Quality Improvement Collaborative Not More Effective Than Feedback Alone

How much effort is required to improve quality of care? To address this question, U.S. researchers studied efforts to improve delivery of appropriate, timely, perioperative antimicrobial prophylaxis in a controlled trial (44 hospitals; mean cases, 101); hospitals were randomized to comparative feedback alone or to feedback plus participation in a quality improvement collaborative. Participation in the collaborative involved attendance at two face-to-face meetings with experts; promotion of specific process improvements; monthly 90-minute conference calls; and sharing of guidelines, forms, supporting literature, and other materials.

In all hospitals, timing, selection, and duration of antibiotics improved, but no significant differences were …