Improving care and outcomes by sparking innovation
and accelerating the translation of knowledge into practice
As part of our work to speed and spread improvement in pediatric healthcare, the Anderson Center builds and supports sustainable collaborative networks. These Learning Networks enable patients and families, clinicians, researchers and communities to work together in a compelling process of quality improvement, innovation and discovery that measurably improves care and outcomes for children and families. Patients and parents are essential partners in understanding the experience of care and keeping us focused on the important outcomes. This work is led by Carole Lannon, MD, MPH.
Learning Networks are multisite, practice-based clinical networks that use data for research and improvement. These networks involve collaborations among engaged patients and families, multidisciplinary teams of clinicians and staff, researchers and communities. Learning Networks span a broad reach of conditions, settings and geographic locations and drive the spread of innovation beyond the walls of Cincinnati Children’s and into other communities and settings.
The power of combined learning and data is particularly important in pediatrics because of the limitations posed by having small numbers of patients at any one site. By combining patients and practices across a Learning Network, improvement is not only enhanced but also accelerated.
To fulfill our vision, we will use Learning Networks to:
- Serve as powerful laboratories where unwanted variations in care are reduced
- Learn how to effectively scale up improvement, understand what tools work for spread in what settings and effectively integrate research with improvement
- Provide infrastructure for pediatric patient-centered outcomes research, especially with respect to understanding the comparative effectiveness of healthcare interventions
The Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence supports networks that focus on measurable outcomes at both regional and national levels. Here are summaries of each, with links to additional information and websites.
