Quality Improvement
“Everyone in healthcare really has two jobs when they come to work every day: to do their work and to improve it”.Paul Batalden and Frank Davidoff
Whether thinking about trying out a new idea at work or participating in a formal project, using an improvement roadmap adds structure to your efforts. Setting an aim, picking a couple of measures to track progress towards your aim, and a process to test change ideas are good investments towards understanding the impact of your ideas and demonstrating improvement.The South East Palliative Care Network promotes a quality improvement approach to identifying and addressing gaps in the delivery of palliative care. There are several useful models for making improvements in a system and the Model for Improvement is used by SERPCN Priority Projects.
The first question of the model leads to the creation of an aim statement for the improvement effort; what you want to improve, how much and by when. Next comes identifying the measures that will demonstrate progress toward achieving the aim. And finally, the third question prompts the identification of the changes predicted to lead to improvement and accomplishment of the aim.
A project charter is a place to record your responses to the three questions of the Model for improvement as well as other information about the project.
The Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycle adds structure to testing changes and facilitates learning through asking questions, making predictions, trying the change and reflecting on results. It is a good habit to document tests of change to optimize learning.
There is a wide range of improvement tools that can be used throughout the life of an improvement project. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement offers a QI Toolkit with step-by-step instructions as to when and how to use the tools. To see example of tools and how they are used visit click on the Priority Project Masterdecks below:
• Coordination of Care
• 24/7 Access to Care in the Home
• Better Communication in the Circle of Care
• Hospice Residence
Interested in learning more about QI? Watch for upcoming IDEAS Training in the South East or visit:
Health Quality Ontario
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
Is Your Project Aligned?
Here are some useful resources to inform and align your palliative care improvement projects with the HQO Palliative Care Standard and the Ontario Palliative Care Network's implementation framework:
Health Quality Ontario Palliative Care Standard (Guide)
Health Services Delivery Framework (Coming soon)
Tools to Support Early Identification for Palliative Care (Coming soon)