You have just finished a busy ED shift on a warm summer evening and feel that you have been able to help a lot of people today. You plan to visit a patio and relax as you have earned it! On your way out you overhear a patient and their family members saying that they came to this ED because they heard it was “the best”, and they would never go back to …
QI Series Part 3 | Differentiating Quality Improvement and Clinical Epidemiology
How do Quality Improvement methods differ from classical clinical research? This article is the last in a three-part series on Quality Improvement (QI) in health care. The first article, “What is Quality Improvement?”, defined this field of study and provided a brief history of its origins. The second article defined “quality” and briefly described tools used to achieve improvement. This article seeks to differentiate QI methods and goals from those encountered in clinical …
HiQuiPs (Quality Improvement)
Quality Improvement Quality of Care and the ED Preparation Part 1 – General Considerations for a QI Project in the ED Preparation Part 2 – Stakeholder Engagement and Behaviour Change Preparation Part 3 – Root Cause Analysis QI in the ED – Implementation Part 1. QI Implementation Methodologies QI in the ED – Implementation Part 2. Which Strategy to Choose: PDSA, Lean, or Six Sigma? Quality Improvement Projects and Patient Reported Measures …
QI Series Part 2 | What is “Quality” in health care and how do we achieve it?
This article is the second in a three-part series on quality improvement in health care. The first article, “What is Quality Improvement?”, defined this field of study and provided a brief history of its origins. In this article, we will define “quality” and briefly describe tools often used to achieve improved quality in health-care delivery. What do we mean by “high-quality” care? Health-care organizations around the country are striving to improve the care …
QI Series Part 1 | What is Quality Improvement?
As physicians involved in Quality Improvement (QI) work, we are often asked by colleagues and learners, “What is QI exactly?” And this makes sense, given that few resources exist for those unfamiliar with the concepts and goals of QI. Here, we hope to provide any health-care professional with the introductory knowledge to better understand how and why QI became so important in healthcare, and what this means for the future of health-care delivery. …