The RCQ Model: Conceptualizing Inter-Clinician Relationships, Communities of Practice and Quality Improvement in Healthcare

Background–Quality Improvement In Healthcare

In Canada, clinicians, managers and policymakers are aware of quality deficiencies in the Canadian healthcare system, as it is a top priority of Health Canada (2004). Preventable adverse events (AEs), which are unintended injuries or complications resulting in harm of a patient, offer an example of this. It has been estimated that, of 185,000 acute care hospital admissions associated with AEs, 70,000 may have been preventable. Insufficient emergency room capacity and wait times for surgery have occasionally resulted in occasionally fatal consequences (“Ontario emergency room waits,” 2005; “Alta. MLA alleges hush-money,” 2011; Global Winnipeg, 2009). As well, factors including rapidly escalating medical costs and increasing demands for accountability and transparency in clinical practice, have mandated the development of metrics in performance assessment and mechanisms for promoting perpetual improvement in quality (Harrigan, 2000).