| Introduction | Aims and Mission | Course Details | The Team |
INTRODUCTION:
The National Cancer Grid (NCG) is committed to achieving its vision of high-quality cancercare, by nurturing the capacity and culture of quality improvement (QI) across cancer care services in India. For the purpose of developing competencies in quality improvement, the NCG now hosts a ‘Quality Improvement Hub (QI Hub) in collaboration with Stanford Medicine - USA, a leader in educational programs for quality improvement for clinical teams. This has been possible through a generous grant from the Tata Trusts.
The QI Hub aims to initiate, inculcate and integrate the culture of Quality through its immersion educational initiative EQuIP-India - Enable Quality Improve Patient Care. This educational program provides the participants with conceptual understanding and an immersion experience necessary to respond to quality related problems across a complex environment such as clinical practice settings. EQuIP India is inspired by the PC-PAICE (Palliative Care-Promoting Assessment & Improvement of Cancer Experience) program of Stanford Medicine and combines a structured curriculum with mentored exercises in designing and implementing quality improvement processes at the host institution.
The VISION & MISSION:
| The Vision | The Mission |
|---|---|
| QI Hub envisions that quality and its continuous improvement are integrated within the care processes of cancer centres across India. | Through its flagship educational program EQuIP-India, QI Hub-India will foster the capacity for Quality Improvement within cancer centres, and facilitate its integration within preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and palliative care processes. |
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EQuIP INDIA –LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The participants will learn to:
- Nurture state-of-the-art clinical practice improvement projects;
- Utilise quality improvement methods to evaluate and improve care processes;
- Inspire positive attitude for continuous quality improvement, and
- Foster internal quality improvement capacity.
COURSE DETAILS:
Using the identified problem from the institution, each team is guided through the A3 methodology for improving the quality of their identified problems. This is done through virtual monthly discussions which have didactic sessions on specific QI concepts, followed by discussions on each team’s project. The training is strengthened and facilitated through mentored experiential learning and an in-person QI workshop.
The virtual meetings are held monthly using the Zoom platform, at pre-scheduled dates and times. The in-person workshop is a whole day intensive on quality improvement attended by the Team leaders, and mentors – both Indian and international.
THE TEAM:
Stanford -India Quality Improvement Leadership Team
| Stanford Quality Improvement Team | Quality Improvement Hub India Team |
|---|---|
| Jake Mickelsen - Administrative Director, Value Improvement, Stanford Health Care (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) | Nandini Vallath – Director Quality Improvement Hub - India, National Cancer Grid, India |
| Michelle De Natale - Executive Director, Stanford Improvement Capability International Collaborative (ICIC), Executive Director, Strategic Operations, Stanford Health Care (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) | Sarbani Ghosh Laskar – Co-Executive Director Quality Improvement Hub -India, National Cancer Grid, India |
| Karl Lorenz – Chief -Stanford Palliative Care Section | Vanessa Damania – Executive Officer Quality Improvement Hub -India, National Cancer Grid, India (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) |
Activities Completed
- 2017-18 PILOT COHORT: The pilot project of PC-PAICE was completed successfully with teams from seven major cancer and palliative care centres across India. The in-person workshop was organised at The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in 2018. Links here - Participants of the 2017-2018 Pilot Cohort.
- 2018-2019 COHORT: The 1 st cohort from QI Hub - India completed the PC-PAICE program and improved processes of identified concerns at cancer and palliative care centres from different parts of India. The in-person workshop was organised at IAPCON 2019 at Cochin, Kerala. Links here - Participants of the 2018-2019 Cohort
- 2019-2020 : The current cohort has expanded to include eight teams; four from oncology and four from palliative care backgrounds. The QI in-person workshop took place 14 th February, 2020 as the Pre-conference workshop IAPCON 2020 in Guwahati, Assam. The Graduation of the current cohort is due in June 2020.
- The IAPCON 2020 featured two Plenary sessions on Quality Improvement by Karl Lorenz, Jake Mickelson and Nandini Vallath. Links here - Participants of the 2019-2020 Cohort.
