Quality Improvement Tools

 

Documenting workflows, or process mapping, is a great way to capture the current need for daily and sometimes hourly changes practices are experiencing with the recent COVID-19 crisis. The advantage of mapping a process as a group of inter-related steps is that you document the process from multiple perspectives.

Example:

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on 30 Mar 2020 2:47 AM
  • COVID-19
  • Process Improvement
  • Process Map
  • Telehealth
  • Telemedicine
  • Workflow

Starfish Diagram

A starfish diagram is a process improvement tool used to identify opportunities for improvement. Team members categorize key tactics to “start doing”, “stop doing”, “do less”, “do more”, and “keep doing” to continue progress toward defined outcomes.

Patient Cycle Time

Patient cycle time observation is a tool to measure the time it takes a patient to move through each part of the visit. Understanding the patient care processes and procedures in your practice, and the impact on the patient flow, will help you to improve the quality of care.

PDSA - Plan - Do - Study - Act

How do you test change in your performance improvement projects? The Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) model is a common evidence-based, time-tested model for engaging the team, documenting the process, and identifying the best approach for your organization.

Process Mapping

Documenting a workflow, or process mapping, visually describes each step of a process from start to finish. It helps you to understand how the process flows, and how effective it is.

Much like evidence-based medicine and clinical care pathways, there is much to gain by following a “what works” approach to network design and development. Based on years of experience studying and building effective value-based networks of physicians, HealthTeamWorks has identified 7 proven levers or drivers of change and performance.

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For over 20 years, the Children’s Hospital Immunodeficiency Program (CHIP) has been providing comprehensive, coordinated, family-centered care for children, adolescents, young adults and pregnant women living with HIV, affected by or at risk for HIV. They also provide vital care to infants born to women living with HIV and to parents of children living with HIV.  The multidisciplinary CHIP team is dedicated to providing state-of-the-art care that meets the medical, social, psychological, developmental, and nutritional needs of their diverse group of clients.

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on 12 Dec 2016 12:00 AM
  • Quality Improvement
  • PDSA

A starfish diagram is a process improvement tool used to identify opportunities for improvement. Team members categorize key tactics to “start doing”, “stop doing”, “do less”, “do more”, and “keep doing” to continue progress toward defined outcomes.

Tool

Patient cycle time observation is a tool to measure the time it takes a patient to move through each part of the visit. Understanding the patient care processes and procedures in your practice, and the impact on the patient flow, will help you to improve the quality of care.

Guide

A simple project plan for engaging the project team in planning and monitoring change tactics. 

Sample
The RACI chart is a tool for effective teaming in quality improvement activities. The chart is used for identifying the key roles and responsibilities against major tasks within a project. 
Tool

A SMART goal is used to help guide goal setting. SMART is an acronym that stands for: Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Realistic - Timely

Video

An aim statement is a written statement of what your team hopes to achieve over a specific amount of time in the focus area. The aim statement guides your work to achieve your goals.

Guide

A driver diagram is a tool for planning an improvement initiative, and helps to define which aspects of the system or project should be measured and monitored, to see if the changes/interventions are effective, and if the underlying causal theories are correct. 

Guide

Prioritization table is a tool to help prioritize tasks and projects according to how long they take and the impact of completing them. Using a prioritization table can help to decide what are the most important tasks or projects to focus on by narrowing down options.

Template
Affinity Diagramming allows you to organize large amounts of information such as ideas or survey results by identifying common themes.
Guide
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