Practice teams will vary in size and composition. It’s not the size, but the diversity of the team, that’s most important in terms of improving quality.3 Each member of your practice team will have some complementary expertise that can be harnessed to improve preventive care.
Bringing the team together requires a common purpose, leadership and a culture of QI.
A culture of QI means that quality is prioritised. It is a continuous process integrated into the way the practice operates and where every member of staff is involved in the delivery, review and improvement of care.4 It also implies receptiveness to change.5
A key element of a QI approach is patient-centred care:
Patient-centred care is recognised as a dimension of high-quality healthcare in its own right and is identified in the seminal Institute of Medicine report, Crossing the Quality Chasm,6 as one of the six quality aims for improving care.7
Although an overall culture of QI is vital, a total overhaul of practice workflow is rarely necessary to improve preventive healthcare.
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When seeding a culture of QI in our practice, we found that identifying change champions within the practice was key.
– Dr Cory Lei, Green Book Editorial Committee
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We recognised that we had to have a dedicated meeting time for QI, supported by monthly reports on data and a dedicated staff member to do and follow up the actions.
– Assoc Prof Charlotte Hespe, Green Book Editorial Committee
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