Quality improvement (QI) reports often assess processes of care in order to determine causes for clinical outcomes. Currently, there is a lack of standardization and consistency in quality of these efforts. Criteria to evaluate the integrity of a report may include the following:

Process of the quality improvement effort is explicit - How were outcomes selected? How were data collected? How was a number of records/patients determined? Were data collectors trained appropriately? Was there bias inherent in methods used?

Determination of optimal outcomes - Were thresholds identified for patient care outcomes? How? If thresholds were not met, what steps did the QI process follow to elucidate potential process problems?

Evidence base - Did the QI effort involve any sort of literature review? How were benchmarks determined?

Findings are disseminated - What is done with the findings of the QI effort? Is dissemination done without bias?