Zusammenfassung

PROBLEM BEING ADDRESSED: With the increasing emphasis on quality improvement, we need programs for improving office practice. OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAM: To demonstrate a simple and inexpensive program that resulted in improvement in the quality of Papanicolaou smears in a family practice teaching clinic. The performance measure was the proportion of smears containing endocervical components. MAIN COMPONENTS OF PROGRAM: The program involved annual feedback on the performance of the physicians in the clinic. Feedback was given to physicians at a regular group meeting; brief discussion of the findings also occurred at that time. There were no other interventions. CONCLUSIONS: A program involving straightforward feedback and discussion for less than 1 hour contributed to a 7% improvement in the proportion of Pap smears with endocervical components. This "low tech" approach should be tested in other settings and with other procedures and treatments.