Three Learning Organizations in Cataract Surgery : The Example of Intracameral Antibiotic Injection

BACKGROUND: The recent systematic adoption of intracameral antibiotic injection during cataract surgery in Sweden, India, and the US serves as a model for the successful transitioning of local quality improvement initiatives to organization-wide implementation. Although the delivery of eye care in the 3 countries is distinctly organized with differing governances and technological infrastructure, each contains elements of a learning organization (ie, an organization that has adopted a culture of creating, acquiring, and transferring knowledge into practice through system-level and clinician-level change). METHODS: We describe a retrospective and organizational implementation study of intracameral antibiotic injection in Sweden, through the efforts of the National Cataract Registry; in the US by Kaiser Permanente; and in India by the Aravind Eye Hospital System. Leadership structure, training in problem solving, benchmarking, sharing of technical knowledge, and data and workforce engagement are compared. RESULTS: Each of the 3 organizations share the key elements of effective leadership, which values the exchange of ideas in the workforce, training and resourcing for change, and information management in the form of benchmarking and data sharing. In the case of intracameral antibiotic injection, a new technique was identified to improve quality and safety with a reduction in infections as evidence of the success of the programs. CONCLUSION: Committing to a culture of collective learning, and leveraging each stakeholder's personal investment, health-care systems may improve care delivery and set new benchmarks in quality and safety

Cataract surgery and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have become an important adjunctive tool for surgeons performing routine and complicated cataract surgery. These medications have been found to reduce pain, prevent intraoperative miosis, modulate postoperative inflammation, and reduce the incidence of cystoid macular edema (CME). Whether used alone, synergistically with steroids, or for specific high-risk eyes prone to the development of CME, the effectiveness of these medications is compelling. This review describes the potential preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative uses of NSAIDs, including the potency, indications and treatment paradigms and adverse effects and contraindications. A thorough understanding of these issues will help surgeons maximize the therapeutic benefits of these agents and improve surgical outcomes.Financial disclosureProprietary or commercial disclosures are listed after the references