© Springer International Publishing AG 2018 199
T.S. Köhler, B. Schwartz (eds.), Surgeons as Educators,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64728-9_11
The Role of Educators in Quality
Improvement
Sevann Helo and Charles Welliver
Introduction
As healthcare delivery systems struggle to meet the increasing demand of services
and resources, they are also under increased pressure to provide high-value care,
which is defined as the best healthcare outcomes at the lowest cost [ 17 ]. Surmounting
pressure from payment reforms such as the Value-Based Purchasing Program of
2012 and the Medicare Access and Children’s Health Insurance Program
Reauthorization Act of 2015 has forced healthcare organizations to identify areas of
improvement. Quality improvement in the healthcare industry strives to improve
outcomes, prevent medical errors, and reduce costs.
Medical Errors
In 2016, researchers from Johns Hopkins published a study, which estimated that
more than 250,000 medical errors occur each year, making medical errors the third
leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer [ 47 , 55 ]. In addition to the
morbidity of medical errors, they are also costly to the US healthcare system. The
rising cost of healthcare in the United States presents a major economic burden that
totaled $3.0 trillion in 2014, comprising 17.5% of the gross domestic product [ 40 ].
S. Helo, MD (*)
Surgery, Division of Urology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine,
301 N. 8th St., Springfield, IL 62794, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
C. Welliver, MD
Surgery, Division of Urology,
Albany Medical College, 23 Hackett Blvd,
Albany, NY 12208, USA