Enhancing Faculty Participation and Interest in Quality Improvement in Academic Centers

Abstract

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) is necessary in maintaining and improving the quality of medical care delivered. However, quality assurance (QA) in the past was performed superficially to meet require ments of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and other regulatory agencies. Academic faculty participation in QA activ ity was also limited. Faculty often assume that mean ingful quality process demands excessive efforts and time unrewarded with career advancement, promo tion, or monetary compensation. In addition, unstruc tured QA leads to duplication of data and loss of educational opportunity.

We reorganized the QA process in internal medicine using the CQI concept to: (a) improve academic fac ulty participation, (b) incorporate educational con cepts, (c) stimulate interest in outcome research and CQI, and (d) integrate cost containment.

A reorganized CQI format has stimulated enthu siastic participation of faculty and residents, and has generated conferences and grand rounds pertinent to medical care, outcome research, and cost contain ment.

We conclude that academic faculty should play leadership roles in the CQI process and include teach ing models. Improved and increased academic faculty participation could be realized, when educational val ues, research activities, and cost analysis are incor porated into the CQI process.