Improvement of quality of care provided to outpatients with hepatic cirrhosis after an educational intervention

Abstract

Objective A set of indicators has been reported to measure the quality of care for cirrhotic patients, and previously published studies report variable adherence rates to these indicators. This study aimed to assess the quality of care provided to cirrhotic outpatients before and after an educational intervention by determining its impact on adherence to quality indicators. Methods We conducted a quasi-experimental, cross-sectional study including 324 cirrhotic patients seen in 2017 and 2019 at a tertiary teaching hospital in Spain. Quality indicators were assessed in five domains: documentation of cirrhosis etiology, disease severity assessment, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening, variceal bleeding prophylaxis, and vaccination. After identifying areas for improvement, an educational intervention was implemented. A second evaluation was performed after the intervention to assess changes in adherence rates. Results Before the intervention, adherence rates were excellent (>90%) for indicators related to variceal bleeding prophylaxis and documentation of cirrhosis etiology, acceptable (60–80%) for HCC screening and disease severity assessment, and poor (<50%) for vaccinations. After the educational intervention, there was a statistically significant improvement in adherence rates for eight indicators related to HCC screening (70–90%), disease severity assessment (90%), variceal bleeding prophylaxis (>90%), and vaccinations (60–90%). Conclusion Our study demonstrates a significant improvement in the quality of care provided to cirrhotic outpatients after an educational intervention. The findings highlight the importance of targeted educational interventions to enhance adherence to quality indicators in the management of cirrhosis.