Pediatric collaborative improvement networks: background and overview.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Pediatric Health Services Research
• Collaborative Network Models

Background:

• Significant gaps exist in pediatric healthcare quality, with children receiving less than 50% of recommended care.
• The American Board of Pediatrics developed an improvement network model to enhance child health outcomes and meet Maintenance of Certification requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development and implementation of collaborative improvement networks in pediatric subspecialties.
• To highlight the key components and distinguishing features of these ongoing improvement efforts.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing successful subspecialty initiatives and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's Breakthrough Series model.
• Implementing national, multicenter, prospective collaborative improvement efforts with a focus on best practices and shared data.
• Establishing persistent network infrastructure to support sustained improvement until aims are achieved.

Main Results:

• Nine of fourteen pediatric subspecialties have implemented collaborative network improvement efforts.
• Key components include common aims, reducing variation, using shared data, and infrastructure support.
• Evidence supports the model's efficacy, aligning with the vision for a Learning Healthcare System.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric collaborative improvement networks are effective in closing quality gaps and improving children's health outcomes.
• These networks facilitate patient/caregiver engagement, accelerate research translation, and foster new knowledge discovery.
• The model's infrastructure can be leveraged to accelerate the spread of best practices in pediatric care.