In this video, we will be reviewing how to
use data and measures to evaluate success of an improvement effort.
My name is Julia Kim and I'm a faculty member at
the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in
Pediatrics and the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality.
I serve as the Associate Vice Chair of Ambulatory Quality and Safety and the
Co-Director of the Armstrong Institute Patient Safety and Quality Leadership Academy.
I have worked on both outpatient and inpatient quality improvement projects.
When discussing data and measures,
it's always good to go back to definitions.
What is quality improvement?
The Health Resources and Services Administration defines
quality improvement as systematic and continuous actions that lead
to measurable improvement in health care services and
measurable improvement in the health status of targeted patient groups.
So, we can see that measurement is the foundation and the basis for quality improvement.
There are several frameworks for quality improvement.
One, is the Lean Sigma framework,
where you define a problem,
measure, analyze, improve and then control and sustain your improvement.
There's also the Institute for Healthcare Improvement,
with the three big questions addressing the aim,
measures, and ideas for change and
then the plan to study act cycles for continuous improvement.
There's also the translating evidence into practice or TRIP model,
where one summarizes the evidence,
identifies local barriers and implementation,
measure performance and ensures that all patients receive interventions.
In each of these frameworks and other frameworks as well,
you can see that measurement plays an important role,
an important step in your approach to quality improvement.
In defining your problem and in defining your aim for your quality improvement project,
it is always good to consider the Institute of Medicine Aims for Improvement,
as outlined in the 2001 Crossing the Quality Chasm report,
that outlined the aims for Healthcare Improvement to be safe,
effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, and equitable.
Similarly, it's also helpful to think about
your aim and couch it as a smart aim and for it to be specific,
measurable, achievable, realistic, and relevant, and timely.