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When is QI just QI? Ethical Overlap and distinctions between QI and Research

When is QI just QI? Ethical Overlap and distinctions between QI and Research

Introduction:

On September 6, 2018, Mary Ott, MD, MA, Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, presented a TREATs talk entitled, "When is QI just QI? Ethical Overlap and Distinctions between QI and Research." Here, Dr. Mary Ott compares and contrasts quality improvement (QI) and research: quality improvement is a systematic approach to improve performance, while research is an investigation to increase human knowledge. While there are some similarities, both approaches have different methodologies. Dr. Ott discusses problems with applying standard research ethics to QI. Do more appropriate ethical frameworks exist for QI work?

References:

Brundin-Mather, R. et al. (2018). Secondary EMR data for quality improvement and research: A comparison of manual and electronic data collection from an integrated critical care electronic medical record system. Journal of Critical Care, 47.

Carter, E. et al. (2017). Clarifying the Conundrum: Evidence-Based Practice, Quality Improvement, or Research? The Clinical Scholarship Continuum. Journal of Nursing Administration, 47(5).

de Lusignan, S. et al. (2015). Using routinely collected health data for surveillance, quality improvement and research: Framework and key questions to assess ethics and privacy and enable data access. BMJ, 22.

When is QI just QI? Ethical Overlap and distinctions between QI and Research