Upcoming Activities
THE GRADUATION OF THE CURRENT COHORT 2019-2020 WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, 18 TH JUNE, 2020 AT 7 AM IST, VIRTUALLY THROUGH THE ZOOM PLATFORM.
For More Information
Please contact Ms. Vanessa Damania at : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.Why should we be interested in the EQuIP India Program?
EQuIP India is committed to building the capacity for quality improvement and positively impact the approach to quality concerns at the centre. It aims to provide the participating teams with conceptual understanding and tools necessary to identify and resolve concerns affecting the quality of clinical services, in the realms of efficiency, effectiveness, safety, quality of care or satisfaction within their own clinical settings. The QI faculty and coaches will be available to support this important hands-on learning right until the completion of one QI cycle of Plan-Do-Study-Act experience.
After completion, the participants have the capacity to guide their teams and conduct state-of-the-art clinical practice improvement projects using QI methodology, in their own institutions. The collaborative allows the participants an opportunity to appreciate the national / international QI network that provides on-going support and shares information in the field. The project also provides the opportunity to the institutions to be pioneers in developing the field of quality improvement science in the country.
Q. What happens once we join the EQuIP India Program?
The centre interested in building capacity in improving the quality of services, nominates two Team Leaders to choose a problem that is significantly affecting the quality of care at the centre. The team leaders commit to improve / resolve the concern. The team is expected to provide regular updates on their progress during the virtual QI monthly meetings and during the in-person QI workshop.
Q.What is the QI training like?
Using the identified problem from the institution, each team is guided through the A3 methodology for improving the quality of their identified processes. This is done through virtual monthly discussions which have didactic sessions on specific concepts of QI followed by discussions on each team’s project. The training is strengthened and facilitated through mentored experiential learning and in-person QI workshop.
Q. Is the attendance compulsory for all sessions?
Yes, in the interest of learning and to ensure clarity on the concepts, the team leaders are expected to attend each virtual session. If a session is missed due to unavoidable reasons, the member is expected to go through the recorded videos, to stay aligned with the flow of the training. 80% minimum attendance for virtual sessions and engaged participation in the in-person session are mandatory requirements for the certificate of accomplishment.
Q. Is there financial support for attending the in-person workshop?
Yes, the cost of travel and stay for participating in the QI workshop held on 13th Feb 2020 at Guwahati, Assam was supported upto a pre-decided upper limit.
Q. Can an individual participate?
No. The QI exercises require a team approach and clinical settings. Besides the team leaders, the processes require active involvement of team members e.g. doctor, nurse, paramedical personnel, or administrative personnel; who are working together in the processes of care at the identified setting.
Q. Who are the coaches for the programme?
The coaches are a mix of national as well as international faculty. Each team is paired with two coaches who are available to the team during the course of the QI project.
Q. Is it open only to cancer centres?
The program is open to teams involved with oncology care or palliative care, who are also members of the NCG.
Q. How many teams will be selected?
For the QI Cohort 2019-2020, 4 projects teams from Oncology and 4 project teams from Palliative Care were selected, by an international selection panel.
Q. Is there a certificate of accomplishment?
Yes. The certificate is issued by the Stanford -India QI Learning Collaborative with signatories from the QI Hub at Stanford Medicine and from QI Hub- NCG India. The attendance of the participants is monitored as well as the conceptual knowledge and progress levels in conducting the site project is undertaken to decide eligibility for the certificate awards. The 2 Team Leaders leaders receive a Certificate of Achievement, whilst the other QI team-members receive a Certificate of Participation.
