Benchmarking is generally considered to be an important tool for quality improvement. Traditional approaches to benchmarking have relied on subjective identification of 'leaders in the field'. We derive an objective, reproducible and attainable Achievable Benchmark of Care (ABC) by measuring and analysing performance on process-of-care indicators. Three characteristics of the ABC that we deem essential are: (1) benchmarks represent a measurable level of excellence; (2) benchmarks are demonstrably attainable; (3) benchmarks are derived from data in an objective, reproducible and predetermined fashion. From these characteristics it follows that (4) providers with high performance are selected to define a level of excellence in a predetermined fashion, but (5) providers with high performance on small numbers of cases do not influence unduly benchmark levels. We use the 'pared mean' to operationalize the ABC. Roughly, the pared mean summarizes the performance of top-ranked providers whereby at least 10% of the patient pool across all providers is included. Bayesian estimators for adjustment of performance of providers with small sample sizes are used to rank providers. Randomized controlled trials to assess the independent effect of the ABC in quality improvement projects are under way. We have developed a methodology objectively and reproducibly to derive a level of excellent, attainable performance, based on measured performance by a group of providers. The ABC can be applied to groups of providers in communities, to institutions and departments within them, or to individual practitioners.

Context Antenatal corticosteroids for fetal maturation have been underused, despite evidence for their benefits in cases of preterm birth. Objective To evaluate dissemination strategies aimed at increasing appropriate use of this therapy. Design and Setting Twenty-seven tertiary care institutions were randomly assigned to either usual dissemination of practice recommendations (n = 14) or usual dissemination plus an active, focused dissemination effort (n = 13). Subjects Obstetricians and their preterm delivery cases at participating hospitals. Intervention Recommendations by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference held in late February-early March 1994 were disseminated in early May 1994. Usual dissemination was publication of the recommendations and endorsement by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Active dissemination was a year-long educational effort led by an influential physician and a nurse coordinator at each facility, consisting of grand rounds, a chart reminder system, group discussion of case scenarios, monitoring, and feedback. Main Outcome Measure Use or nonuse of antenatal corticosteroids was abstracted from medical records of eligible women delivering at the participating hospitals in the 12 months immediately prior to release of the NIH recommendations (average number of records abstracted, 130) and in the 12 months following their release (average number of records abstracted, 122). Results Active dissemination significantly increased the odds of corticosteroid use after the conference. Use increased from 33.0% of eligible patients receiving corticosteroids to 57.6%, or by 75% over baseline, in usual dissemination hospitals. Use increased from 32.9% to 68.3%, or an 108% increase, in active dissemination hospitals. Gestational age and maternal diagnosis affected use of the therapy in complex ways. Conclusion An active, focused dissemination effort increased the effectiveness of usual dissemination methods when combined with key principles to change physician practices.

Background Vulnerabilities in the medication management process can lead to serious patient harm. In intensive care units (ICUs), nurses represent the last line of defense against medication errors. Proactive risk assessment (PRA) offers methods for determining how processes can break down and how people involved in such processes can contribute to or recover from a breakdown. Such methods can also be used to identify ICU nurses’ contribution to the quality and safety of medication management. Methods A PRA method was conducted in a cardiovascular ICU to identify and evaluate failure modes in the nursing medication management process. The contributing factors to the failure modes and the recovery processes used by nurses were also characterized. Results A total of 54 failure modes were identified across the seven steps of the medication management process. For the 4 most critical failure modes, nurses listed 21 contributing factors and 21 recovery processes. Ways were identified to redesign the medication management process, one of which consists of dealing with work system factors that contribute to the most critical failure modes. Conclusions From a data-analysis viewpoint, the PRA method permits one to address a variety of objectives. Different scoring methods can be used to focus on either frequency or criticality of failure modes; one may also focus on a specific step of the process under study. Developing efforts towards eliminating or mitigating contributing factors would help reduce the criticality of the failure modes in terms of their likelihood and impact on patients and/or nurses. Developing systems to support the recovery processes used by nurses may be another approach to process redesign.

The influence of physician opinion leaders was unequivocally positive for only one of five quality indicators. To maximize adherence to best practices through physician opinion leaders, more research on how these physicians influence health care delivery in their organizations will be required.

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This paper introduces an analytical framework for assessing the cost-effectiveness of intervention strategies to reduce total joint replacement (TJR) readmissions. In such a framework, a machine learning-based readmission risk prediction model is developed to predict an individual TJR patient's risk of hospital readmission within 90 days post-discharge. Specifically, through data sampling and boosting techniques, we overcome the class imbalance problem by iteratively building an ensemble of models. Then, utilizing the results of the predictive model, and by taking into account the imbalanced misclassification costs between readmitted and non-readmitted patients, a cost analysis framework is introduced to support decision making in selecting cost-effective intervention policies. Finally, using this framework, a case study at a community hospital is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the analysis.

Background A two-year quality improvement campaign at a single teaching hospital was launched to improve the identification, documentation, and treatment of pressure ulcers (PUs) after Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) declared severe hospital-acquired PUs are “never-events.” Method The campaign included (1) reference materials, (2) new documentation templates, (3) staff education, and (4) hospital-wide mattress replacement. An ongoing retrospective chart review of frail older patients determined the presence of PU documentation, which provider (nurse or physician) documented the PU, and which descriptors (stage, size, or location) were used. Results The campaign significantly increased the proportion of PUs completely documented by nurses from 27% to 55% following mattress replacement and resident education (OR 3.68, p = 0.001, 95% CI: 1.68–8.08). A similar improvement was observed for physician documentation increasing from 12% to 36% following the same interventions however this change was not statistically significant (OR 2.11, p = 0.12, 95% CI: 0.82–5.39). These improvements were short-lived due to the implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) for nursing notes. Although the percentage of PUs completely documented by nurses decreased following EMR implementation, it increased in the following months, above the pre-campaign baseline as nurses adapted to the new documentation system. However, after EMR implementation, complete PU documentation by physicians fell to a nadir of 0% and did not recover. Discussion A multi-component campaign to improve the quality of PU documentation by both physicians and nurses can yield positive gains. However, these improvements were short-lived due to EMR implementation, which acutely worsened documentation of PUs. This emphasizes the importance of frequent and repeated interventions to sustain quality improvement successes.

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