Quality of Care

The Quality Program of the Division incorporates best practices and responds to all incidents of harm. It sets and prioritizes Divisional quality improvement, patient safety, and, in conjunction with the Nephrology Clinical Pathway Development Committee, clinical pathway objectives and goals. It was developed to identify and address potential/actual issues that affect the quality of care delivered including assessments provided by the Nephrology clinical care teams. It has a responsibility to communicate the results/recommendations of the review activities to all clinical team members, to recommend changes to practice and assist with implementation of changes, to ensure quality, safety, and clinical pathway improvement strategies and initiatives are implemented, evaluated and sustained, and to report on the quality of service provided in the Nephrology programs.

The Quality Director reports directly to the Division Head of Nephrology and regularly to Division members through the Division Meeting which occurs at least 4 times per year. The Division Head then reports to the Child Health Quality of Care Committee as required.

Clinical Pathway Development Team

With a commitment to quality and excellence in clinical care, the Division of Nephrology’s Clinical Pathway Development (CPD) Team was established to help transform established best practices and innovative research findings into standardized clinical care and improved patient outcomes. The CPD Team endeavours to elevate the patient care experience by empowering pediatricians, primary care physicians, allied health practitioners, and patients and families themselves, with cutting edge knowledge, exceptional care, and uncompromised quality.

The overarching goal of the Clinical Pathway Development Team is to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the patients and families cared for by the Division of Nephrology. Underpinning this goal is the CPD Team’s commitment to continuing education, change management, knowledge translation, quality improvement, and clinical research. More specifically, the CPD aims to: (1) critically review available evidence; (2) establish consensus and make evidence based-recommendations for practice in the form of clinical pathways; (3) develop the necessary tools and resources needed to support the effective education, dissemination, and evaluation of the pathways; (4) audit end-user fidelity to and satisfaction with the pathways; (5) iteratively re-evaluate and update the pathways as new evidence becomes available, and; (6) support ongoing research initiatives in the fields of clinical pathway theory and pediatric nephrology.

Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome Clinical Pathway

Since its inception in 2011, an important focus of the CPD Team has been the evolution of the Childhood Nephrotic Syndrome (CNS) Clinical Pathway – a structured, evidence-based, and prescriptive care plan detailing the essential steps to be taken by various care providers for the management of children with nephrotic syndrome. Numerous resources and programs have been produced as part of the CNS Pathway. Collectively, these resources have allowed for highly efficient patient care, uniquely broad yet focused learning opportunities for students and trainees, and increased adherence to CNS Pathway recommendations by health care practitioners and patients themselves.

The CPD team continues to share and promote the CNS Pathway at local, national, and international forums. A guiding modus operandi for the CPD Team has been to push current practices towards, and indeed beyond, the best-available standards. To this end, future directions of the CPD Team include not only the progression of the CNS Pathway, but also the development of unique pathways for the other renal conditions typically seen within the Division of Nephrology, including but not limited to hypertension, childhood glomerulonephritis, and congenital kidney anomalies diagnosed in the antenatal period.

For more detailed information on the team