Quality & Safety

This article collection features popular FPM content on the subjects of quality and safety -- from improving asthma care to reducing risks for patients receiving warfarin. Note that FPM content published within the past 12 months is accessible to AAFP members and paid subscribers only.

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Clinical Quality Patient Safety

Quality Improvement Principles Measurement

Clinical Quality

• 13 Months of Quality Improvement: Did It Work? [Improving Patient Care] (01/01/2001)
• Asthma Days: An Approach to Planned Asthma Care for Family Physicians [Feature] (10/01/2004)
• Cost Effectiveness Begins Between Your Ears [Improving Patient Care] (10/01/2003)
• Four Principles for Better Test-Result Tracking [Feature] (08/01/2002)
• Improving Chronic Illness Care: Lessons Learned in a Private Practice [Feature] (12/01/2005)
• Remove Roadblocks and Improve Access to Preventive Care [Feature] (10/01/2011)
• Rethinking Your Approach to Prescription "Refills" [Feature] (12/01/2011)
• A Systematic Approach to Identifying Drug-Seeking Patients [Feature] (04/01/2008)
• A Systematic Approach to Managing Warfarin Doses [Improving Patient Care] (05/01/2005)
• Tools and Strategies for Improving Asthma Management [Feature] (02/01/2010)
• Using a Simple Patient Registry to Improve Your Chronic Disease Care [Feature] (04/01/2006)

Patient Safety

• The Power of Two: Improving Patient Safety Through Better Physician-Patient Communication [Improving Patient Care] (08/01/2002)
• Prescription Writing to Maximize Patient Safety [Feature] (08/01/2002)
• Reducing Risks for Patients Receiving Warfarin [Feature] (08/01/2002)
• Reliability Science: Reducing the Error Rate in Your Practice [Feature] (10/01/2005)
• Simple Strategies to Avoid Medication Errors [Feature] (02/01/2007)

Quality Improvement Principles

• Creating a Lean Practice [Feature] (04/01/2006)
• How to Fix a Flawed Process: The Four Rules of Work Design [Feature] (06/01/2008)
• Implementing Change: From Ideas to Reality [Feature] (01/01/2003)
• Innovation in Practice: Six Ways to Harness the Power of Your Ideas [Feature] (06/01/2005)
• The KISS Principle in Family Practice: Keep It Simple and Systematic [Feature] (08/01/2003)
• Why Did That Idea Flop? [Feature] (09/01/2003)

Measurement

• Eight Steps to a Chart Audit for Quality [Feature] (08/01/2008)
• The Family Practice Management Practice Self-Test [Feature] (02/01/2001)
• Practice Measurement: A New Approach for Demonstrating the Worth of Your Work [Feature] (02/01/2008)
• Putting Measurement Into Practice With a Clinical Instrument Panel [Feature] (02/01/2003)

Last Update: 07/21/2010