A Pilot Quality Improvement Collaborative to Improve Safety Net Dental Access for Pregnant Women and Young Children.

Objectives To determine acceptability and feasibility of a quality improvement (QI) collaborative in safety net dental practices, and evaluate its effects on financial stability, access, efficiency, and care for pregnant women and young children. Methods Five safety net dental practices participated in a 15-month learning collaborative utilizing business assessments, QI training, early childhood oral health training, and prenatal oral health training. Practices collected monthly data on: net revenue, no-show rates, total encounters, and number of encounters for young children and pregnant women. We analyzed quantitative data using paired t-tests before and after the collaborative and collected supplemental qualitative feedback from clinic staff through focus groups and directed email. Results All mean measures improved, including: higher monthly revenue ($28,380-$33,102, p = 0.37), decreased no-show rate (17.7-14.3%, p = 0.11), higher monthly dental health encounters (283-328, p = 0.08), and higher monthly encounters for young children (8.8-10.5, p = 0.65), and pregnant women (2.8-9.7, p = 0.29). Results varied by practice, with some demonstrating largest increases in encounters for young children and others pregnant women. Focus group participants reported that the collaborative improved access for pregnant women and young children, and that QI methods were often new and difficult. Conclusion for practice Participation by safety net dental practices in a QI collaborative is feasible and acceptable. Individual sites saw greater improvements in different outcomes areas, based on their own structures and needs. Future efforts should focus on specific needs of each dental practice and should offer additional QI training.

Improving Culture, One Quality Improvement Project at a Time.

CONTEXT: A culture of quality improvement (QI) values collaboration, transparency, and staff empowerment. Organizations exhibiting a culture of QI are more likely to engage in QI. OBJECTIVE: We examined whether local health departments' (LHDs') participation in a longitudinal, experiential QI training program changes QI culture. DESIGN: Prior to and following participation in a QI training program, all employees of participating LHDs were asked to complete an 8-item survey assessing components of QI culture on a 5-point scale. INTERVENTION: From 2010 to 2015, multidisciplinary teams from North Carolina LHDs participated in sequential cohorts of a 6-month QI training program, during which the teams completed a QI project. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We dichotomized culture survey responses, with 4 or 5 being "Supportive." We compared adjusted proportions, using linear regression, clustering at LHD, and controlling for cohort. RESULTS: Data from 42 LHDs were included. At baseline, 7.8% responded that their LHD had a supportive culture for all 8 components, compared with 12% at follow-up (P < .001), adjusted for cohort and clustering by LHD. At follow-up, the percentage of employees responding that their LHDs had supportive cultures increased for all components of culture including communication by 4.1% (95% CI: 2.0%-6.2%), problem solving by 2.9% (95% CI: 1.6%-5.5%), team work by 5.2% (95% CI: 2.5%-7.8%), vision by 4.3% (95% CI: 1.1%-7.5%), performance measures by 5.6% (95% CI: 1.6%-9.6%), recognition by 4.7% (95% CI: 1.4%-8.0%), for conflict by 5.5% (95% CI: 1.7%-9.4%), and alignment by 5.8% (95% CI: 2.3%-9.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Engagement with structured QI training programs-and perhaps simply completing QI projects-can cause small, but important changes in organizations' cultures, thus increasing engagement in future QI and improving overall care and services. The article demonstrates that when LHDs participate in a longitudinal, experiential QI training program, their cultures of QI improve. Local health departments participating in similar training programs might experience similar improvements in culture, increasing subsequent participation in QI projects and improving related health outcomes.

Translating Clinical Guidelines Into Practice: Challenges and Opportunities in a Dynamic Health Care Environment.

Clinical practice guidelines are evidence-based recommendations with the potential to improve population health, yet they remain inconsistently utilized. In this commentary we discuss barriers and drivers to implementing clinical practice guidelines. We also suggest ways to support their translation into practice.

The potential impact of the Affordable Care Act on population health in North Carolina.

The need to improve population health is critical. This commentary explores how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) can help us improve population health, highlights some of the actions North Carolina has taken in response to the ACA's provisions, and discusses the value of health investments in the future.

