Why is Quality Improvement Important?

What is Quality Improvement???

If you can’t tell by the title of this post, quality improvement (QI) is important to me! I will tell you why, but first, let us understand what quality is before we get into the improvement piece.??

A quick Google search gave me this simple definition of quality: the degree of excellence of something.??

WOW.??

The way that is explained makes me think of a Likert scale measurement…??

What is the degree of excellence of [insert literally anything here]??

• Not excellent?
• Kind of excellent?
• Neutral?
• Sometimes excellent?
• Always excellent?

Okay so now that we have a glimpse into what quality is and the fact that it can be measured, wouldn’t you want to improve the quality of [insert literally anything here] if it were not “always excellent?”??

Quality Improvement in Healthcare?

In healthcare, every single person is responsible for the quality of care and the quality of the environment in which that care is being provided. What I love about this industry is the ability to measure quality in every aspect of what we do.?

For example, we can measure clinical outcomes such as falls, pressure injuries, patient satisfaction, and infection rates. There are also process measures, such as how often we are keeping central line dressings clean/dry/intact. These examples show how there is an opportunity to improve the quality of care - or degree of excellence - in many different areas.??

This is Quality Improvement!??

I get energized at the idea of identifying a problem (something identified as “not excellent” or “kind of excellent” in the above scale), working on a solution, and then measuring the degree of excellence after an intervention has been put in place and seeing an improvement (hopefully the subsequent measurement would come out as “sometimes excellent” or “always excellent”).??

Making a difference in the degree of excellence really jazzes me up. This is QI in a nutshell. It is a continuous process. Everyone is responsible for improving quality. Making a difference in the degree of excellence in [insert literally anything here] can be rewarding for all!??

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About the Author: Holley Farley, M.S.N., R.N. is the Nursing Coordinator for Clinical Quality at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Holley has served as CUSP champion, safety ambassador, and quality improvement champion. Holley is passionate about quality improvement initiatives. ?