Sharing Your Practice Improvement Ideas

The ultimate goal of MOC (Maintenance of Certification) is to improve the quality of patient care. The focus of MOC Part IV, the Quality Improvement Activity (QIA), challenges Diplomates to apply what they’ve learned in MOC Part II or Part III to improve their patient care or an aspect of their practice.

A review of the QIAs submitted in 2019 reveals that ABO Diplomates have accepted this challenge in a variety of creative and innovative ways. Diplomates have designed EHR templates and patient brochures, initiated audits of patient charts and billing procedures, and developed protocol for evaluating and treating specific conditions, resulting in more effective and efficient patient care. 

Throughout 2020, ABO plans to highlight these inspired and resourceful ideas, so the entire Diplomate community can benefit from these quality improvement efforts. If you have a QIA that you’re willing to share, please let us know. 

The first QIA we’ve selected to share was submitted by Dr. Charles Fornara, an ABO Diplomate from Coshocton, Ohio. It’s an activity that is easy to implement and provides immediate benefits. Dr. Fornara wanted to make better use of all he learns from the various CE courses and webinars he attends. So, he created a form to record the “pearls” from each program, as well as ideas for new services, office protocols, etc. to be implemented in his practice. His staff members also use this form when they attend CE; they record 3 things they learn from each lecture and 1 idea to implement from each CE meeting. Then, as a group, staff decide which ideas will be executed. Dr. Fornara says they try out an idea for 3-6 months, then evaluate whether to adopt it permanently or discontinue it.

Let us know what you think of Dr. Fornara’s QIA and, if you implement his idea, please share how it works in your practice. We’d love to hear from you.