Highlights of the 4th Annual Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Symposium: Innovating for Quality

University of Iowa Healthcare hosted its 4th Annual Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Symposium on April 6 and 7, 2016. The goal of this conference was to promote a culture of innovation in quality and safety and improve performance in healthcare. This inter-professional event allowed attendees and participants to share ideas, strategies, resources, and successes in quality improvement.

The theme of this year’s program was “Innovating for Quality” and featured a keynote address from Dr. Ralph Gonzales, Associate Dean for Clinical Innovation and Chief innovation Officer at the University of California, San Francisco. Other highlights included presentations from Mike Edmond MD, MPH, MPA, the Chief Quality Officer of UIHC; Dan Reed PhD, Vice President for Research and Economic Development at UI; and Mark Nolte BS, MA, President of the Iowa City Area Development Group. The symposium featured TED-esque talks on systems-based innovations, Pearls for applied innovations, and interactive workshops. The Department of Internal Medicine was also heavily represented in presentations and workshops: Drs. Brad Archer, Gary Rosenthal, Ethan Kuperman, Krista Johnson, Yolanda Villalvazo spoke, and Drs. Mony Fraer, Kevin Glenn, Evelyn Perry, and Melinda Johnson facilitated workshops.

The QI Symposium also featured a poster presentation and judging contest. Dr. Wendy Fiordellisi, Clinical Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine, was in charge of the poster session, which received a record 76 posters. Our Department was represented in 26 posters and our residents in 9. Dr. Lisa Morselli, a third-year IM resident, was a poster award winner for her work “Improving documentation of obesity at the Iowa River Landing Internal Medicine Clinic.” Her mentors were Drs. Katherine White, Prakash Nadkarni, and Krista Johnson. Nathan Mesfin, fourth-year medical student, also won with his poster “Trends in treatment of acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD) / Has the REDUCE trial reduced steroid use in acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOD).” His mentor is Dr. Lakshmi Durairaj.

Dr. Michael Brownlee, Chief Pharmacy Officer, and Dr. Krista Johnson, Educational Director of Safety and Quality for the Internal Medicine residency program, served as co-chairs. The QI Symposium Planning Committee also benefited from the time and talents of many Department members. Thanks to Drs. Melinda Johnson, Wendy Fiordellisi, Ethan Kuperman, Mony Fraer, Mike Edmond, Karl Thomas, and Dan Livorsi for helping to make this year’s event a success.

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