title: Integrating Quality Improvement and Continuing Professional Development at an Academic Medical Center: A Partnership Between Practice Plan, Hospital, and Medical School.
abstract: While quality improvement (QI) initiatives can be a highly effective means for improving health care delivery in academic medical centers (AMCs), many health care professionals are not formally trained in basic QI methodology, engaging clinicians in QI activities can be challenging, and there is often a lack of integration and coordination among QI functions (eg, Departments of Quality and Safety, Continuing Professional Development). In our AMC, we undertook a collaborative approach to achieve better vertical and horizontal integration of our QI education efforts. This article provides a case example describing our organizational context, what was done, and with what effect and makes our example and lessons learned available to others.
  
  
  
  We developed a new educational QI program that was jointly planned and implemented by a group comprising major QI stakeholders. This project was intended to create horizontal organizational linkages between continuing professional development, clinicians, the hospital, and QI department and produce QI activities that aligned with the strategic objectives of senior management.
  
  
  
  The group developed and implemented a curriculum based on Lean methodology and concepts from the Institute for Health Care Improvement Model for Improvement. Two cohorts (27 teams) completed the training and planned and implemented QI projects. All projects were aligned with organizational quality, safety, and patient experience goals. The majority of projects met their aim statements.
  
  
  
  This case description provides an example of successful horizontal integration of an AMCs' QI functions to disseminate knowledge and implement meaningful QI aligned with strategic objectives (vertical integration).
authors.affiliation: Dr. Gold: Executive Vice President of Medical Affairs, University of Minnesota Health, Minneapolis, MN, and Professor of Anesthesiology, Minneapolis, MN. Ms. England: Director of Infection Prevention, University of Minnesota Health, Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Riley: Professor, School for the Science of Health Care Delivery, ASU Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ. Ms. Jacobs-Halsey: Director, Strategic Initiatives, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN. Ms. Webb: Medical Student, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Minneapolis, MN. Dr. Daniels: Co-President, Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota Health, Minneapolis, MN, CEO, University of Minnesota Physicians, Minneapolis, MN.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gold
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: England
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Riley
authors.forename: Ginny
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jacobs-Halsey
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Bobbi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Daniels
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D006761:Hospitals / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000592:standards; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000592:standards*; D012577:Schools, Medical / Q000639:trends*; D013192:Staff Development / Q000379:methods*