Improvement Interventions
Authors: Frank Davidoff
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2015)

Letters21 April 2015Improvement InterventionsFrank Davidoff, MDFrank Davidoff, MDFrom Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L15-5071-3 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE:Many serious improvers share Dr. Lynn's frustration with the constraints that true experimental methods (mainly protocol-driven RCTs) impose on the study of improvement work. That frustration can be eased somewhat by remembering the many opportunities other than formal research that are available for developing new knowledge about improvement: exchanging and exploring improvement data with fellow improvers, care providers, and patient groups and reviewing the work with hospital governing boards, accrediting agencies, and funders (1). Improvers and clinicians alike need to take full advantage of the learning and leverage that can come from these less-than-academic pursuits.The failure in ...References1. Solberg LI, Mosser G, McDonald S. The three faces of performance measurement: improvement, accountability, and research. Jt Comm J Qual Improv. 1997;23:135-47. [PMID: 9103968] MedlineGoogle Scholar2. Campbell DT, Stanley JC. Experimental and Quasi-experimental Designs for Research. Boston: Houghton Mifflin; 1963. Google Scholar3. Hurley D. Chemical imbalance: our high-tech process of pharmaceutical research is broken—and the solution might be old-fashioned trial and error. The New York Times Magazine. 16 November 2014:61-73. Google Scholar4. Craig P, Dieppe P, Macintyre S, Michie S, Nazareth I, Petticrew M. Medical Research Council Guidance. Developing and evaluating complex interventions: the new Medical Research Council guidance. BMJ. 2008;337:a1655. [PMID: 18824488] doi:10.1136/bmj.a1655 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Parry GJ, Carson-Stevens A, Luff DF, McPherson ME, Goldmann DA. Recommendations for evaluation of health care improvement initiatives. Acad Pediatr. 2013;13:S23-30. [PMID: 24268081] doi:10.1016/j.acap.2013.04.007 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Frank Davidoff, MDAffiliations: From Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire.Disclosures: The author has disclosed no conflicts of interest. The form can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOf InterestForms.do?msNum=M14-1789. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoImprovement Interventions Are Social Treatments, Not Pills Frank Davidoff Improvement Interventions Joanne Lynn Improvement Interventions Sarah L. Szanton , Bruce Leff , and Laura N. Gitlin Metrics 21 April 2015Volume 162, Issue 8Page: 597KeywordsConflicts of interestDisclosureDrugsGraduate medical educationPatientsResearch designUndergraduates ePublished: 21 April 2015 Issue Published: 21 April 2015 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2015 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...