Tips to Choose a Good QI Topic

The following article appeared in the September 2009 issue of Connection, the bi-monthly e-newsletter from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.Q: How do I choose a good QI topic?

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Naomi Kuznets, PhD, Managing Director, AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement: This is a commonly asked question at AAAHC, as Chapter 5, Quality Improvement and Development, is one of the things organizations seeking to get accredited struggle with the most. I recommend that organizations choose their QI topics to address the following:

  • Adverse events, near misses, complaints your organization has experienced
  • Something your organization does or sees a lot (prevalence/incidence)
  • Something that costs a lot to your organization, your patients, or your payers (think of short and long term, direct and indirect costs)
  • Suspected or verified variations in practice (everybody has a different way of addressing a certain issue) in your organization
  • Something that is within the control of your organization, that you can change
  • An issue for which you can get or already have participation from across the organization

The AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement explored this issue in the Summer 2009 edition of IQI Insights. To view past issues of this newsletter, please click here.

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