Hospice quality improvement programs: An initial examination

Recognizing that little is known about use of quality improvement (QI) proc esses to enhance care of the dying, 11 large hospices exchanged information about their QI programs. These hospices reported monitoring from 3 to 50 o utcomes measured by various indicators and methods. Agencies that related Q I to their organization's mission, goals, and strategic plan were mo:re lik ely to have dedicated QI staff; a more intense, comprehensive, and particip atory QI program: and more QI projects resulting in performance enhancement . Both accomplishments and difficulties were identified in several areas, i ncluding establishing benchmarks, involving staff, and using computer techn ology to manage and analyze QI data.