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Improving the Quality of Pediatric Healthcare through Quality Improvement Collaboratives

  • Quality Improvement (DH Davis and J Lavelle, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Pediatrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

Purpose of review This review summarizes the current need for Quality Improvement Collaboratives (QICs) and includes considerations specific to pediatric healthcare, such as low-frequency of outcomes and unique funding barriers. This review will consider nuances within measure formation and data collection within QICs, available models for structured formation of a QIC, components that are integral to a QICs success, as well as lessons learned and future directions.Recent findings The literature has demonstrated an increase in the number of pediatric QI collaboratives in recent years. These collaboratives have varied in size, duration, and composition of team members. While some QICs have included members at the organizational level, others have included more novel groups such as insurance companies. Novel methodologies have also been utilized such as N of 1 trials focused on continued interventions for one patient and provider dyad. Successful QICs include use of a steering committee or pre-planning group to guide measures development, use of robust QI methodology to implement small tests of change and continuous feedback of individual and aggregate data and transparency among benchmarking sites. Ideal QI methods for use within QICs have been vetted in prior collaboratives and include formal barriers assessments using driver diagrams, PDSA cycles and analyzing data and measures using run and statistical process control (SPC) charts to inform real-time change and interventions.Summary QICs are pivotal to closing the gap in delivery of evidence based practice while minimizing widespread unnecessary practice variation across multiple organizations using available QI methodologies and tools. Novel approaches to funding such as partnership with insurance companies and educational organizations can allow for more robust participation. Future research should broaden the scope of their measures to include patient centered outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Emergency Medicine and Center for Excellence, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 155 East Superior Street, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Raina Paul MD

  2. Division of Cardiology and Center for Excellence, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 225 East Chicago Avenue, Box 21, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    George R. Verghese MD, MBA

Authors
  1. Raina Paul MD
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  2. George R. Verghese MD, MBA
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Correspondence to Raina Paul MD.

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Raina Paul and George R. Verghese declare no conflicts of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Quality Improvement

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Paul, R., Verghese, G.R. Improving the Quality of Pediatric Healthcare through Quality Improvement Collaboratives. Curr Treat Options Peds 3, 362–373 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40746-017-0105-9

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