Alliance For Pediatric Quality Promotes Four Proven Quality Improvement Initiatives

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 01 Oct 2008 - 9:00 PST

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Blood stream infection rates are rapidly declining, life expectancy among cystic fibrosis patients has doubled, and care for children with asthma and inflammatory bowel disease is significantly improving. These are the results of four highly successful quality improvement (QI) initiatives chosen by the Alliance for Pediatric Quality (Alliance) and its task force of pediatric quality and safety experts from a pool of more than 50 programs.

The goal of the Alliance is to bring about immediate, measurable change in the quality of care provided to children.

The Alliance is a partnership of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA) and the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI). Collectively, these organizations represent more than 60,000 pediatricians and 200 children's hospitals.

The Alliance advocates the spread of these successful QI initiatives by leveraging the relationships, expertise and resources of the Alliance partners with the aim to improve care for as many children as possible, as quickly as possible.

The QI initiatives include:

-- NACHRI Catheter-Associated Blood Stream Infections Initiative
In its first 15 months, this children's hospital collaborative reduced PICU infections by 45 percent, prevented 275 infections, saved $9.3 million, and saved over 30 lives in 29 pediatric intensive care units. In April 2008, participating hospitals reached a 70 percent reduction in PICU infections.

-- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Quality Improvement Initiative
A nationwide program to instill best practices at cystic fibrosis care centers by the Foundation has helped fuel dramatic gains in life expectancy for people with CF. The median predicted age of survival has doubled in the last 25 years. It rose eight years between 1999 and 2006 - from age 29 to age 37.

-- Trailblazer Improvement Collaborative for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Inflammatory Bowel Disease is a serious chronic condition affecting 100,000 children and adolescents. This collaborative of the PIBDNet Network for Research and Improvement has developed a guideline and algorithms for consistent reliable care, as well as measure to track performance and outcomes.

-- Improving Performance in Practice Primary Care - Asthma Collaboratives
Through a unique partnership among national primary care societies, national primary care specialty boards, and states, pediatricians and family physicians are reducing hospitalizations and emergency department visits for pediatric asthma patients.

"The Alliance is putting its considerable resources behind improvement initiatives with demonstrated results in care and patient outcomes," says Mimi Saffer, executive director of the Alliance. "Our goal now is to increase the number of physicians and hospitals engaged in these initiatives, bringing about immediate change in the quality of care provided to children."

The Alliance Improve First philosophy maintains that spreading well-designed, well-run improvement initiatives with demonstrated results is one of the most important steps the pediatric community can take to measurably improve children's health outcomes and transform how care is delivered.

A series of free webinars, beginning October 7, will highlight the results-to-date for each initiative, spread goals and how pediatric providers can get involved and achieve those goals. Additional information is available at www.kidsquality.org.