Improving service quality in primary care.

A framework for improving health care service quality was implemented at a 12-provider family medicine practice in 2010. A national patient satisfaction research vendor conducted weekly telephone surveys of 840 patients served by that practice: 280 patients served in 2009, and 560 served during 2010 and 2011. After the framework was implemented, the proportion of "excellent" ratings of provider service (the highest rating on a 5-point scale) increased by 5% to 9%, most notably thoroughness (P = .

Addressing antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections in an academic family medicine practice.

The objective of this study was to educate health care providers and patients to reduce overall antibiotic prescription rates for patients with acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI). An interdisciplinary quality improvement team used the Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control quality improvement process to change patient expectations and provider antibiotic prescribing patterns. Providers received personal and group academic detailing about baseline behaviors, copies of treatment guidelines, and educational materials to use with patients.

Validation of the Revised Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT CPI): Version 2006.

Background: Based on changes in core physical therapy documents and problems with the earlier version, the Physical Therapist Clinical Performance Instrument (PT CPI): Version 1997 was revised to create the PT CPI: Version 2006.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to validate the PT CPI: Version 2006 for use with physical therapist students as a measure of clinical performance.

Design: This was a combined cross-sectional and prospective study.

Development of a unique triage system for acute care physical therapy and occupational therapy services: an administrative case report.

Background And Purpose: This administrative case report documents the development of a mechanism by which systematic triage was used to assign patients to therapists in acute care settings. The primary objective was to develop a triage tool to improve patient access to medically necessary therapy services.

Case Description: A unique triage tool and a decision tree were developed to determine which patients referred to therapists for acute care therapy required skilled services.

Minimum detectable change in gait velocity during acute rehabilitation following hip fracture.

Purpose: Early ambulation and rehabilitation are recommended for patients undergoing surgical fixation of hip fracture. Gait velocity may be used as an outcome measure for these patients during acute rehabilitation. As an outcome measure, an estimate of meaningful change (responsiveness) in gait velocity for these patients, however, has not been described.