Activities » Improving Quality in Office Practice

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released a policy statement, Identifying Infants and Young Children with Developmental Disorders in the Medical Home: An Algorithm for Developmental Surveillance and Screening, which recommends that developmental surveillance be performed at every preventive visit and that a screening tool should be administered at 9-,18-, and 24- or 30-month visits and for those children whose surveillance yields concerns about delayed or disordered development.

Each ABCD state engaged providers in education and training activities to improve implementation of standardized screening procedures, through learning collaboratives, state conferences, grand rounds, teleconferences, and office-based training. Training topics ranged from best practices in developmental screening to perinatal depression.

The ABCD states promoted use of the following tools:

Developmental screening:
Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ)
Ages and Stages Questionnaire – Social Emotional (ASQ-SE)
Parents’ Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS)
Pediatric Symptom Checklist

Perinatal depression screening:
Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale: http://www.testandcalc.com/etc/tests/edin.asp
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2): http://www.cmwf.org/usr_doc/PHQ2.pdf
The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9): http://www.pfizer.com/pfizer/download/do/phq-9.pdf

Click here for a description of recommended developmental screening toolboxes for clinicians and clinical support staff.

See resources below for provider education and training materials produced by ABCD states, peer reviewed literature, and syntheses of quality improvement strategies.

• State-specific Resources produced by ABCD Consortia States for Improving Quality in Office Practice
• Peer-reviewed literature for Improving Quality in Office Practice
• Technical assistance Resources produced by NASHP and The Commonwealth Fund for Improving Quality in Office Practice
• Other Resources for Improving Quality in Office Practice