In-depth series – Quality Improvement

| September 11, 2017 | Print Article

Throughout the year we will explore quality improvement as our in-depth topic.  Join us on a mini-tour of tools, resources and ways to incorporate quality improvement models in everyday GME.  Our third installment, of six, is to look at two methods that are frequently used in quality improvement.

  1. Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA)

Plan: Plan a change or improvement
Do: Conduct a test of the change or improvement
Check:  Gather data; analyze. What did you learn?
Act: Decide what to do based on learnings.

  1. Six Sigma (DMAIC)

Define:  the problem or improvement
Measure: the process performance
Analyze: the process to determine the root cause of variation
Improve: by eliminating the root cause
Control: the improved process and future processes

There are many different models for every kind of organization and process.  All of the models share a common foundation of analysis, implementation and review.  It is the process that each model uses that is different.  Search the literature for different models and pick one that works for you.

For further information on quality methods visit the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.