Elena Parmelli1, Miranda Langendam2, Thomas Piggott3, Jan Adolfsson4, Elie A Akl5, David Armstrong6,7, Jeffrey Braithwaite8, Romina Brignardello-Petersen3, Markus Follmann9, Zbigniew Leś10, Joerg J Meerpohl11,12, Luciana Neamtiu13, Amir Qaseem14, Paolo Giorgi Rossi15, Zuleika Saz-Parkinson13, Philip J van der Wees16, Holger J Schünemann17,18,19. 1. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Via E. Fermi 2749 - TP 127, I-21027, Ispra, Italy. Elena.PARMELLI@ec.europa.eu. 2. Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam Public Health institute, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. 3. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact McMaster University Health Sciences Centre, Room 2C16, 1280 Main Street, West Hamilton, ON, L8N 4K1, Canada. 4. Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services, Sweden & The Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. 5. American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon. 6. Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. 7. Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. 8. Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. 9. German Cancer Society, Berlin, Germany. 10. Evidence Prime, Kraków, Poland. 11. Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. 12. Cochrane Germany, Cochrane Germany Foundation, Freiburg, Germany. 13. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Via E. Fermi 2749 - TP 127, I-21027, Ispra, Italy. 14. American College of Physicians, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 15. Epidemiology Unit, Azienda USL - IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy. 16. Department of Rehabilitation and IQ Healthcare, Radboud University Medical Center, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands. 17. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact McMaster University Health Sciences Centre, Room 2C16, 1280 Main Street, West Hamilton, ON, L8N 4K1, Canada. schuneh@mcmaster.ca. 18. Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. schuneh@mcmaster.ca. 19. Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. schuneh@mcmaster.ca.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In 2017, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) started developing a methodological framework for a guideline-based quality assurance (QA) scheme to improve cancer quality of care. During the first phase of the work, inconsistency emerged about the use of terminology for the definition, the conceptual underpinnings and the way QA relates to health questions that are answered in guidelines. The objective of this final of three articles is to propose a conceptual framework for an integrated approach to guideline and QA development and clarify terms and definitions for key elements. This work will inform the upcoming European Commission Initiative on Colorectal Cancer (ECICC). METHODS: A multidisciplinary group of 23 experts from key organizations in the fields of guideline development, performance measurement and quality assurance participated in a mixed method approach including face-to-face dialogue and several rounds of virtual meetings. Informed by results of a systematic literature review that indicated absence of an existing framework and practical examples, we first identified the relations of key elements in guideline-based QA and then developed appropriate concepts and terminology to provide guidance. RESULTS: Our framework connects the three key concepts of quality indicators, performance measures and performance indicators integrated with guideline development. Quality indicators are constructs used as a guide to monitor, evaluate, and improve the quality of the structure, process and outcomes of healthcare services; performance measures are tools that quantify or describe measurable elements of practice performance; and performance indicators are quantifiable and measurable units or scores of practice, which should be guided by guideline recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The inconsistency in the way key terms of QA are used and defined has confused the field. Our conceptual framework defines the role, meaning and interactions of the key elements for improving quality in healthcare. It directly builds on the questions asked in guidelines and answered through recommendations. These findings will be applied in the forthcoming ECICC and for the future updates of ECIBC. These are large-scale integrated projects aimed at improving healthcare quality across Europe through the development of guideline-based QA schemes; this will help in implementing and improving our approach.
BACKGROUND: In 2017, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) started developing a methodological framework for a guideline-based quality assurance (QA) scheme to improve cancer quality of care. During the first phase of the work, inconsistency emerged about the use of terminology for the definition, the conceptual underpinnings and the way QA relates to health questions that are answered in guidelines. The objective of this final of three articles is to propose a conceptual framework for an integrated approach to guideline and QA development and clarify terms and definitions for key elements. This work will inform the upcoming European Commission Initiative on Colorectal Cancer (ECICC). METHODS: A multidisciplinary group of 23 experts from key organizations in the fields of guideline development, performance measurement and quality assurance participated in a mixed method approach including face-to-face dialogue and several rounds of virtual meetings. Informed by results of a systematic literature review that indicated absence of an existing framework and practical examples, we first identified the relations of key elements in guideline-based QA and then developed appropriate concepts and terminology to provide guidance. RESULTS: Our framework connects the three key concepts of quality indicators, performance measures and performance indicators integrated with guideline development. Quality indicators are constructs used as a guide to monitor, evaluate, and improve the quality of the structure, process and outcomes of healthcare services; performance measures are tools that quantify or describe measurable elements of practice performance; and performance indicators are quantifiable and measurable units or scores of practice, which should be guided by guideline recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The inconsistency in the way key terms of QA are used and defined has confused the field. Our conceptual framework defines the role, meaning and interactions of the key elements for improving quality in healthcare. It directly builds on the questions asked in guidelines and answered through recommendations. These findings will be applied in the forthcoming ECICC and for the future updates of ECIBC. These are large-scale integrated projects aimed at improving healthcare quality across Europe through the development of guideline-based QA schemes; this will help in implementing and improving our approach.
Authors: Holger J Schünemann; Donata Lerda; Cecily Quinn; Markus Follmann; Pablo Alonso-Coello; Paolo Giorgi Rossi; Annette Lebeau; Lennarth Nyström; Mireille Broeders; Lydia Ioannidou-Mouzaka; Stephen W Duffy; Bettina Borisch; Patricia Fitzpatrick; Solveig Hofvind; Xavier Castells; Livia Giordano; Carlos Canelo-Aybar; Sue Warman; Robert Mansel; Francesco Sardanelli; Elena Parmelli; Axel Gräwingholt; Zuleika Saz-Parkinson Journal: Ann Intern Med Date: 2019-11-26 Impact factor: 25.391
Authors: Jeffrey Braithwaite; Peter Hibbert; Brette Blakely; Jennifer Plumb; Natalie Hannaford; Janet Cameron Long; Danielle Marks Journal: SAGE Open Med Date: 2017-01-04