PARTICIPANTS OF THE 2017-2018 PILOT COHORT
| SR. NO. | NAME OF PARTICIPATING INSTITUTION | TEAM MENTOR & MENTOR INSTITUTION |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | MNJ Institute of Oncology, Telangana | Michael Rabow, MD, FAAHPM – University of California San Francisco (UCSF) |
| 2. | Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, Trivandrum, Kerala | Stephanie Harman, MD – Stanford Medicine Sridhar Seshadri, PhD – Stanford Medicine |
| 3. | Thrissur Institute of Palliative Care, Kerala | Jane Philips, RN, PhD - University of Technology Sydney Meera Agar, MBBS – University of Technology Sydney |
| 4. | Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Vishakhapatnam | David Casarett, MD – Duke University |
| 5. | All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi | Karl Lorenz, MD, MSHS – Stanford Medicine, California Michelle De Natale, MSc – Stanford Medicine Jake Mickelsen, MBA – Stanford Medicine |
| 6. | Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, Maharashtra | Sydney Dy, MD, MS – Johns Hopkins Medicine |
| 7. | CIPLA Palliative Care Centre | Odette Spruijit, MD – Peter Mac Callum Cancer Centre Karen Anderson, MSocSci (Couns), GradDipArts(Couns), DipBus, BEduc, DipTch – Edith Cowan University, Australia |
PARTICIPANTS OF THE 2018-2019 COHORT
| SR. NO. | NAME OF PARTICIPATING INSTITUTION | TEAM MENTOR & MENTOR INSTITUTION |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Gujarat Cancer Research Institute, Ahmedabad | Karl Lorenz, MD, MSHS – Stanford Medicine, California Jayita Deodhar, MD Psychiatry – Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai |
| 2. | JIPMER, Puducherry | Michelle De Natale, Msc – Stanford Healthcare Vidya Viswanath, MD - Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Andhra Pradesh |
| 3. | Institute of Palliative Medicine, Calicut | Karen Anderson, MSocSci (Couns), GradDipArts(Couns), DipBus, BEduc, DipTch – Edith Cowan University, Australia M. M. Sunil Kumar, MBBS, DPPM,MSc - Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, Kerala |
| 4. | CanKids KidsCan New Delhi | Meera Agar, MBBS – University of Technology, Sydney Jyothi Jayan Warrier, M.Com – Pain and Palliative Care Society, Thrissur |
| 5. | Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Assam | Jake Mickelsen, MBA – Stanford Healthcare, USA Nandini Vallath, MD - QI Hub India, Tata Trusts National Cancer Care Program |
| 6. | Tata Medical Center, Kolkata | Michael Rabow, MD,FAAHPM – University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Gayatri Palat, DNB – MNJ Institute of Oncology, Telangana |
| 7. | Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur | Odette Spruijit, MD – Peter Mac Callum Cancer Centre Leela Digumarti, MD - Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Andhra Pradesh |
PARTICIPANTS OF THE 2019-2020 COHORT
| SR. NO. | NAME OF PARTICIPATING INSTITUTION | TEAM MENTOR & MENTOR INSTITUTION |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Believer’s Church Medical College Hospital, Tiruvalla, Kerala | Jyothi Jayan Warrier – Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kerala Lulu Mathews – Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kerala Meera Agar – University of Technology Sydney, Australia |
| 2. | Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai, Tamil Nadu | Vidya Vishwanath – Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Vishakhapatnam Karl Lorenz – Stanford Healthcare |
| 3. | Malabar Cancer Centre, Kerala | M. M. Sunilkumar – Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, Kerala Karen Anderson – Edith Cowan University, Australia |
| 4. | Alpha Palliative Care, Kerala | Spandana Rayala -MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Hyderabad. I. Terrymize – Institute of Palliative Medicine,Kerala Michael (Mike) Rabow – University of California San Francisco |
| 5. | Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Vishakhapatnam | Leela Digumarti – Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Vishakhapatnam Odette Spruijt – Peter Mac Callum Cancer Centre, Australia |
| 6. | Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka | Nandini Vallath – Tata Trusts, Mumbai Sydney Dy – Johns Hopkins University, USA |
| 7. | Amrita Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala | Gayatri Palat – MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre, Hyderabad Ravi Kannan – Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Assam Jake Mickelsen – Stanford Healthcare |
| 8. | Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai | Sarbani Ghosh Laskar – Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai Jayita Deodhar – Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai Michelle De Natale – Stanford Healthcare |
