title: Restructuring the Morbidity and Mortality Conference in a Department of Pediatrics to serve as a vehicle for system changes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Morbidity and Mortality conference (MMC) serves an important role in medical care and education. We restructured our Department of Pediatrics MMC to focus on multidisciplinary participation and improved communication among disciplines, quality improvement, and system changes for safer clinical care and enhanced learning from adverse outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The structure and philosophy of the Department of Pediatrics MMC was changed. We present guiding principles for the restructuring process and evaluation results postrestructuring, which examined achievement of conference goals, including quality improvement.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The MMC led to system changes within the Department of Pediatrics as well as other parts of the hospital. Satisfaction with these changes was high among conference participants, who felt that the conference achieved its goals of including multiple disciplines and creating system changes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The successful change in the focus of the pediatric MMC conference resulted in significant hospital-wide system changes, quality improvements, enhanced education, and departmental satisfaction.
authors.affiliation: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90077, USA. Shervin.Rabizadeh@cshs.org
authors.forename: Shervin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rabizadeh
authors.forename: W Adam
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gower
authors.forename: Kurlen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Payton
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vera
authors.forename: Janet R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Serwint
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003226:Congresses as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D015141:Los Angeles; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D009936:Organizational Innovation; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D058996:Quality Improvement