, impact on social roles or reviving the sense of spiritual connectedness. Although there are essential and desirable standards for quality of services, the journey taken by a service, toward quality improvement (QI), is often complex and uncharted. It is up to individual service units to strive toward improvement and reach higher levels of quality. Evidence suggests using a structured methodology for successful improvement in healthcare quality, as most problems are complex and multifaceted. This article introduces the concept and application of QI methodology in the field of palliative care in India and provides an overview of the first cohort of QI projects, facilitated through an international collaborative. The sequence of training, the tools, and the key ingredients for success are enumerated.

P192 Crystallising care: improving hospital gout management

Abstract Background Gout is the most common cause of a hot swollen joint, and a major contributor to inpatient rheumatology workload. Recently published data demonstrated that hospital admissions due to gout increased by 59% in England from 2006 - 2017. The mean length of stay for a gout admission was 6 days in 2017; a figure that has not changed significantly over the last decade. We hypothesised that a key contributing factor to prolonged hospital stays in patients presenting with gout attacks is delayed joint aspiration and synovial fluid analysis. We investigated time to joint aspiration, and time taken to obtain a crystal analysis result, in acute rheumatology referrals at a large tertiary centre. Methods Electronic Health Records (EHR) system data were accessed for all joint aspirate crystal analyses in a 4-month window in 2017. EHR system documentation contains all clinical notes, electronic referrals, and laboratory requests with indicative coded timestamps. Pre- and post-aspirate differential diagnoses were compiled from the clinical record. Manual verification of the clinical records ascertained whether there was any delay in discharge pertaining to a crystal analysis. For representation, time figures were rounded to the nearest hour. Results Over a 4-month period, 38 patients who had been referred to the inpatient rheumatology team at King’s College Hospital had crystal analysis performed following joint aspiration; 24 from an emergency department setting, and 14 from an inpatient ward setting. The proportions of these cases by articular distribution (with the specific joint aspirated in brackets) were: 55% monoarthritis (knee), 16% oligoarthritis (knee), 16% polyarthritis (knee), 10% polyarthritis (wrist), 3% monoarthritis (elbow). Mean time from rheumatology referral to joint aspiration was 7 hours (range 1-21; median 5; IQR 3-8). The mean time from sample acquisition to crystal analysis result was 20 hours (range 1-95; median 16; IQR 4-21). Discharges for 17/38 (45%) patients were pending crystal analysis results, of which 10/17 (59%) patients were discharged without results. Rheumatology clinician pre-test diagnostic accuracy was 55%. Comparing pre-aspirate diagnosis with final diagnosis, proportionately septic arthritis was over-diagnosed, whilst gout was under-diagnosed. Conclusion Gout remains a difficult condition to promptly differentiate and treat in hospital. Clinician workload and joint aspiration burden are rising due to global incidence trends. A move to establish a “7-day NHS” and significant bed pressures have developed since the British Society for Rheumatology (BSR) hot swollen joint guideline was published. In our centre, inadequate crystal diagnostics appear to be driving prolonged length of stay. Further evaluation of causal factors in the delay of recognition, referral and diagnostics is required. Through application of quality improvement methodology, process-mapping and driver diagrams we plan to implement a point-of-care testing (POCT) and door-to-needle (DTN) programme, researching how to improve the gout patient’s experience. Disclosures B.D. Clarke None. M.D. Russell None. A.I. Rutherford None. J.B. Galloway None. J. Stack None.

Wessex Acute Frailty Audit: applying quality improvement methodology to design and implement a regional frailty audit using a collaborative, multiprofessional approach

IntroductionAn acute hospital stay increases the risk of negative outcomes for those living with frailty. This paper describes the application of quality improvement methodology to design and implement a regional...

Successful Increase of Outpatient Clinic Continuity in a Fellowship Quality Improvement Project.

