Hamad Medical Corporation clinicians actively involved in patient care quality improvement projects

In recognition of the excellent work done by 28 healthcare teams throughout HMC under the program, the CCITP won the newly-introduced Managing Director's Award under HMC's Stars of Excellence staff awards and recognition program.

Hanan Al Kuwari PhD, Managing Director of HMC, said the award was introduced to recognize "exceptional teams and projects that truly define innovation and commitment to the very highest standards of patient care and service delivery."

"The CCITP has had widespread impact across the organization. It is a project-based approach to teaching clinical quality improvement, and emphasizes skills development in addition to project achievement. Under the program, clinicians are taught practical tools for use in quality improvement initiatives, along with training in leadership, communication and research," said Dr Al Kuwari.

About 90 clinicians from 14 departments have been trained under the program, which was implemented in 2012. The CCITP aims through an environment of continuous learning to foster HMC physicians who are well-versed in and passionate about quality improvement. The program is designed to give physicians hands-on experience in using the tools of quality improvement through six days of theoretical and practical sessions, as well as intensive small-group coaching.

Dr Abdullatif Al Khal, Director of Medical Education and program leader, expressed his appreciation for the support given to the program by senior corporate leaders, hospital medical directors, chairpersons and heads of clinical departments. "Quality is a never-ending journey, and we are grateful for the corporation-wide support to our efforts to promote the involvement of HMC clinicians in continuous quality improvement. The program is now in its third cycle and aspires to become bigger and better."

Program mentors include experts from HMC's Medical Administration and Medical Education Departments and quality improvement experts from Partners HealthCare of the Harvard system in Boston. Dr. Shakil Ahmed, Assistant Medical Director at HMC and one of the lead mentors, also noted that the program supports the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International LLC (ACGME-I), an international body which assesses and advances the quality of resident physicians' education through accreditation.

Using the skills learned from the program, each project team identified a particular challenge in patient care, and designed and executed a plan to resolve it and thus improve care. Twenty-eight projects across HMC hospitals were successfully completed. One of these projects involved increasing the early rehabilitation of patients in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit. Another involved reducing turnover time in the Hamad General Hospital Operating Theater with the aim of reducing waiting times for surgery.

Dr Al Khal pointed out that all these projects were led by physicians with the help and support of a multidisciplinary team of nurses and other staff members.

Dr Ahmed explained that the clinicians learned the soft skills of negotiation and communication with their colleagues in order to move the projects forward. "They also learned that to successfully carry out clinical process improvements, it is essential to work as a multidisciplinary team, and this team comprises nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists and other clinical disciplines."