Physicians In Quality Improvement Research Articles

Customised knowledge-sharing platform to foster resident quality improvement activities, tracking and scholarship

IntroductionMeeting accreditation requirements to train resident physicians in quality improvement (QI) may require more than education. Barriers to resident QI engagement underscore the need to demonstrate the impact and value...

Engaging Physicians in Quality Improvement in a Hospital Setting: A Scoping Review.

Health care is at a critical moment. High rates of medical errors and decreasing quality of health care make it crucial that organizations focus on quality improvement (QI). For this work to be successful, it is essential to engage physicians, as they are key decision-makers, leaders, and influencers of care. Despite this fact, few organizations have successfully sustained physician engagement in QI. A scoping review was performed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses model to understand barriers to and strategies for engaging physicians in QI. The most commonly cited strategies were: (1) having engaged and supportive senior leadership and (2) having data support for QI work. Additional strategies included: dedicated time, resources, and education for QI work; financial incentives; clarifying organizational goals; and developing pathways for promotion. A framework was then created to operationalize physician engagement in QI in the organization.

Demonstrating the value of postgraduate fellowships for physicians in quality improvement and patient safety

BackgroundAcademic fellowships in quality improvement (QI) and patient safety (PS) have emerged as one strategy to fill a need for physicians who possess this expertise. The authors aimed to characterise...

Engaging Pediatric Resident Physicians in Quality Improvement Through Resident-Led Morbidity and Mortality Conferences

Increasingly, medical disciplines have used morbidity and mortality conferences (MMCs) to address quality improvement and patient safety (QI/PS), as well as teach systems-based improvement to graduate trainees. The goal of this educational intervention was to establish a pediatric resident physician–led MMC that not only focused on QI/PS principles but also engaged resident physicians in QI/ PS endeavors in their clinical learning environments. Following a needs assessment, pediatric resident physicians at the Stanford University School of Medicine (Stanford, California) established a new MMC model in February 2010 as part of a required QI rotation. Cases were identified, explored, analyzed, and presented by resident physicians using the Johns Hopkins Learning from Defects tool. Discussions during the MMCs were resident physician– directed and systems-based, and resulted in projects to address care delivery. Faculty advisors assessed resident physician comprehension of QI/PS. Conferences were evaluated through the end of the 2012–2013 academic year and outcomes tracked through the 2013–2014 academic year to determine trainee involvement in systems change resulting from the MMCs. The MMC was well received and the number of MMCs increased over time. By the end of the 2013–2014 academic year, resident physicians were involved in address ing 14 systems-based issues resulting from 25 MMCs. Examples of the resident physician–initiated improvement work included increasing use of the rapid response team, institution of a gastrostomy (g)-tube order set, and establishing a face-to-face provider handoff for pediatric ICU–to-acute-care-floor transfers. A resident physician–run MMC exposes resident physicians to QI/PS concepts and principles, enables direct faculty assessment of QI/PS knowledge, and can propel resident physicians into real-time engagement in the culture of safety in a complex hospital environment.

The Physician Quality Improvement Initiative: Engaging Physicians in Quality Improvement, Patient Safety, Accountability and their Provision of High-Quality Patient Care.

University Health Network has been working to become a high-reliability organization, with a focus on safe, quality patient care. In response, the Medical Affairs Department has implemented several strategic initiatives to drive accountability, quality improvement and engagement with our physician population. One of these initiatives, the Physician Quality Improvement Initiative (PQII) is a physician-led project designed to provide active medical staff, in collaboration with their physician department chiefs, a comprehensive approach to focused and practical quality improvement in their practice. In this document, we outline the project, including its implementation strategy, logic model and outcomes, and provide discussion on how it fits into UHN's global strategy to provide safe, quality patient care.

Providing Educational Content and Context for Training the Next Generation of Physicians in Quality Improvement.

Amid calls for graduate medical education (GME) to better prepare a workforce that can address growing challenges in health care quality and cost, institutions must find ways to more effectively educate and engage housestaff in quality improvement (QI) initiatives. Although the benefits for trainees and institutions alike can be significant, creating and maintaining successful strategies has proven challenging. Multiple barriers (e.g., variable backgrounds and needs of trainees) have clouded the educational and clinical effectiveness of many efforts. Recent findings suggest that trainee engagement in QI is lacking and that contextual support for practice-based learning and systems-based practice is often suboptimal.Meaningful GME reform must include changes in how institutions approach QI education, particularly in how they create appropriate learning environments for trainees. Institutions can achieve these goals and foster a positive QI culture by aligning housestaff QI teaching with institutional priorities in several ways. First, they can create common, institutional-level QI curricula to standardize expectations for learners across training levels and specialties. Second, they can engage housestaff in ongoing institutional QI efforts by encouraging these trainees to develop and execute QI projects or assemble QI-focused groups that include faculty and institutional leaders. Third, institutions can appoint housestaff to institutional QI committees and have housestaff groups review and endorse proposed QI initiatives to enhance operational decision making. Institutions can leverage the new Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Clinical Learning Environment Review program to implement these strategies, measure progress, and realize important gains in housestaff QI education.