Quality improvement in North Carolina's public health departments.

North Carolina has been a leader in the application of quality improvement (QI) to public health practice. Over the past decade, numerous developments have served to accelerate the adoption of QI in North Carolina's local health departments. The outstanding results from the widespread application of QI should help North Carolina to become a healthier state.

Applying the model for improvement in a local health department: quality improvement as an effective approach in navigating the changing landscape of public health practice in Buncombe County, North Carolina.

In local health departments across the nation, problem solving and rapid change occur every day. Often, the results of these changes or problem-solving techniques may not be studied or evaluated fully to determine whether desired results were achieved. In fact, program evaluation, research, and technical assistance at the local level may be reduced or eliminated in many states during a time of rapidly diminishing resources and increasing demand for public health services. In delivering population-level programs, quality improvement (QI) methods may provide a much-needed alternative and more efficient approach than traditional research and evaluation to help answer public health practice questions such as "How do we know when a project or program really works, and, more importantly, how can we do it better?" This article focuses on the Buncombe County Department of Health's (BCDH's) experience utilizing a QI approach called the model for improvement (MFI), incorporating plan-do-study-act cycles and small tests of change, on a specific H1N1 influenza-awareness public health preparedness communication project. In addition, results of the BCDH's participation in QI initiatives and training resulted in success implementing change in other areas of the health department including decreasing wait time and addressing a backlog of prenatal visit appointments from 54 to 15 days, and more than doubling prenatal history efficiency uptake in a 5-week period. These case studies in the BCDH present how the MFI introduced the foundation of a culture of continuous QI within the organization.

Lessons learned from building a culture and infrastructure for continuous quality improvement at Cabarrus Health Alliance.

This case study describes a local public health agency's multiyear effort to establish an infrastructure and organizational culture for continuous quality improvement, using data from interviews with the agency's senior leaders, managers, and frontline staff. Lessons learned include the importance of setting stretch goals, engaging leaders at all levels of the organization, empowering frontline staff to make changes, providing quality improvement training for staff and leaders, starting with small projects first, spreading quality improvement efforts to involve all parts of the agency, and sustaining momentum by creating a supporting infrastructure for continuous quality improvement and continually initiating new projects.

Applying Lean principles and Kaizen rapid improvement events in public health practice.

This case study describes a local home health and hospice agency's effort to implement Lean principles and Kaizen methodology as a rapid improvement approach to quality improvement. The agency created a cross-functional team, followed Lean Kaizen methodology, and made significant improvements in scheduling time for home health nurses that resulted in reduced operational costs, improved working conditions, and multiple organizational efficiencies.

Standardizing environmental health processes at the Iowa Department of Public Health.

Standardized work is the foundation of continuous improvement. Documenting standard processes is a precursor to problem solving and allows an organization to understand work flow, measure performance, and identify opportunities for improvement. Environmental health is an important function of public health departments but is rarely studied systematically. This article describes documentation of standard processes, identification of improvement opportunities, and lessons learned for environmental health processes at the Iowa Department of Public Health, using a pilot group of 3 local county offices. The approach described in this article can serve as a template for other states to follow in their quality improvement journeys.

Using quality improvement to promote breast-feeding in a local health department.

In 2008, breast-feeding initiation and continuation rates in Beaufort County, North Carolina, were lower than statewide rates. A quality improvement (QI) project was initiated to increase breast-feeding rates by enhancing the overall environment that supports breast-feeding at the Beaufort County Health Department. This case study describes one of the first QI initiatives implemented through the North Carolina Center for Public Health Quality QI training program, conducted in 2009. The aim of this project was to improve the health and wellness of mothers and infants in Beaufort County by promoting breast-feeding among Beaufort County Health Department Women, Infants and Children (WIC) clients. Using QI tools, 4 new approaches to breast-feeding promotion were tested and implemented: creating a nurturing location to breast-feed while at the health department, actively telephoning new mothers to provide breast-feeding support, incentivizing adoption of educational messages by providing a breast-feeding tote bag, and promoting new WIC food packages. These enhancements involved staff in QI planning and implementation and correlated with improved breast-feeding initiation for WIC clients during the year following project completion.

