Quality Improvement (QI) Tools & Resources

Selecting a QI Project -- There’s no shortage of clinical topics to choose from when selecting a QI project, and sometimes coming to a consensus with the other members of your practice can be challenging. Get some guidance from the National List of Priority Areas for Improvement in Health Care Quality and the AAFP’s Criteria for Performance Measures. Plus view the AMA Consortium for Performance Improvement and the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance's Recommended Starter Set.

Implement a QI Project in Your Practice -- This page provides a variety of tools and resources to help you improve patient care. You can try the Academy’s METRIC program and link to QI tutorials from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the Medical University of South Carolina. You’ll also find information about the Chronic Care Model developed by the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation, and the Clinical Microsystems’ Green Book developed by Dartmouth College – two resources that can help you assess, diagnose and treat your patients. Plus, you’ll find project specific tools and resources to improve patient care for a variety of clinical topics.

Registry Tools & Resources -- A patient registry can help you provide more efficient and effective patient care. Learn more about registry functionality and find out about some of the products currently available.

Performance Measurement & Pay-for-Performance -- Much is happening in the area of measuring, evaluating, and reporting the quality of medical care. Learn about Academy involvement and find links to AAFP policy on pay-for-performance and criteria for performance measures. You’ll also find links to nationally accepted measures developed by the AMA Physicians Consortium for Performance Improvement and the Ambulatory care Quality Alliance’s recommended starter set, as well as links to certification programs, and national demonstration projects.

Patient Safety in the Primary Care Office -- A patient safety study by the AAFP revealed that 86% of the reported errors in the family physician's office setting were process errors. Learn more about what the Academy and other organizations are doing to improve patient safety, and how you can get involved.

Resources for Redesigning Your Practice -- This page provides education, tools and resources to help you make the practice of tomorrow a reality today. You can learn about group visits, same day appointments (open access), and find resources on health information technology and other practice efficiencies to help you provide cost-effective, quality patient care.

Medicare Quality Improvement Community (MedQIC) -- Visit MedQIC for a list of all state quality improvement organizations and links to their individual Web sites. From there you can learn about state-based quality improvement activities.