Quality improvement

Abstract

Quality improvement (QI) is a core component of health care and is the process by which providers and organizations strive to improve outcomes, decrease cost, improve accessibility, and enhance the care experience for providers and staff. There are four key principles that guide improvement projects: health care is a complex system, the focus is on the patient, teamwork is crucial, and data are essential. Several QI models and frameworks have applicability in health care. The Model for Improvement is focused on accelerating improvement through repeated Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. Lean seeks to reduce waste in a system and bring value to the customer, while Six Sigma is employed to decrease variability in a process. Learning to manage change and data is critical for successful quality improvement initiatives. With the move from performance-based to value-based payment models, health-care providers will need to become adept with quality improvement skills.