Quality Improvement Basics

Quality improvement (QI) begins with a measurable gap between the care patients should receive and what is actually happening. A repeated workaround, a cluster of near-misses, delayed assessments, or a rising fall rate may all signal a system that needs examination. The experienced nurse does not stop at “someone made a mistake.” The nurse asks what in the workflow made the error more likely and whether the problem is occurring often enough to require a structured response. QI is a formal, systematic way to study local performance and test changes that may improve patient care, safety, outcomes, or efficiency. It uses evidence and data, but its purpose is practical: improve the system in which care is being delivered. QI is related to, but different from, several activities: - An incident report documents an event or near-miss and initiates required safety follow-up. It is not, by itself, a complete improvement project. - An audit compares practice with a standard. QI continues beyond identifying the gap by testing a change and checking whether performance improves. - Research is designed primarily to create...