Improve Systems and Evaluate Programs

Choose the method that matches the purpose

Individual outcome management uses one patient's monitoring evidence to adjust care. Quality improvement uses repeated local data to make a care process more reliable, safe, timely, effective, patient-centered, or equitable. Program evaluation systematically examines a defined program's implementation, effectiveness, efficiency, or value for decisions by interested groups. Research is designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge and requires the appropriate scientific and human-subjects oversight determination. The methods can overlap, but purpose, scope, intended inference, and governance distinguish them. Publication intent alone does not convert QI into research, and calling a project QI does not exempt research activity. Consult the organization's QI, privacy, and institutional review processes before collecting data. On the exam, first identify the unit of action: patient, local process, program, or generalizable question.