Quality and Value Improvement in Pediatric Cardiac Care

The aim of this chapter is to offer a starting point for pediatric and congenital heart centers interested in building a robust or expanding an existing quality, safety, and value improvement program. Numerous excellent references exist for understanding quality improvement in pediatric cardiac care, and this chapter is meant to connect the reader to many of those sources as well as to serve as a practical reference for implementing quality improvement (QI) locally. We begin with a general background of quality improvement, safety, and healthcare value. We then outline the fundamentals of data and measurement utilized in quality improvement to help anyone get started. Finally, we characterize the development and infrastructure of two unique pediatric cardiac quality improvement programs.