Physicians attend new data-driven QSE meetings

Physicians representing specialties and care areas throughout the hospital attended Lutheran’s first Quality, Safety, Experience meeting last month, giving them an extended look and better understanding of the quality data the hospital uses to measure its performance and identify its next opportunities for quality improvement.

“It’s vital our physician leaders understand what these numbers mean so they can appreciate the strategy behind the hospital-wide quality initiatives we choose to pursue, as well as where we stand in the market based on select quality metrics,” said Kathy Crabtree, MD, Lutheran CMO. “It’s also equally important physicians share this data with their teams as evidence of their own best practices and, possibly, their own gaps in providing the highest-quality care.”

Beata Wyatt, MD, Internal Medicine, attended the first QSE meeting with the understanding that because hospitalists provide care to a large number of inpatients, the changes they make can have an outsized impact on the hospital’s quality metrics.

“The meeting was very informative, as I did not know much about all the metrics that are taken into consideration,” she said. “This information can be very helpful to see where we can improve the quality of our care, either by changing our practices or simply documenting differently.”

Attending this meeting also will help physicians track for themselves the progress or impact of initiatives already launched. Wyatt mentioned efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections, others to lower mortality rates and others to lessen healthcare-associated pneumonia as major projects already in progress that the data can help continue to guide.

Asher Shafton, MD, Cardiovascular Disease, also attended the first QSE meeting and plans to attend regularly with Amanda Forristal, NP, a member of the CV team.

“The QSE meetings will give us and other attendees a chance to review hospital data and brainstorm ways to improve future quality and patient care hospital-wide,” Shafton said. “We then will report back to our team regularly, using the data received to improve the quality of care specifically for our cardiovascular patients.”

QSE meetings will be held monthly. Physicians interested in learning more about the quality metrics tracked in their care areas are encouraged to contact Crabtree or their own medical directors.