Three NCMS physicians are working on quality improvements in health care delivery through the NCMS Foundation’s North Carolina Physician Institute for Quality Enhancement Program (NCPIQE). James Hooten, MD, Leo Spector, MD and Peter Gilmer, MD, have been working on projects focused on the adoption of best practices, an important component of performance improvement. Their innovative projects include developing care registries and structuring training programs for improving quality.

Visit the NCMS Foundation website to learn more about the North Carolina Physician Institute for Quality Enhancement Program, which is funded by a $100,000 grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation. The mission of NCPIQE is to establish infrastructure and resources to support quality improvement in the delivery of specialty medical care in North Carolina. Program staff work closely with the NC Center for Hospital Quality and Patient Safety to align goals and training activities.

Drs. Hooten, Spector and Gilmer are now focused on how to use quality initiative (QI) principles to identify the root causes for system failures and identify and implement appropriate solutions. Visit http://www.ncmsfoundation.org/ to read about the progress of these members’ innovative quality projects.