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Quality improvement in pediatric nephrology—a practical guide

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Abstract

Improving quality of care delivery is an important focus for all practicing physicians. Frontline clinicians are in a great position to identify clinical problems and find innovative solutions. The current review describes the method used for quality improvement based on the Model for Improvement, a structural framework to guide improvement work. At its basis are three fundamental questions: What are we trying to accomplish? How will I know that a change will lead to improvement? And what changes could we make that will result in improvement? This preparation phase aims to identify and understand the problem, choose an intervention, and determine reliable measures to gauge improvement. The intervention is then tested using PLAN-DO-STUDY-ACT (PDSA) cycles, an iterative approach to systematically improve processes and outcomes. PLAN focuses on defining the goal of the cycle and describing in details what will be done. DO concentrates on the concrete application of the plan. STUDY focuses on data analyses as ACT identifies lessons learned from the cycle and orientate the goals of the following PDSA cycle. Learning from each cycle, developing an interdisciplinary team and repeated interventions are core principles involved in implementing a sustainable quality improvement program. The Model for Improvement will be illustrated by a common quality problem in pediatric nephrology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Nephrology, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Marie-Michele Gaudreault-Tremblay, Rulan S. Parekh & Damien Noone

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Marie-Michele Gaudreault-Tremblay, Rulan S. Parekh & Damien Noone

  3. Division of Nephrology, University Health Network, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Rory F. McQuillan & Rulan S. Parekh

  4. Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Rory F. McQuillan & Rulan S. Parekh

Authors
  1. Marie-Michele Gaudreault-Tremblay
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  2. Rory F. McQuillan
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  3. Rulan S. Parekh
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  4. Damien Noone
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Correspondence to Marie-Michele Gaudreault-Tremblay.

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Gaudreault-Tremblay, MM., McQuillan, R.F., Parekh, R.S. et al. Quality improvement in pediatric nephrology—a practical guide. Pediatr Nephrol 35, 199–211 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-018-4175-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-018-4175-0

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