Continuous Quality Improvement

Overview

ACUTE CARE, INC. (ACI) achieves Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) through an aggressive corporate quality plan that is integrated into your hospital's plan. (ACI) utilizes random and generic quality screens and referred review in Quality Assuranc, adhering to CQI principles.

(ACI) Administration, including the Chief Medical Officer and President/CEO, is involved on an ongoing basis at all hospitals. Our full-time Performance Improvement Department includes board certified, experienced emergency physicians to provide:

	Peer review;
	Physician mentoring;
	Local medical director education and support.

The ACI leadership team will participate in your hospital's:

	Emergency Department committee activities;
	Medical staff meetings;
	Quality improvement process;
	Community interface.

Physician Evaluation/Retention

ACI's service model is designed to provide incentives for our physicians to provide quality care and to integrate each physician into the local medical community. Our active involvement in the management of the practice enables the key management personnel at ACI to maintain and develop productive relationships with our physicians. The concerns of the administration, medical staff and our Emergency Department physicians are treated as top priority and addressed accordingly, before they become a question of practice quality.

The Medical Director will review, investigate and respond to all patient care concerns, whether generated from patients, medial staff or administration. The clinical appropriateness of a case will be reviewed through the Performance Improvement process, with the physician providing input as part of the investigation. Interpersonal relationship concerns will be resolved on an individualized, proactive basis such that issues can be resolved and sound relationships fostered.

Patient Satisfaction Results

In addition, ACI believes it is our responsibility to gather patient satisfaction impressions from hospital administration, medical staff and ancillary staff. Our emphasis is on the physician component of the patient interaction, and we have developed sophisticated tools to collect the information and share it with your facility. Each physician is evaluated after his or her first shift at your facility and on a continual basis thereafter. Through phone interviews and on-site visits with hospital staff, the physician is evaluated in the following areas:

	Competence and medial ability;
	Communication ability with hospital staff;
	Professional appearance;
	Patient rapport;
	Documentation: - Content of record; - Completion of record.

ACI's believes that all of these criteria influence the Emergency Department physician's ability to provide a positive patient encounter. This evaluation provides a mechanism for praise of worthy performance and as a guide for education, counseling and practice support.

Our experience shows that a proactive performance improvement plan with attention to training and support leads to improved patient satisfaction . This continual monitoring and direct feedback to the physician yields a positive outcome for our joint practice in your Emergency Department.