Quality in Pediatric Emergency Medicine: A Learning Curve and a Curveball

Health care systems are increasingly incorporating quality improvement (QI) methods that were traditionally being used in the manufacturing industry to reduce errors, costs, and variation in care and to improve access, safety, and finally value (quality/cost) of medical care. Many pediatric emergency medicine providers who are directly responsible for improving quality at the institutional level are not formally trained in QI methodology. For QI methods to be relevant, one needs to present the application of these methods in the context of care that is provided on a day-to-day basis. This article attempts to provide a glossary of commonly used quality frameworks, terms, and tools (the “learning curve”) followed by a couple of examples of clinical issues that are being addressed by formal/informal QI techniques (the “curveball”).