Optimal Practice Support (OPS) at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center

Control over the practice environment is one determinant of the quality of professional life for physicians. As part of its Quality of Professional Life Initiative, senior leadership at the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Los Angeles Medical Center implemented Optimal Practice Support (OPS) to increase the quality of physicians' professional lives. In primary as well as specialty ambulatory care departments, OPS is a clinician-focused way to address standards for relaying messages between patients and their physicians; for ensuring consistent availability of support staff; and for preparing examination rooms (ie, setting up for each patient visit and ensuring that the examination room is well stocked with necessary medical supplies). Departments that had been implementing OPS were audited three times during 2002. Compared with results of a 2001 survey, a 2002 survey of quality of physicians' professional lives showed that 12% more physicians reported believing that the KP Los Angeles Medical Center had been successful in its efforts to improve the quality of physicians' professional lives.