Practice Improvement Modules
- David J. Albright
- Peter Friedlieb
- Steven Glazer
- Ayesha Imran
- Kim Isaacs
- Amin Kamyar
- Antonio Lee
- Jeffrey D. Markle
- James Miller
- Marcos Montagnini
- Deborah Proctor
- Jeffrey Wiese
David J. Albright, MD
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ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1972, 1980, 1997, 2007) “My MOC participation has influenced our ER's treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). I completed the Hospital-Based Patient Care Practice Improvement Module (PIM) as part of the Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance requirement, and through it, I explored ways to improve antibiotic use to treat CAP. Through the PIM, I found our ER was taking too long to start antibiotics because of the time needed to obtain the medication from the hospital pharmacy. Now, the antibiotics are kept within the ER for faster distribution. This simple change has made a real difference.” |
Peter Friedlieb, MD
ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1979, 2008)
Grand Rapids, MN
2/23/09
“I worked on the Hypertension Practice Improvement Module (PIM) which I thought had salient features and was very well done. I was able to institute various changes in my management of hypertensive patients, which included producing pamphlets of information for patients to take with them from the office, and advising them how to monitor their blood pressure from home. I plan on putting a presentation together for my colleagues on my findings. ”
TopSteven Glazer, MD
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ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1994, 2004) “For Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance credit, I completed the Preventive Cardiology PIM. In reviewing patient charts, I realized I needed another way to address overweight and thought some patients might relate better to waist circumference than how many pounds they needed to lose. I made measuring waist circumference at annual physicals my target improvement area. The interventions were simple and effective. I laid out a tape measure in plain view in my examination room. I also added measurement to my assessment checklist. Now, it’s part of my routine and it has made an improvement in patient care. Reducing waist circumference is a more palatable goal for some patients than what we measure with the scale.” |
Ayesha Imran, MD
ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (2001, 2011) and Geriatric Medicine (2005)
Hines, IL
9/21/09
“For Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance credit, I completed the Osteoporosis PIM. Ninety percent of my patient population is male, but osteoporosis is rampant. The PIM opened my mind to this. Prior to the PIM, I relied on the hospital system’s reminders to order BMD (bone mineral density or DEXA scans) whenever a patient had a fracture or was prescribed prednisone. Now, I’m making it a point to try to order DEXA scans for all geriatric patients I’m meeting for the first time. This becomes the baseline and I intend to repeat it every one to two years and am finding that by increasing the ordering of scans and starting those at risk on therapy (Fosamax or IV Reclast for those who cannot tolerate PO meds through Endocrine) with the intent that the patients are having fewer falls. Previously, I would have just ordered X-rays for fractures but I now order DEXA scans in addition to rule out underlying osteoporosis. It’s now part of the preventive medicine portion of my exam checklist.”
TopKim Isaacs, MD, PhD
ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1987) and Gastroenterology (1991, 2001, 2011)
Chapel Hill, NC
3/27/09
“I opted to complete the Colonoscopy PIM for Self-Evaluation of Practice Performance credit. One of the areas the PIM helped me to identify for improvement was the turnaround time for pathology report follow-up. Because we check our own pathology reports, I wrote the patient follow-up letters myself and was forced to tell patients it could take up to three weeks for them to hear from me. In examining this practice, I realized that, by creating a series of letter templates for commonly-found pathologies, I could reduce the time it took to prepare the letters and now all of my letters go out to patients within seven days. As a result, my practice is now a bit more efficient and patients are able to get the answers they need in a more timely fashion.”
TopAmin Kamyar, MD, FASN
ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (2004) and Nephrology (2005)
Baton Rouge, LA
3/20/09
“When I elected to begin my Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process early, it made sense to complete the Communication – Subspecialists Practice Improvement Module (PIM). Completing the module was a great experience, as it proved to be valid feedback tool in terms of what my patients thought of my medical care delivery. ”
TopAntonio Lee, MD
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ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1983, 1998, 2008) “In completing the Diabetes PIM, I reviewed 25 patient charts and was able to identify several points for improvement, such as adding a diabetic flow sheet to better track patient progress and initiating more lifestyle change discussions. Afterwards, my patients reported more positive outcomes. ” |
Jeffrey D. Markle, MD
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ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1985, 2008) “I completed the Communication – Primary Care PIM and I learned that I could do a better job educating patients about their conditions and treatment plans. As part of my improvement plan, I decided to focus on tracking the tests I ordered and making sure results and next steps were communicated to patients through phone calls. While this requires communication with all members of my staff and takes extra time, it’s proving beneficial. ” |
James Miller, MD
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ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1980, 2005) “While I did not have to complete a Practice Improvement Module (PIM) for my recertification process in 2005, I will likely do one at some point in the future. They are an important step forward, one that allows a doctor to measure his or her own goals and outcomes. There are other methods out there for measuring improvement, but these are not quite as applicable or pertinent as the PIM. ” |
Marcos Montagnini, MD
ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1995, 2005), Geriatric Medicine (1998, 2009), and Hospice & Palliative Medicine (2010)
Ann Arbor, MI
3/20/09
“I used the Osteoporosis PIM to complete the Practice Improvement requirement of MOC. While it took me quite a while to complete, it was a very useful learning process and helped me to change my practice. We’re now more vigilant about tracking both falls and prescribing osteoporosis therapy and have implemented a fall assessment procedure to our practice. Additionally, I plan to use the PIM in teaching fellows in the University’s hospice and palliative care fellowship program because it is a systematic way for fellows to achieve ACGME’s quality improvement requirement.”
TopDeborah Proctor, MD
ABIM Board Certified in Gastroenterology (1993, 2003)
New Haven, CT
3/18/09
“The PIM helped us to identify a problem and fix it. Now, our patients are happy and our practice is more efficient as a result. I think the PIM is most useful because it helps us to pause to reflect on how we practice. I’ve recommended this module to colleagues for those reasons.”
TopJeffrey Wiese, MD
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ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine (1998, 2008) “I felt that the HIV PIM was a useful tool to improve my care of these patients. Through the PIM, I learned how my practice measured up to the standard of care, and where it needed to improve. The item we chose to focus upon was the delivery of the Hepatitis A vaccine to our HIV-positive patients, something we had not routinely provided to our patients. As a result, we changed the way we educate physicians (ourselves and our teaching service), and we were able to track compliance by integrating it into our peer review process, noting vaccine delivery as we pull charts for review. We have made a dramatic improvement, and today compliance with this standard is over 80 percent. Our goal is 100 percent compliance, and that is why we chose to add it to our peer review process.” |
