By Dr. Cole Stanley I’m sitting here at 36000 feet somewhere over the Pacific, on a long-haul flight with no WIFI, and I can finally sustain some focus. My team has given me no easy task this month: write an “engaging” article about the role of our Clinical Data Stewardship Committee (CDSC). Hmmm, maybe we could start by calling it [...]
By Dr. Oona Hayes Quality improvement (QI) work and data-driven practice improvement are vital tools that support Joy in Work, lifelong learning and system improvement. Clinician engagement with data-driven practice improvement is also one of the priorities of the Family Practice Services Committee (e.g. panel management). There are calls for “more data” to support health care system change yet moving [...]
The challenges and pay-offs of growing your team and infusing QI at its core By Dr. Cole Stanley Foreword: Here I try to pull together my thoughts on the importance of a team-based care approach in primary care, and what conditions we need for our teams to thrive. I’m learning this with my team as we go, including from mistakes [...]
By Dr. Oona Hayes Most readers will agree that health care delivery is undergoing serious change. Working through time of change can be challenging but inspiring. I’m excited to work with an organization that supports continual improvement and reflection. The Health Data Coalition was founded and exists to empower primary care clinicians and community organizations to use data to inform [...]
By Dr. Cole Stanley Starting with subtraction to simplify and embed QI in our fragile overstretched systems Getting Rid Of Stupid Stuff (GROSS) so that you can focus on high value work It’s nearing the end of another busy clinic day. With one colleague sick and another on vacation, you’ve barely been able to fit in the patients you need [...]
By Dr. Oona Hayes How can we use data to change the way certain services are delivered? Whether it's an office schedule where the next available appointment is a few weeks out or filling out insurance forms late at night, I know the clinicians reading this all experience time pressures in our practices. A common complaint from patients is that [...]
By Dr. Cole Stanley Turning diagnostic coding from a necessary evil into a vital practice tool I can think of few things that spark less joy in medicine than the task of choosing the proper diagnostic code(s). Too often I find myself on page 3+ of the search results, wading through the overly detailed and outdated nomenclature, still coming up [...]
By Dr. Oona Hayes My resolution, as one of the medical directors of the Health Data Coalition, is to connect with colleagues who are using and contributing their practice data to HDC Discover. What are the issues in your practices? What is working well and what is challenging? This year brings hope in the choice of a new payment model [...]
By Dr. Cole Stanley The high stakes path to embedded frontline QI and why we need to take it now Preface – In true QI style, I’ve decided to test out something new. Unlike a lot of other business articles (of sedating quality), I’ve indulged in a lengthier intro, with hopes that the result is a little less dry and [...]
By Dr. Oona Hayes In my last instalment in this series, I highlighted the benefits of increasing one's "Joy in work" and the necessary conditions for this work. I agree with Dr. Stanley that this is the time to lean into quality improvement work. I'm doing a project about increasing the "joy in work" of my Medical Office Assistant (MOA) [...]