Sustaining reliability on accountability measures at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Pronovost PJ, Holzmueller CG, Callender T, et al. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2016;42:51-62.

This study updates the previously described progress of patient safety efforts at Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 2012, hospital leaders declared their goal of exceeding The Joint Commission Top Performer award thresholds by achieving at least 96% compliance onaccountability measures. The program included creating a robust quality management infrastructure through the Armstrong Institute, engaging frontline clinicians in peer learning communities, and transparently reporting monthly data with a detailed step-based accountability plan for underachieving metrics. This study describes how the hospital was able to sustain performance on all of the accountability measures through 2014. The authors attribute their continued success to establishing an enduring quality management infrastructure, a project management office, and a formal accountability framework. This model highlights the degree of organization required to create lasting changes that improve patient safety across health systems.