title: A users group approach to quality improvement across an integrated healthcare delivery system.
abstract: Aurora Healthcare, an integrated healthcare delivery system, wanted to use interhospital collaboration to improve quality. An opportunity for improvement at five Aurora hospitals was identified: Only 71% of patients received timely preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis. A Users Group approach was proposed to foster collaboration among the hospitals in a quality improvement (QI) effort. Although these hospitals differed in size, volume of cases, medical staffs, and antibiotic-delivery processes, they had common objectives and, many times, common barriers to the timely delivery of antibiotics. A Users Group approach to this QI initiative resulted in an 18% improvement in the number of patients who received timely administration of preoperative antibiotic prophylaxis (p < 0.001). This article describes the Users Group approach to QI at Aurora Healthcare in southeastern Wisconsin.
authors.affiliation: Aurora Healthcare, Milwaukee, USA.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kroll
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Brummitt
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D019072:Antibiotic Prophylaxis; D019033:Delivery of Health Care, Integrated / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D006801:Humans; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014922:Wisconsin