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T.S. Köhler, B. Schwartz (eds.), Surgeons as Educators,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64728-9_19
Quality Improvement and Patient Safety
Ethan L. Ferguson and Chandru P. Sundaram
Introduction
A hallmark of the modern healthcare system is the pursuit of the highest-quality
medical care possible. This requires balancing among the available treatment
options, those that are cost-effective and those that will provide the best outcome for
patients. This process is ever evolving through research and advances in technology.
Despite these advances, treatments should remain patient-centered and emphasize
patient safety.
In medical education, there is a duty to pass on knowledge and to train the next
generation of physicians to practice safely and independently. Previously, physician
knowledge and experiential learning were paramount. Particularly in the field of
surgery, surgeons focused on experience and operative volume as trainees. In the
current era of medical education, however, patient safety and delivery of high-
quality medical care are increasingly important and have become necessary compo-
nents of undergraduate and graduate medical education. In 1999, the Institute of
Medicine drew national attention to the need for improvements in quality and safety
reporting with their report To Err is Human [ 1 ]. More recently, the Association of
American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and the Association of Faculties of Medicine
of Canada endorsed the introduction of patient safety and QI topics early in medical
school training [ 2 ]. Beginning in 2012 through a Clinical Learning Environment
Review (CLER), the ACGME mandated that quality improvement and patient
safety be core competencies in every residency curriculum [ 3 ]. This is also true of
E.L. Ferguson
Department of Urology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
C.P. Sundaram, MD (*)
Department of Urology, Indiana University School of Medicine,
535 N Barnhill Dr., STE 420, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA
e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]