Patient-to-physician continuity is the result of coordinated and consistent care. Optimizing continuity can be a challenge in medical training without impacting work hours. We sought to use quality improvement science during graduate medical training to increase outpatient continuity. The primary goal was to improve outpatient continuity in our pediatric cardiology fellowship, without increasing trainee clinic hours, from a baseline of 38% to ≥70% within 18 months. Our fellowship conducted a quality improvement project across 3 years to improve continuity-of-care in our outpatient clinic using the Institute for Healthcare Improvement model for improvement. We conducted Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles and completed a key driver diagram using a multidisciplinary team. We defined continuity as a patient being evaluated by their primary fellow or a different fellow that was provided a handoff. The outcome measure was the continuity rate over 2-week periods. Continuity improved from 38% to ≥80%. The improvement resulted from a series of interventions, including creating a handoff system among fellows, identifying follow-up patients in advance, and communicating this information to the clinic team. Although we anticipated a decrease when new fellows were incorporated, continuity continued to be ≥70%. This system retained continuity above 90% one year after completion of the project. Our fellowship created a system change to improve primary patient-to-fellow continuity care rates. We achieved sustainable continuity by working with a multidisciplinary team without altering staffing, infrastructure, or fellow work hours. This project engaged trainees to address the practical application of quality improvement methodology to solve a common clinical problem.

The Application of Quality Improvement Methodologies to the Transformation of a Clinical Care Guideline (ccg) Program: Standardizing Standardization

The Application of Quality Improvement Methodologies to the Transformation of a Clinical Care Guideline (ccg) Program: Standardizing Standardization

The application of quality improvement methodologies in surgery

Quality improvement (QI) practices were originally developed in the manufacturing industry to reduce unnecessary steps in a process, minimize error, and provide maximum benefit to the consumer. QI is defined as a formal approach to the analysis of performance and systemic efforts to improve it. QI methodologies have been adopted by industries outside manufacturing, including healthcare. In the healthcare environment, performance consists of many factors including patient safety, clinical results, and system efficiency. Given the publicly funded, limited resource environment in which the Canadian healthcare system operates, the practice of delivering safe, quality healthcare in an efficient and cost-effective manner is an important factor in promoting the economic viability and sustainability of the system. Surgical practice has been identified as an area in which QI methodologies can be applied, given its resource intensive nature and highly regulated environment. Current research supports the use of QI in surgery, with interventions showing improvements in non-operativetime, on-time starts, and operating room patient volume. Limitations to the application of QI include the heterogeneity of interventions and variability in terms of procedures and patient factors. Further high-quality studies are required to support evidence-based applications of QI in the surgical setting as well as the greater healthcare environment.

Systematic review of the application of quality improvement methodologies from the manufacturing industry to surgical healthcare1)

Systematic review of the application of quality improvement methodologies from the manufacturing industry to surgical healthcare1)

Systematic review of the application of quality improvement methodologies from the manufacturing industry to surgical healthcare

The demand for the highest-quality patient care coupled with pressure on funding has led to the increasing use of quality improvement (QI) methodologies from the manufacturing industry. The aim of this systematic review was to identify and evaluate the application and effectiveness of these QI methodologies to the field of surgery. MEDLINE, the Cochrane Database, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, British Nursing Index, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Embase, Health Business(™) Elite, the Health Management Information Consortium and PsycINFO(®) were searched according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Empirical studies were included that implemented a described QI methodology to surgical care and analysed a named outcome statistically. Some 34 of 1595 articles identified met the inclusion criteria after consensus from two independent investigators. Nine studies described continuous quality improvement (CQI), five Six Sigma, five total quality management (TQM), five plan-do-study-act (PDSA) or plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycles, five statistical process control (SPC) or statistical quality control (SQC), four Lean and one Lean Six Sigma; 20 of the studies were undertaken in the USA. The most common aims were to reduce complications or improve outcomes (11), to reduce infection (7), and to reduce theatre delays (7). There was one randomized controlled trial. QI methodologies from industry can have significant effects on improving surgical care, from reducing infection rates to increasing operating room efficiency. The evidence is generally of suboptimal quality, and rigorous randomized multicentre studies are needed to bring evidence-based management into the same league as evidence-based medicine.

Applying Quality Improvement Methods to Implement a Measurement System for Chronic Pain-Related Disability

This article describes the application of quality improvement methodology to implement a measurement tool for the assessment of functional status in pediatric patients with chronic pain referred for behavioral intervention. The Functional Disability Inventory (FDI), a validated instrument for assessment of pain-related disability, was chosen as the primary clinical outcome measure. Using improvement science methodology, PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycles were run to evaluate: (a) regular FDI administration, (b) two administration methods, (c) regular patient feedback, and (d) documentation methods. Within 1 month, psychologists were administering the FDI at least 80% of the time to patients. A high level of reliability using two administration methods (92.8%) was demonstrated. The FDI was feasible to integrate into clinical practice. Modifications to electronic records further enhanced clinician reliability of documentation. Quality improvement methods are an innovative way to make process changes in pediatric psychology settings to dependably gather and document evidence-based patient outcomes.