PUBH7542: Quality Improvement and Patient Safety

Almost 20 years ago in the United States the Institute of Medicine published To Err is Human, transparently noting that between 44,000 and 98,000 people in that country die every year as a result of medical errors; further research has shown that patients in all countries are subject to unintended harm as a result of their interaction with our healthcare systems. Not only are these errors devastating to those who have them, they harm providers and cost billions of dollars a year. Additionally, as the healthcare landscape shifts rapidly from one build upon volume to a value-based system, health systems and countries face an ever more urgent need to improve quality and safety for the populations they serve. This course will review the role of the health system leader in addressing the challenge of improving quality, safety, and value. Modules will specifically address: an overview of quality improvement and patient safety, data and common improvement models, patient safety techniques, the administrator's role in the creation of the culture of safety, future trends in quality, safety, and value. Course Goals: a. Understand the patient, system, and population impacts of the current quality and safety challenges faced by healthcare b. Describe common models used for improvement work c. Understand the role that providers and health system leaders play in quality improvement and patient safety efforts d. Utilize common tools of quality and safety e. Balance system and personal responsibilities in quality improvement and patient safety f. Be familiar with common terminology and techniques such as PDSA, Lean, RCA, and Six Sigma Course is reserved for students enrolled in Executive Masters in Healthcare Administration Program - School of Public Health.

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