@Article{chd.12821,
AUTHOR = {Amy E. Delaney, Nina M. Dadlez, Audrey C. Marshall},
TITLE = {Alternative approach to pediatric cardiac quality assessment for low‐volume centers},
JOURNAL = {Structural and Congenital Heart Disease},
VOLUME = {14},
YEAR = {2019},
NUMBER = {4},
PAGES = {665--670},
URL = {http://www.techscience.com/schd/v14n4/39294},
ISSN = {3071-1738},
ABSTRACT = {<b>Background:</b> In pediatric cardiac care, many centers participate in multiple, national, 
domain‐specific registries, as a major component of their quality assessment and im‐
provement efforts. Small cardiac programs, whose clinical activities and scale may 
not be well‐suited to this approach, need alternative methods to assess and track 
quality.<br/>
<b>Methods:</b> We conceived of and piloted a rapid‐approach cardiac quality assessment, 
intended to encompass multiple aspects of the service line, in a low‐volume program. 
The assessment incorporated previously identified measures, drawn from multiple 
sources, and ultimately relied on retrospective chart review.<br/>
<b>Results:</b> A collaborative, multidisciplinary team formed and came to consensus on 
quality metrics pertaining to 3 chosen areas of clinical activity in the program. Despite 
the use of multiple different data sources and the need for manual chart review in 
data collection, a rich assessment of these program components was completed for 
presentation in 6 weeks.<br/>
<b>Conclusions:</b> While small programs may not participate in the spectrum of cardiac 
care registries available, these same centers can benefit from them by adapting some 
of their validated metrics for use in internal, self‐maintained quality reports. Our pilot 
of this alternative approach revealed opportunities for improved quality assessment 
practices; the product can serve as a baseline for future prospective assessment and 
reporting, as well as longitudinal internal benchmarking.},
DOI = {10.1111/chd.12821}
}