Consultant / Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
Mayo Clinic
Glendale, Arizona
In the Healthcare industry, Transplant centers are required by regulations develop and utilize Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs to help maintain clinical outcomes. However, there is no guidance or evidence as to how a QAPI program should be implemented within a multidisciplinary Transplant center. From January 2012 to September of 2016, there appeared to be a no formal Quality Improvement and Assessment Program (QAPI) within the Mayo Clinic Transplant Center in Arizona. Minor success was seen by broader metrics of process improvement projects, engagement by the organization, and standardization of metrics, meeting cadence, and outcomes reporting. This appeared to have a lack of structure and formalization that can cause delays in patient care, reduce the effectiveness of care, reduce volumes, and reduce outcomes. Moreover, it can reduce practice morale, decrease engagement, lack of focus on QI, and reduce the overall patient experience. Improving the structure and formalization of the QAPI program can improve the Transplant process effectively and efficiently to enhance the patient experience and improve volumes and outcomes.
We aimed to creat a novel QAPI program for the Mayo Clinic Arizona Transplant center, using an embedded expert, with a set of standardized metrics and outcomes reporting, engagement in QI from the organization, and process improvement projects December 31, 2018, using an industry standard Operational Excellence Deployment Model, typically seen in the for-profit sectors and not in healthcare, marking it the first of its kind.
Monday, February 24, 2020
1:15 PM – 2:15 PM