Working Groups
A Multidisciplinary Approach to Improving Patient Care
The multidisciplinary working groups set up collaboratively by the hospital Department of Health Care Quality and the Department of Medicine are aimed to improve the quality of patient care for patients that span across multiple disciplines.
Examples include:
- Diabetes Working Group
- Heart Failure Committee
- Anticoagulation Working Group
Efforts to Improve Patient Care
Additional efforts to improve patient care across the department consist of:
- The institution of a pneumococcal vaccination program
- Programs aiming to prevent Central Line associated Bloodstream Infections (CL-BSI)
- Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP)
- Multiple Urgent Sepsis Therapy (MUST) protocol
- Drug dosing and administration policies
- Triggers program utilizing the BIDMC version of rapid response teams
- Geographic reconfiguration of the medical service
Improving Outpatient Care
In the outpatient arena the Department focused on improving:
- Telephone service
- Access to appointments
- Enhancing the quality of the patient’s experience in the waiting room
Reference
Mark D. Aronson, Naama Neeman, Alexander Carbo, Anjala V. Tess, Julius J. Yang, Patricia Folcarelli, Kenneth F. Sands, and Mark L. Zeidel. A Model for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Programs in Academic Departments of Medicine. Am J Med. 2008 Oct;121(10):922-9.
