PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT THROUGH QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TEAMWORK

Quality improvement teams have the ability to enhance processes that i mpact care delivery. Organizations must use a framework for documentat ion and communication of the team's work that is congruent with expect ations by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organiza tions (JCAHO) and that nurse executives can apply the expectations to the activities of their departments. The author discusses one such fra mework, based on 1994 standards, and presents a team report form illus trating communication of the team`s efforts using JCAHO terminology.