Interventions to Decrease Unplanned Healthcare Utilization and Improve Quality of Care in Adults With Inflammatory...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Health Services Research
• Quality Improvement Science

Background:

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care quality varies significantly, indicating room for improvement.
• Identifying effective quality improvement (QI) interventions is crucial for optimizing patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and identify successful QI interventions aimed at reducing variability in IBD care.
• To pinpoint interventions addressing key quality indicators and acute care utilization.

Main Methods:

• A systematic review of Medline, Embase, and Web of Science databases through May 2021.
• Inclusion of studies reporting QI interventions for IBD focusing on vaccination, acute care, and specific care processes.
• Risk of bias assessment using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist.

Main Results:

• Twenty-three manuscripts and 23 abstracts met inclusion criteria, with vaccination and acute care utilization being most frequently studied.
• Electronic medical record-based interventions were common, alongside structural care changes and educational strategies.
• Successful interventions were tailored to metric complexity, involved non-physician staff, and utilized electronic prompts.

Conclusions:

• Diverse QI interventions can enhance IBD care quality, though success is not universal.
• Clinicians should adopt successful strategies and develop new initiatives to address quality gaps in IBD management.