Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Throughout
the four years of training residents are taught the basics of quality
improvement (QI) and learn how to implement change across the different healthcare
sites. Our very own Med-Peds Clinic allows us the opportunity to test and
implement QI initiatives on a small scale; this project is led by 2nd and
3rd year residents. Some of these projects are as follows:
- 2017: Increased screening for latent tuberculosis within our high-risk clinic population. This led to oral presentations and posters at ACP and SGIM.
- 2018-2019: Residents partnered with the Colorado Department of Public Health to address the low adolescent STI screening rates in Denver. Residents spent 4 days together with national QI experts completing several PDSAs and developing new clinic processes to improve how patients were being screened for STIs and delivery of confidential care for adolescents in general.
Residents
interested in QI are encouraged to participate and complete the various
trainings offered by the University of
Colorado Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency. Residents in their 4th year of training are given dedicated time to learn about patient safety and disclosure of errors. As a final project, each resident presents a morbidity and mortality case at a Med-Peds academic half day.