Quality Improvement in Public Health
CQI's Impact on Medicare and Public Health Organizations
June 16th, 2013
HA425: Operational Analysis and Quality Improvement
Prof: Kelly Washington
The goal to improve public health is continuously changing and has become more of a concern over the years after major events in history such as 9/11 and the BP oil spill in the Gulf. The article “Quality Improvement in Public Health: Lessons Learned from the Multi-State Learning Collaborative” emphasizes how important improvement and evaluation of programs, procedures and policies is. I found it interesting that the article states it has been only recently that QI methods and techniques have been applied to areas of public health, it is hard to imagine that a field as complex as healthcare has developed slowly and mostly over the last few decades.
There are a number of focuses within the article. The AcademyHealth's website highlights subjects such as initiatives that have been a part of the progress of QI in public health, the multi-state learning collaborative, considerations for Implementation and management of QI efforts, and case studies from Minnesota and South Carolina. The first case study speaks on local health departments and implementing QI culture in the state of Minnesota. Seven out of eight projects had positive outcomes. Survey results identified that efforts to build a QI culture were effective. Public health departments across the state noted a number of lessons learned in training and implementing QI practices, both at the local and state levels. Some of the lessons learned included: importance of identification of the problem and goal, modifications to previous QI models are sometimes necessary because the models need to keep up with policy and technology changes. QI practices should be based on the audience’s capacity. Evidence-based interventions are highly important (AcademyHealth). The second case study involves South Carolina’s application of
June 16th, 2013
HA425: Operational Analysis and Quality Improvement
Prof: Kelly Washington
The goal to improve public health is continuously changing and has become more of a concern over the years after major events in history such as 9/11 and the BP oil spill in the Gulf. The article “Quality Improvement in Public Health: Lessons Learned from the Multi-State Learning Collaborative” emphasizes how important improvement and evaluation of programs, procedures and policies is. I found it interesting that the article states it has been only recently that QI methods and techniques have been applied to areas of public health, it is hard to imagine that a field as complex as healthcare has developed slowly and mostly over the last few decades.
There are a number of focuses within the article. The AcademyHealth's website highlights subjects such as initiatives that have been a part of the progress of QI in public health, the multi-state learning collaborative, considerations for Implementation and management of QI efforts, and case studies from Minnesota and South Carolina. The first case study speaks on local health departments and implementing QI culture in the state of Minnesota. Seven out of eight projects had positive outcomes. Survey results identified that efforts to build a QI culture were effective. Public health departments across the state noted a number of lessons learned in training and implementing QI practices, both at the local and state levels. Some of the lessons learned included: importance of identification of the problem and goal, modifications to previous QI models are sometimes necessary because the models need to keep up with policy and technology changes. QI practices should be based on the audience’s capacity. Evidence-based interventions are highly important (AcademyHealth). The second case study involves South Carolina’s application of