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Healthcare
Special Issues
Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Healthcare
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Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Healthcare

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 1180

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Antonio Giulio De Belvis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Agostino Gemelli University Hospital—Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare (IRCCS), 00168 Rome, Italy
Interests: quality improvement; patient safety; value-based model; audit & feedback; performance measurement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, continuous quality improvement (CQI) has become a cornerstone in the pursuit of excellence in healthcare delivery. As systems face increasing complexity, limited resources, and evolving patient needs, healthcare organizations must adopt systematic, data-driven approaches to improve clinical outcomes, reduce errors, and enhance patient satisfaction.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Healthcare titled "Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Healthcare". This Special Issue aims to explore methodologies, frameworks, and case studies that illustrate how CQI principles can be applied across diverse clinical and organizational contexts to promote patient safety and better health outcomes. This topic aligns with the journal’s mission to support evidence-based practices that elevate the quality and sustainability of healthcare systems.

Original research articles and reviews including (but not limited to) the following areas of interest are welcome:

  • CQI models and their applications in clinical settings;
  • Performance assessments with feedback regarding results;
  • Value-based healthcare;
  • Digital, real-time quality monitoring systems/dashboards;
  • Multidisciplinary approaches to patient safety;
  • Patient-centered quality initiatives;
  • The collection and analysis of PREMs and PROMs for patient satisfaction.

We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions.

Dr. Antonio Giulio De Belvis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • continuous quality improvement
  • patient safety
  • value-based healthcare
  • outcome measurement
  • clinical performance evaluation
  • patient satisfaction

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 382 KB  
Article
Changes in Health Facility Readiness for Providing Quality Maternal and Newborn Care After Implementing the Safer Births Bundle of Care Package in Five Regions of Tanzania
by Damas Juma, Ketil Stordal, Benjamin Kamala, Dunstan R. Bishanga, Albino Kalolo, Robert Moshiro, Jan Terje Kvaløy, Godfrey Guga and Rachel Manongi
Healthcare 2025, 13(23), 3060; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13233060 - 26 Nov 2025
Viewed by 284
Abstract
Background: Maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality remain a pressing challenge with uneven progress globally and in Tanzania. The capacity of health facilities to provide quality care is critical to improving outcomes. This study aimed to assess changes in health facilities’ readiness to [...] Read more.
Background: Maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality remain a pressing challenge with uneven progress globally and in Tanzania. The capacity of health facilities to provide quality care is critical to improving outcomes. This study aimed to assess changes in health facilities’ readiness to provide quality maternal and newborn care, and hence aimed to inform improvements in quality-of-care interventions in Tanzania. Methods: A before and after assessment of 28 comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care health facilities implementing the Safer Births Bundle of Care package in five regions of Tanzania was carried out in December 2020 and January 2023. We adapted the World Health Organization’s Service Availability and Readiness Assessment tool, which covered amenities, equipment, staff, guidelines, medicines, and diagnostic facilities. Composite readiness scores were calculated for each category and results were compared at the health facility level. For categorical variables, we tested for differences by Fisher’s exact test; for readiness scores, differences were tested by linear fixed and mixed model analyses, considering dependencies within the regions. We used p < 0.05 as our level of significance and measured change from baseline using a paired t-test. Results: The overall readiness improved significantly from 67.6% to 83.7% (p < 0.05). Statistically significant improvements were seen in medical equipment (77.1% to 94.0%), diagnostic/treatment commodities (69.3% to 83.1%), and availability of guidelines (50.8% to 96.7%). Changes in amenities (78.1% to 84.2%) and staff (63.0% to 61.7%) were not significant. The overall readiness improved in all facility types and the change was statistically significant in district hospitals and health centres (p < 0.05). There were significant differences in improvement between regions (p < 0.05) Conclusions: The overall readiness has improved significantly, reflecting a positive change. However, there remains a need for further enhancement, particularly in terms of staffing, to ensure high-quality maternal and newborn care. Authorities should take swift action to address the identified gaps, selecting the most effective and practical interventions while closely monitoring progress in readiness and sustaining the gains. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Healthcare)
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16 pages, 1262 KB  
Article
Measuring Surgical Waiting Times in Breast Cancer: Admission to Surgery Versus Biopsy Result to Surgery
by Cem Tandoğan, Mustafa Berkeşoğlu, Ferah Tuncel, Didem Derici Yıldırım, Cumhur Özcan, Sami Benli, Erkan Güler and Eda Bengi Yılmaz
Healthcare 2025, 13(23), 3010; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13233010 - 21 Nov 2025
Viewed by 319
Abstract
Background: Preoperative timelines may lengthen due to tailored evaluation and system constraints. We examined whether two complementary measures of time-to-surgery (TTS)—admission-to-surgery (A-TTS) and biopsy-result-to-surgery (B-TTS)—behave similarly and whether parallel tracking offers service value. Methods: In a single-center retrospective cohort of eligible women undergoing [...] Read more.
Background: Preoperative timelines may lengthen due to tailored evaluation and system constraints. We examined whether two complementary measures of time-to-surgery (TTS)—admission-to-surgery (A-TTS) and biopsy-result-to-surgery (B-TTS)—behave similarly and whether parallel tracking offers service value. Methods: In a single-center retrospective cohort of eligible women undergoing upfront surgery for invasive breast cancer (2010–2021; n = 167), we reported quality indicators for timeliness (target attainment, agreement and discordance, the interval gap, and the surgery-to-adjuvant interval), while analyzing recurrence as the primary endpoint and overall survival as secondary. Discrimination analyses, logistic regression, and Cox models were used; non-proportional hazards were handled with a log–time interaction centered at 24 months. Results: The two time measures were not interchangeable: discordant cases were frequent and pointed to different bottlenecks. A-TTS ≤ 24 days was independently associated with recurrence (OR 3.16; 95% CI 1.13–8.82) and showed a large early hazard for death at 24 months that attenuated over time (HR 22.83; 95% CI 6.44–80.98; interaction HR 0.06; 95% CI 0.02–0.21), whereas B-TTS showed no association. Conclusions: Lymphovascular invasion remained the strongest pathologic correlate of survival. Tracking both intervals, paired with brief, reason-coded reviews of discordant cases, may support scheduling, quality dashboards, and breach governance better than a single TTS metric. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Continuous Quality Improvement and Patient Safety in Healthcare)
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