Early evaluation results from a statewide quality improvement training program for local public health departments in North Carolina.

CONTEXT: Many state and local public health agencies have developed accreditation systems and are utilizing quality improvement (QI) methods and tools to improve the public health infrastructure. Development of strategies to support and build the capacity of the public health workforce to apply QI can help advance these efforts. OBJECTIVE: This article describes the adaptation and creation of a standardized QI training program for local health departments (LHDs), explores the effectiveness of the program in increasing the confidence of the LHD staff to apply QI methods and tools, and discusses lessons learned from the first cohort of the program. METHODS: An existing program designed for health care professionals was pilot tested, adapted, and used in 8 LHDs. A formative evaluation of the new public health QI training program was conducted through a hybrid internal and external evaluation model. Pre/postsurveys were used to measure participant satisfaction and the capacity of LHD staff to conduct QI. RESULTS: Staff from 8 LHDs successfully completed the program and 94% of participants reported that they were satisfied with the overall training program. Seventy percent of participants reported a higher perceived confidence in conducting a QI project, and all participants reported sharing QI tools and methods with their coworkers. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that QI training programs using methods and tools previously applied in health care and other industries can be successfully adapted to public health. Although additional studies are needed to validate the results, this training model can be used to inform future work in developing a standardized QI training program in public health.

A modified healthy steps model to improve resident training in behavioral and developmental care.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether implementing a modified Healthy Steps (HS) for young children program in residency clinics could improve resident education and their perception of the quality of care provided for common behavioral and developmental (B/D) issues. METHODS: Residents and faculty blinded to study intent were surveyed to assess perceptions of resident preparedness and the quality of behavioral and developmental (B/D) care at 4 pediatric residency training sites in North Carolina. Initially, Program 1 (with an established HS program) was compared with 3 sites without established programs at baseline (Programs 2, 3, and 4), and then the results before and after implementation at Programs 2 to 4 were compared. RESULTS: Initially, subjects at Program 1 were more likely than those at Programs 2 to 4 to rate residents as "well" or "very well" prepared to provide B/D care (63% vs 20% respectively, 95% confidence interval of the difference, 25-61%) and more likely to rate the overall quality of B/D care at their clinic as "high" or "extremely high" (94% and 47% respectively, 95% confidence interval for the difference, 34-59%). After implementation of HS at Programs 2 to 4, the mean percentage of subjects rating residents as "well" or "very well" prepared and the ratings of the care provided increased dramatically. CONCLUSION: A modified HS model focusing on resident B/D education substantially increased attending and resident ratings of residents' preparedness to deliver B/D care and increased the ratings of the quality of B/D care provided.

Direct observation of resident-patient encounters in continuity clinic: a controlled study of parent satisfaction and resident perceptions.

CONTEXT: Direct observation (DO) by teaching physicians of medical care provided by resident physicians offers a method to evaluate clinical skills beyond traditional measures that focus solely on medical knowledge assessment. OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine if the presence of the teaching physician observer affects parental satisfaction with care and to assess resident perceptions of DO in a general pediatrics residency clinic. METHODS: A cross-sectional parent survey compared visit satisfaction of parents who experienced a DO with controls in a traditional clinic visit. Additionally, a pre-post survey measured resident perceptions of direct observation before and after implementation of DO in the clinic. FINDINGS: Parents frequently described their overall satisfaction with care as "excellent" after DO and traditional visits (DO 70%, 95% CI, 50-86% and control 80%, CI 66-89%). However, parents in DO visits were less likely to rate their satisfaction with the amount of time spent in the room as excellent (DO 78%, CI 58-91%; Control 95%, CI 85-99%). Most resident physicians were in favor of the DO process (63%) and agreed that DO provides feedback about history-taking (94%), physical examination (94%) and interpersonal skills (91%). CONCLUSIONS: Direct observation by attending physicians does not decrease overall parental satisfaction during clinical encounters. Additionally, residents have a generally favorable opinion of direct observation and believe that it can provide useful feedback.

