Venipunctures are clinically necessary for hospitalized patients, but failed add-on lab tests can lead to excess venipunctures and patient harm. In a recent publication in Applied Clinical Informatics, IHQSE faculty member, Tyler Anstett, DO and team used QI methodology to identify a root cause of add-on failures and then implemented a simple and effective solution.

Alumni of IHQSE’s Certificate Training Program publish outcomes resulting from a series of interventions aimed at improving adherence with recommended well-child checks and continuity of care with the same provider in the first year of a child’s life. Using the medical home concept as a guide, this team’s program showed increased adherence with first five visits in the first year of life from 25% to 78% with sustained improvement in subsequent years.

IHQSE Faculty member, Dr. Sarah Tevis, and team surveyed patients with stage 0-IV breast cancer about the information they received about potential sexual side effects of their treatment. The survey revealed that patients—most of whom receive little to no information—desire personalized education early and often to better navigate these effects during treatment.

Diagnostic errors are common and important causes of preventable morbidity and mortality in a variety of medical settings. Diagnostic errors leading to harm are most likely to involve diagnoses of cancer, vascular events, or infection. IHQSE Faculty, Dr. Katie Raffel, along with Sumant Ranji, MD, takes a look at approaches to measurement, etiologies, and interventions to decrease diagnostic error.