title: Development of an oncology services performance improvement team.
abstract: Baystate Medical Center is a 750-bed tertiary-care referral center in western Massachusetts. In 1995 Baystate reorganized the structure of its quality assurance (QA) program from an individual departmentally based QA committee structure to a series of multidisciplinary service-line performance improvement teams. The new approach sought to implement total quality management techniques that had been proven effective in major industrial settings but were not widely applied in the healthcare sector. The oncology services performance improvement team is cochaired by an attending surgical oncologist and the nursing supervisor of a dedicated inpatient oncology unit. Its membership comprises a broad spectrum of oncology subspecialists and allied support staff. The team supports multiple performance improvement initiatives, including analyses of various cancer-related outcomes (e.g., patient satisfaction, morbidity and mortality data) and peer review analysis. Systems issues not falling under the aegis of the oncology services team are referred to other service-line teams. The performance improvement activities are carefully designed to meet the needs of the facility's patient population and the accreditation requirements of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.
authors.affiliation: Tufts University School of Medicine, MA, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Cramer
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000592:standards; D003142:Communication; D003628:Database Management Systems; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000458:organization & administration; D008332:Management Quality Circles / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008404:Massachusetts; D017146:Models, Organizational; D009042:Motivation; D016522:Oncology Service, Hospital / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D018024:Peer Review, Health Care; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*