Data Management for Quality Improvement: How to Collect and Manage Data

Engaging in timely, informative, and clinically relevant quality improvement (QI) initiatives should be a priority of health care organizations large and small. As clinical science advances with new innovations, treatments, and therapies, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that these discoveries are effectively implemented in clinical practice. Quality improvement is a systematic approach to analyzing performance, identifying areas for improvement, and testing the effectiveness of change within a system. In health care, QI might include identifying a problem in clinical practice, designing a pilot intervention, analyzing data collected, and incorporating results into decision-making in order to improve the delivery of health services and evidence-based, high-quality care. Initiatives from organizations such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement have helped formalize this process and provide a standardized framework through which to implement QI initiatives.¹ 

When implementing a QI project, many struggle with the task of collecting and managing data. These efforts...