title: Implementation and application of a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program for the cardiac catheterization laboratory: one institution's 10-year experience.
abstract: There is consensus that a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program is essential in optimizing patient outcomes in the cardiovascular catheterization laboratory. A CQI method was described in guidelines produced by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) in 1993 and 1997. However, little information is available in the medical literature to determine the implementation and application of this approach in a modern catheterization program. This presentation describes the lessons learned from one institution's 10 year CQI experience by using the SCAI blueprint.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA. buretsky@utmb.edu
authors.forename: Barry F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Uretsky
authors.forename: Fen Wei
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007755:Laboratories, Hospital; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000639:trends*; D012189:Retrospective Studies