Participation in quality improvement (QI) collaboratives has helped hospitals improve outcomes and decrease costs.1,2 As such, state-level surgical QI collaboratives have become increasingly common. However, the optimal design of an effective collaborative and its key drivers of success remain unclear. Our objective was to create a conceptual model of a surgical QI collaborative to facilitate the development, implementation, and systematic evaluation of the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative (ISQIC).
A multidisciplinary, multi-institutional team of ISQIC researchers conducted a literature review and expanded and adapted key components of existing models of health care QI to create a conceptual model for a surgical QI collaborative.3,4 Feedback from QI leaders, hospital administrators, clinical frontline staff, and quality researchers guided the evolution of the model through multiple iterations until final consensus was reached. Institutional review board approval was not required, as this research did not involve human participants.