A Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Conducting Quality Improvement Initiatives in Orthopaedic Surgery

Numerous frameworks have been developed as methods to address complex quality improvement (QI) problems. We aim to provide orthopaedic surgeons with a foundational understanding of QI in order to facilitate their engagement in QI initiatives. We begin by providing a broad overview of QI terms and frameworks and then present a step-by-step guide for conducting QI initiatives using a popular, intuitive, and practical method: Lean (A3). We accompany our descriptions with links to publicly accessible short QI videos developed by the Stanford Medicine Center for Improvement. Additionally, we list key educational resources offered by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) and the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) as well as provide information on a recently published textbook devoted to QI and patient safety in orthopaedic surgery