Morbidity and management conference: an approach to quality improvement in brain injury rehabilitation.
BACKGROUND
Program Evaluation and Quality Improvement (QI) are an ongoing focus of all brain injury rehabilitation programs, but it is difficult to consistently include the entire rehabilitation team in QI activities and to focus on issues that cross the continuum of care. In addition, recent reports have provided a renewed emphasis on reduction of medical errors and improving the overall quality of care for individuals with chronic conditions. Rehabilitation Medicine has a long history of working as a coordinated multidisciplinary team caring for complex patients with chronic conditions and is in a position to be a leader in QI activities.


METHODS
We have modified the traditional Morbidity and Mortality conference to include a multidisciplinary case discussion to identify system issues with quality of care.


METHODS
This is completed in a nonpunitive format that does not assign individual blame.


CONCLUSIONS
This Rehabilitation Morbidity and Management Conference is an important addition to the QI activities of our program.
Esselman
Peter C
PC
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle 98104, USA. esselman@u.washington.edu
Dillman-Long
Janice
J
D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D020208:Brain Injury, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D010810:Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011788:Quality of Life; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014481:United States