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Consensus publication guidelines: the next step in the science of quality improvement?

Correspondence to:
Professor R G Thomson
Director of Epidemiology and Research, National Patient Safety Agency and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health, Newcastle upon Tyne Medical School, UK; Richard.thomson@newcastle.ac.uk

Keywords: quality improvement; evidence; publication; guidelines

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Samuel Beckett wrote "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." Fiona Moss and I tried some time ago to produce a structure for publication of quality improvement reports on behalf of this journal that would facilitate and encourage their publication;¹ the BMJ subsequently adopted the structure for their authors.² Now, several years on from these first attempts, Davidoff and Batalden suggest new publication guidelines that build on this earlier version.³ These should be welcomed—in the spirit of improvement and intellectual evolution, it would be very surprising if the first attempt were to remain unchanged and unchallenged.

Before commenting on their proposals, it is worth reflecting on the original purpose of the development of quality improvement reports. This was based on the demand, within an emerging science and practice of quality improvement, for shared learning and dissemination of good practice. Those . . . [Full text of this article]

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				P Pronovost and R Wachter Proposed standards for quality improvement research and publication: one step forward and two steps back. Qual. Saf. Health Care, June 1, 2006; 15(3): 152 - 153. [Full Text] [PDF]