About KiAP and Quality Development in Denmark
KiAP - Quality in General Practice
KiAP aims to promote and support the establishment of clusters as a focal point for quality development in general practice.
This support consists, among other things, of a medical qualification of data so that they are easily adapted to the quality work in general practice. KiAP is also involved in developing electronic care plans for general practice as part of a strengthened effort for chronic patients.
KiAP offers cluster specific tools for both the professional and administrative parts of the cluster work. For example:
- Development of cluster packages within a wide range of medical topics
- Access to various data views on clinical work in general practice
- Guides to help with the administrative work in the clusters.
KiAP collaborates closely with different public stakeholders to ensure integration across medical systems and data.
KiAP is organized with a board and steering committee - appointed by PLO, Danish Regions and the municipalities - as well as with a secretariat that includes political service, medical qualification and development and operation of IT solutions. KiAP is located in Copenhagen and Odense respectively.
Clusters and Quality Development in General Practice
The purpose of the clusters is to create a professional forum where GPs can meet and share knowledge and experiences and select specific focus areas for quality development.
It is a professional community that focuses on developing the quality of medical work based on healthcare data and collegial sparring. The clusters are locally based and typically include doctors in a local area, typically a municipality.
The clusters, of which 116 have been established, include 99% of all GP’s in Danmark but vary in size. On average, 29 doctors participate in a cluster. The clusters typically meet 2-4 times a year and work with various clinical topics chosen by the cluster itself.
Data-driven quality development is at the heart of the cluster work. International experience shows that professional networks where the members can relate to their own quality data and discuss variations and possible interventions is a good starting point for quality improvement. Access to relevant and comparable data is therefore an important focus area for KiAP.
KiAP has prepared inspirational material for the clusters in the form of thematic cluster packages on topics such as COPD, diabetes, lower respiratory infections, well-being and job satisfaction, collaboration with municipalities and hospitals.
Perceived outcome
In the summer of 2023, a survey was sent out to all GPs in Denmark to evaluate perceived satisfaction with and outcome of cluster meetings. 67% of GPs responded to the questionnaire.
Overall, Danish GPs find the quality improvement system in cluster meetings useful and consider it supportive for quality improvement in general practice.
46% experience a 'high' (40%) or 'very high' (6%) benefit from cluster meetings. 38% rate the benefit as 'medium', while 16% have a low (11%) or very low (5%) benefit from cluster meetings.
Social cohesion and collegial support are associated with the perceived benefit of the meeting.
The results show that more than half of the cluster members are motivated to create changes in practice. However, the results also show that for many cluster members, implementation of insights is a difficult task.