Establishing key performance indicators for inflammatory bowel disease in the UK

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Clinical Audit

Background:

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) UK National Audits revealed significant variations in patient care.
• A need was identified to establish clear standards for optimal IBD care delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for benchmarking IBD care in the UK.
• To create reliable metrics for assessing and improving the quality of IBD services.

Main Methods:

• Stakeholder meetings identified critical patient journey aspects for KPIs.
• A two-stage Delphi consensus involving multidisciplinary teams and patient representatives refined KPI definitions and methodology.
• Gastroenterology services across the UK surveyed for feasibility and utility assessment.

Main Results:

• Four core KPIs were refined, focusing on diagnostic timelines, treatment initiation, and appropriate use of steroids and advanced therapies.
• Over 85% agreement was reached on the feasibility of adopting the quality improvement (QI) process locally.
• More than 75% agreement confirmed the utility of benchmarking these KPIs.

Conclusions:

• Quantifiable KPIs have been proposed through a structured consensus approach.
• These KPIs will facilitate benchmarking to enhance IBD care quality and minimize variations across the UK.