Differentiating Quality Improvement and Research Activities

In summary, QI is a systematic process intended to bring about immediate change in the delivery of care to improve patient care processes and outcomes. The measures that yield improvement in the project population may not yield the same results when used in another population; the results cannot be published as factswith any measure of generalizability. Quality improvement is cyclical in nature,with an incentive to expedite data collection and analyze results in order to continue to tweak the process to further improve care. The interventions are based on current knowledge rather than generate new knowledge. Conversely, the overriding goal of research is to test new ideas and rigorously carry out the study using the most structured design so that results can be generalized to the extent possible in other settings. Both QI and research require ethical conduct and respect for participants; this is best achieved through oversight by an outside review. Institutional review boards need not consume their time reviewing QI projects; instead, QI panels with IRB member representation can be used to screen proposals and either approve as QI, have the proposals revised, or send on to the IRB if they find the proposal represents research. Knowledge of the differences in QI and research and having systems in place to facilitate both fulfill the obligation to society to continuously improve care based on a sound scientific basiswhile reducing risk to the hospital and healthcare professionals by avoiding unethical conduct in QI and research activities. Copyright © 2013 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.