Background: Low rates of compliance with quality measures for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been reported for US gastroenterologists.
Aims: We assessed the influence of quality improvement (QI) education on compliance with physician quality reporting system (PQRS) measures for IBD and measures related to National Quality Strategy (NQS) priorities.
Methods: Forty community-based gastroenterologists participated in the QI study; 20 were assigned to educational intervention and control groups, respectively. At baseline, randomly selected charts of patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis were retrospectively reviewed for the gastroenterologists' performance of 8 PQRS IBD measures and 4 NQS-related measures. The intervention group participated in a series of accredited continuing medical education (CME) activities focusing on QI. Follow-up chart reviews were conducted 6 months after the CME activities. Independent t tests were conducted to compare between-group differences in baseline-to-follow-up rates of documented compliance with each measure.
Results: The analysis included 299 baseline charts and 300 follow-up charts. The intervention group had significantly greater magnitudes of improvement than the control group for the following measures: assessment of IBD type, location, and activity (+14 %, p = 0.009); influenza vaccination (+13 %, p = 0.025); pneumococcal vaccination (+20 %, p = 0.003); testing for latent tuberculosis before anti-TNF-α therapy (+10 %, p = 0.028); assessment of hepatitis B virus status before anti-TNF-α therapy (+9 %, p = 0.010); assessment of side effects (+17 %, p = 0.048), and counseling patients about cancer risks (+13 %, p = 0.013).
Conclusions: QI-focused CME improves community-based gastroenterologists' compliance with IBD quality measures and measures aligned with NQS priorities.
Keywords: Continuing medical education; Inflammatory bowel disease; Physician quality reporting system; Quality improvement.