Idealized Design of Perinatal Care

The Department of OB/GYN enrolled in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Idealized Design of Perinatal Care initiative in November 2006. To improve safety, what we do and how we do it must come together as the way we provide effective perinatal care. Key parts of Idealized Design of Perinatal Care are:

• Develop reliable clinical processes to manage labor and delivery (incorporate processes that help create a culture of patient safety and contribute to good care for mother and baby)
• Use principles that improve safety (preventing and detecting errors)
• Establish care teams that communicate effectively with each other and with mothers and families (effective oral and written communication)
• Acknowledge and honor the expressed preferences of the mother and family (providing information so mother and family can make informed decisions about care)
• Engage in patient-centered care (patients and community members are participants on teams to develop processes that promote patient safety, quality of care, and satisfaction).