BACKGROUND: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to elucidate which hospital-based quality improvement (QI) strategies are most effective in facilitating improvement in care for patients with community-acquired pneumonia. METHODS: In 1999 telephone interviews were conducted with 29 acute care hospitals in Connecticut regarding their use of QI strategies for 1,234 patients at baseline and 1,081 patients at follow-up. RESULTS: Hospital-based QI strategies were grouped into two domains of implementation approach (epidemiologic and social influence). Hospitals scoring a 4 in either the epidemiologic or social influence approach (versus a score of < or = 3) experienced a greater-than-average increase in percentage of patients with blood culture collection within 24 hours of hospital presentation. Hospitals applying all four social influence QI strategies showed a greater-than-average increase in delivery of antibiotics within 8 hours of patients' hospital arrival when compared with all the other hospitals combined. DISCUSSION: The finding that an increased proportion of patients receiving antibiotics within 8 hours and blood cultures within 24 hours of hospital arrival when the greatest numbers of hospital-based QI strategies were implemented in suggestive of a possible "dose effect" of QI.
BACKGROUND: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to elucidate which hospital-based quality improvement (QI) strategies are most effective in facilitating improvement in care for patients with community-acquired pneumonia. METHODS: In 1999 telephone interviews were conducted with 29 acute care hospitals in Connecticut regarding their use of QI strategies for 1,234 patients at baseline and 1,081 patients at follow-up. RESULTS: Hospital-based QI strategies were grouped into two domains of implementation approach (epidemiologic and social influence). Hospitals scoring a 4 in either the epidemiologic or social influence approach (versus a score of < or = 3) experienced a greater-than-average increase in percentage of patients with blood culture collection within 24 hours of hospital presentation. Hospitals applying all four social influence QI strategies showed a greater-than-average increase in delivery of antibiotics within 8 hours of patients' hospital arrival when compared with all the other hospitals combined. DISCUSSION: The finding that an increased proportion of patients receiving antibiotics within 8 hours and blood cultures within 24 hours of hospital arrival when the greatest numbers of hospital-based QI strategies were implemented in suggestive of a possible "dose effect" of QI.
Authors: Bryan J Weiner; Jeffrey A Alexander; Stephen M Shortell; Laurence C Baker; Mark Becker; Jeffrey J Geppert Journal: Health Serv Res Date: 2006-04 Impact factor: 3.402