Effectiveness of a practice-based, multimodal quality improvement intervention for gastroenteritis within a Medicaid managed care network.

OBJECTIVE: Acute gastroenteritis results in 220,000 hospitalizations yearly in the United States. The substantial geographic variation in gastroenteritis care, coupled with the evidence of effective treatment of dehydration in nonhospital settings, suggests that the majority of these hospitalizations are avoidable. We sought to decrease hospitalizations for gastroenteritis by using practice-based, multimodal quality improvement methods that target multiple care processes to make them consistent with evidence-based guidelines. METHODS: We used a controlled before/after study design to evaluate a quality improvement intervention in a 20-practice Medicaid network. All 20 practices participated in continuing education sessions; received free oral rehydration solution, patient education materials, and performance feedback; and participated in a follow-up conference call. Three practices were chosen to develop and pilot office-process changes. These practices formed interdisciplinary teams to develop and test changes and collaborated with project faculty and each other. They shared their learning with the other 17 practices via a conference call and toolkit. We compared before/after gastroenteritis hospital admissions for children <5 years old covered by Medicaid in the intervention practices with all other Medicaid recipients in North Carolina using claims data from 2000-2002. RESULTS: The 3 high-intensity practices all made numerous changes to care processes. Most of the 17 low-intensity practices reported changes in their gastroenteritis care processes. Gastroenteritis admission rates declined 45% in high-intensity practices and 44% in low-intensity practices during the study compared with 11% in the control practices. CONCLUSIONS: A practice-based, multimodal quality improvement intervention that targets multiple care processes on the basis of evidence-based guidelines lowered rates of gastroenteritis hospitalization in a Medicaid network. This approach could lower costs attributable to gastroenteritis for Medicaid programs.

Open access in primary care: results of a North Carolina pilot project.

OBJECTIVE: Appointment delays impede access to primary health care. By reducing appointment delays, open access (OA) scheduling may improve access to and the quality of primary health care. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the potential impact of OA on practice and patient outcomes by using pilot-study data from 4 North Carolina primary care practices. METHODS: We conducted an interrupted time-series pilot study of 4 North Carolina primary care practices (2 family medicine and 2 pediatric practices) participating in a quality-improvement (QI) collaborative from May 2001 to May 2002. The year-long collaborative comprised 25 practices and consisted of three 2-day meetings led by expert faculty, monthly data feedback, and monthly conference calls. Our main outcome measures were appointment delays, appointment no-shows, patient satisfaction, continuity of care, and staff satisfaction during the 12-month study period. RESULTS: Providers in all 4 practices successfully implemented OA. On average, providers reduced their delay to the third available preventive care appointment from 36 to 4 days. No-show rates declined (first quarter [Q1] rate: 16%; fourth quarter [Q4] rate: 11%; no-show reduction: 5% [95% confidence interval: 1%, 10%]), and overall patient satisfaction improved (Q1: 45% rated overall visit quality as excellent; Q4: 61% rated overall visit quality as excellent; change in satisfaction: 16% [95% confidence interval: 0.2%, 30%]). Continuity of care followed a similar pattern of improvement, but the change was not statistically significant. Staff satisfaction neither improved nor declined. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that primary care practices can implement OA successfully by using QI-collaborative methods. These results provide preliminary evidence that OA may improve practice and patient outcomes in primary care. These analyses should be repeated in larger groups of practices with longer follow-up.

Behind schedule: improving access to care for children one practice at a time.

Access to health care, the timely use of personal health services to achieve the best possible health outcomes, remains a fundamental problem for children in the United States. To date, research and interventions addressing children's access to care have largely focused on policy-level features of the health care system (such as health insurance and geographic availability of providers) with some, although limited, success. Ultimately, access to health care implies entry into the health care system. Practice scheduling systems are the point of entry to primary care health services for children and thus directly determine access to care in pediatric and family medicine practices. Here we explore the rationale for improving access to care for children from an additional angle: through improving practice scheduling systems. It is our hypothesis that some of the most promising contemporary interventions to improve children's access involve improving primary care scheduling systems. These approaches should complement successful policy-level interventions to improve access to care for children.