PROJECT NAME: Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (PIBD) Improvement Collaborative
TIME FRAME: 2007 - 2008
DESCRIPTION / PROBLEM: Studies have shown that nationwide, the care of patients with pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) varies considerably and that standard procedures were not being followed -- resulting in lower quality, increased cost and reduced patient safety.
In 2007, Richard Colletti, M.D., pediatric gastroenterologist at the Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen, helped found a national quality improvement collaborative aimed at improving the care of children with IBD. Currently, 10 medical centers throughout the country are participating in this collaborative.
The mission of the project is to develop and test specific changes that will lead to improvement in the care of these children, and determine how to best incorporate these changes into everyday practice.
PROJECT GOALS AND MEASURES: The collaborative developed specific goals and standards of care to be followed, to ensure patients with IBD receive the appropriate diagnostic care and initial evaluation; the appropriate assessment and management of their nutritional status and growth, and uniform effective treatment. Participating centers track their compliance with 19 key measures to determine if they are meeting project goals. The ultimate goal is to improve outcomes, increase patient safety and improve the quality of life for these children.
INTERVENTIONS:
- Educated all providers who care for IBD patients at Vermont Children’s Hospital about project goals and standards of care for these patients.
- Began collecting data on compliance with measures on a monthly basis.
- Conducted a local focus group to assess needs of patients and families.
- Launched a weekly IBD clinic in the Children’s Specialty Center in the Ambulatory Care Center at Fletcher Allen. The clinic is designed to provide all the care the patient needs in one setting, including a visit with a nutritionist and a child life specialist.
- Participated in creation of educational tools for children to help them cope with IBD.
EVALUATION: Data on compliance with project measures is collected and evaluated on a monthly basis. This data is posted on a project “extranet” site, to be shared with all members of the collaborative so that participating centers can learn from each others’ experiences.
RESULTS: From March 2007 to March 2008, Vermont Children's Hospital saw a significant improvement in its compliance with the project measures, reaching 90 percent or higher compliance on 9 out of 10 measures studied.
More information about quality at Fletcher Allen can be found at Fletcher Allen’s Quality of Care Reports Web site:
http://www.FletcherAllen.org/Quality/index.html
For more information about this project, contact the James M. Jeffords Institute for Quality and Operational Effectiveness at Fletcher Allen:
James M. Jeffords Institute for Quality and Operational Effectiveness
Fletcher Allen Health Care
111 Colchester Avenue
Burlington, VT 05401
Phone: (802)847-9795
Fax: (802)847-8959
