Are perfusion technology and perfusionists ready for quality reporting employing six-sigma performance measurement?

This editorial is the product of a recent communication with Journal Editor Stammers. Moss and Thompson, Editors of the journal Quality in Health Care adopted a new outline for quality improvement reports (1). They made the point that clinical quality reports (like case reports) do not fit the traditional scientific publication outline of introduction, method, results, and discussion. Just as Moss and Thompson were encouraging those with practical experience in quality improvement to write about their success and failures, perfusionists must share their strategies and forays into process improvement. The Journal of ExtraCorporeal Technology should facilitate perfusion technology quality improvement by adopting a report outline similar to the Quality in Health Care journal. A modified outline appropriate for perfusion technology adopted from Moss and Thompson is proposed (Figure 1). Quality improvement and error-reduction strategies fit well into the perfusion practice and technology models. Perfusionists may communicate their process improvement successes and failures employing the proposed quality report outline.