St. Luke’s Medical Center
Bottom-Up Approach to Quality Improvement in Pneumonia Care
St. Luke's Medical Center has made significant improvements in its performance on the pneumonia care core measures over the last five years. The hospital, which was once achieving as low as 30 percent to 50 percent compliance with the pneumonia care core measures, now performs well above state and national averages. Those interviewed credit the organization's improvement in pneumonia care to the energy and attention to quality improvement provided by the frontline staff, who have embraced the core measures as an opportunity to improve patient care. Concurrent review, ongoing nursing staff education, and streamlined standing order sets also have helped the hospital improve its performance.
Performance Improvement Strategies
- Encourage and build momentum for quality improvement from the bottom up--starting with frontline staff.
- Rely on a simple, user-friendly order set to increase performance in the pneumonia care core measures.
- Concurrent review reduces the likelihood of a case falling out of compliance and provides an opportunity to educate clinicians--and reinforce messages--at the point of care.