Engaging Residents and Fellows to Improve Institution-Wide Quality

Teaching hospitals strive to engage physicians in quality improvement (QI), and graduate medical education (GME) programs must promote trainee competence in systems-based practice (SBP). The authors developed a QI incentive program that engages residents and fellows, providing them with financial incentives to improve quality while simultaneously gaining SBP experience. In this study, they describe and evaluate success in meeting goals set during the program's first six years. During fiscal years (FYs) 2007-2012, QI project goals for all or specific training programs were set collaboratively with residents and fellows at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Data were collected from administrative databases, via chart abstraction, or through independently designed techniques. Approximately 5,275 residents and fellows were eligible and participated in the program. A total of 55 projects were completed. Among the 18 all-program projects, goals were achieved for 11 (61%) in three domains: patient satisfaction, quality/safety, and operation/utilization. Among the 37 program-specific projects, goals were achieved for 28 (76%) in four categories: patient-level interventions, enhanced communication, workflow improvements, and effective documentation. Residents and fellows earned an average of $800 in bonuses/FY for achieving these goals. Thousands of residents and fellows across disciplines participated in real-life, real-time QI during the program's first six years. Participation provided an experience that may promote SBP competence and resulted in improved quality of care across the UCSF Medical Center. Similar programs may assist teaching hospitals and GME programs in meeting current and future QI and training mandates.

Engaging Primary Care Physicians in Quality Improvement: Lessons From a Payer-Provider Partnership

A health insurer in Michigan, through its Physician Group Incentive Program, engaged providers across the state in a collection of financially incentivized initiatives to transform primary care and improve quality. We investigated physicians' and other program stakeholders' perceptions of the program through semistructured interviews with more than 80 individuals. We found that activities across five areas contributed to successful provider engagement: (1) developing a vision of improving primary care, (2) deliberately fostering practice-practice partnerships, (3) using existing infrastructure, (4) leveraging resources and market share, and (5) managing program trade-offs. Our research highlights effective strategies for engaging primary care physicians in program design and implementation processes and creating learning communities to support quality improvement and practice change.

PRACTITIONER APPLICATION: Engaging Primary Care Physicians in Quality Improvement: Lessons From a Payer-Provider Partnership

PRACTITIONER APPLICATION: Engaging Primary Care Physicians in Quality Improvement: Lessons From a Payer-Provider Partnership

The Relationship Between Perceived Practice Quality and Quality Improvement Activities and Physician Practice Dissatisfaction, Professional Isolation, and Work-Life Stress

The importance of physician well-being has been well-documented. However, little is known about how physicians' self-reported quality improvement (QI) activities and quality of care are related to their practice dissatisfaction, professional isolation, and work-life stress. We surveyed a random sample of 1884 physicians in Massachusetts by mail and assessed their practices' participation in QI activities and quality of care, as well as their feelings of professional isolation, work-life stress, and practice dissatisfaction. A total of 1345 physicians responded (71.4% response rate). Most respondents reported QI activities in their practices (85%) and subsequent evaluation of these activities (62%). Approximately one-third (33%) reported quality problems in their practice. In linear regression analyses, the presence of quality problems was independently associated with increased professional isolation, work-life stress, and practice dissatisfaction. In contrast, physicians from practices that were involved in the evaluation of QI activities had significantly less isolation, stress, and dissatisfaction. Participation in QI activities was also independently associated with less dissatisfaction. A substantial fraction of physicians reported moderate to severe problems with isolation (17%), work-life stress (31%), and dissatisfaction (27%). Substantial practice dissatisfaction, professional isolation, and work-life stress are experienced by physicians and they seem to be inversely correlated with QI activities. Physicians who perceive quality problems in their practices are more likely to experience dissatisfaction, isolation, and stress. Efforts to engage physicians in QI and systems change should assess how these programs affect physicians themselves and the care that they deliver.

Physician Quality Officer: A New Model for Engaging Physicians in Quality Improvement

The slow progress in health care quality improvement and patient safety in America can be attributed, in part, to the challenge of physician engagement. As multidisciplinary patient-centered care becomes the standard, it is essential to integrate physicians into this process. To this end, the UMass Memorial Medical Center redesigned its Physician Quality Officer (PQO) program in 2007. The PQOs of the UMass Memorial Medical Center, who are all practicing clinicians, are fully compensated for their time and effort, trained in safety science, and teamed with other members of the department of quality and patient safety. Over the first year of the new program, the PQOs have successfully led major hospital initiatives in areas such as surgical care improvement, critical values reporting, and medication reconciliation. In this article, the authors describe the challenges and insights in the development and implementation of this new program.

Academic quality improvement: new medicine in old bottles.

Academic medical centers and clinicians have been slow to embrace continuous quality improvement. The Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York has created a new Department of Health Policy that combines an academic research mission with an administrative mission to demonstrate improving quality of care. This article discusses the conceptual framework that undergirds this new effort, its organizational structure and initial agenda of activities, and why we believe it will succeed in engaging academic physicians in quality improvement.