Immunization and Clinic Efficiency Projects are Honored at the DFM Statewide Meeting

The Department of Family Medicine Residency Clinics Statewide Immunization Quality Improvement Team received the 5th annual James E. Davis Award for Quality Improvement at the Department of Family Medicine's Statewide Meeting on September 29. This project led by Maggie Dugan, MS, FNP and Byron Crouse, MD has demonstrated amazing success by increasing the rate of 2-year-old immunizations from 27% in 2002 to 73% at the end of 2004. The Statewide QI Team has representatives from all eight DFM residency clinics and has worked together for the past two years.

A major cornerstone of the Immunization Project was the implementation of the Regional Childhood Immunization Network (RECIN) registry across the residency clinics. This registry, which is a project of Marshfield Clinic, tracks immunizations, monitors vaccine inventory and has a patient outreach system. Other interventions include clinician education around issues such as "no missed opportunities" and true contraindications. Policies were put into place such as a shot only policy and a vaccine timing policy.

A second award was given to St. Lukes Family Practice Center for a QI project led by a resident. St. Lukes is the first recipient of the award in this newly formed category. This project, led by Laurie Bailey, MD, Judd Pulley, MD, Pam Graf, MA and Rebecca Schultz, FNP, was entitled "Improving Clinic Efficiency." This ambitious project focused on five areas:

• Patient arrival
• Registration process
• Patient rooming
• Room supplies
• Problem and medication updates

Interventions include having patients complete a pre-appointment health visit form, reorganizing the registration desk, standardizing the rooming of patients, and several others. Improvement was made in the satisfaction of staff and faculty in several areas after these interventions were implemented.

The James E. Davis award was started in 2001 to honor Jim Davis, MD, MS who has long acted as a mentor for those who use quality improvement principles to advance research, instructional and clinical goals. The award is chosen by members of the DFM's Quality Improvement Leadership Team, members of the External Quality Improvement Advisory Committee and other local Quality Improvement experts. The winning project teams were not only honored at the DFM Statewide Meeting but department leaders will also present a plaque and a check for $500 at future team meetings.