Quality practices at Scott & White to be shared with health care systems, hospitals across country

Scott & White Healthcare clinical processes and systems have been cited among “best of class” quality infrastructures in an exhaustive review conducted by The Advisory Board Company. The Advisory Board Company is a noted provider of comprehensive performance improvement services to the health care and education sectors.

Scott & White was cited most frequently in The Advisory Board’s latest health care research project in half of the 18 categories evaluated. Scott & White’s organizational and operational quality tools are among those to be included in a manual of best clinical practices to be made available by The Advisory Board Company to hospitals and health care systems.

"Every hospital and health system in the nation has some type of infrastructure for improving clinical quality,” said Amanda Shoemaker Berra, Practice Manager, The Advisory Board Company and lead author of Building a Best-in-Class Quality Infrastructure. “However, many organizations struggle with the day-to-day complexities of doing this important work, especially given all the other time commitments that clinicians and other hospital staff have.”

“Scott & White has designed a comprehensive and effective approach to managing quality improvement task forces and committees in a way that keeps quality initiatives on track. We think many organizations could benefit from their example here," continued Berra.

“We have worked to organize the right people, give them the tools and resources to be successful and then measure their effectiveness,” said Gail VanZyl, RN, BSN, Chief Nursing Executive for Scott & White. “ It is gratifying to have our efforts held up as a model by The Advisory Board Company, an organization that has long demonstrated leadership in identifying processes and practices advancing quality patient care.”

Among the best practices cited by The Advisory Board Company is Scott & White’s use of best practice teams and committees in managing quality improvement and quality assurance. “We ensure that each group has a clear action plan and we monitor efforts vigorously,” said VanZyl. “These committees stay intact throughout a project and beyond, giving us a better chance of maintaining our gains in quality through ongoing review.”

Scott & White’s model of patient care was showcased in July, when President and CEO Alfred B. Knight, M.D. presented at a national forum titled “How Do They Do That?; Low-Cost, High-Quality Health Care in America.” That same month, Scott & White received the Texas Health Care Quality Improvement Achievement Award from TMF® Health Quality Institute, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for Texas.

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