Quality Improvement

This series of posts will take you from project design to implementation, data collection, analysis and even publication! Learn about techniques like Stakeholder Engagement, Root Cause Analysis, Project Implementation, Run Charts, Statistical Process Charts, Publication Guidelines and more!

Quality of Care in the ED

Simplified approach to understanding healthcare quality measures and how they apply to the emergency department.

Preparation Part 1: General Considerations for a QI Project in the ED

A core summary of the first steps of initiating a quality improvement project: form a team and establish roles, and develop a SMART aim statement for the project

Preparation Part 2: Stakeholder Engagement and Behaviour Change

Understanding how to outline the key stakeholders that are relevant to your quality improvement project, and identifying the elements to behaviour change that may affect your intervention

Preparation Part 3: Root Cause Analysis

How to perform a root cause analysis through different methods including the 5 Whys, a Fishbone or Ishikawa diagram, and process mapping.

QI in the ED, Implementation Part 1: QI Implementation Methodologies

Learn more about hierarchy of effectiveness, lean methodology and PDSA cycles

QI in the ED, Implementation Part 2: Which Strategy to Choose, PDSA, Lean or Six Sigma?

An in-depth comparison of the big three quality improvement conceptual frameworks

Quality Improvement Projects and Patient Reported Measures

Unpacking two types of outcome measures: Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and Patient Reported Experience Measures (PREMs)

The Role Variation and Quality Improvement

Taking a deeper dive into the meaning of variation in healthcare processes, causes of variation, and how to address it

Reporting QI Results Part 1 - Run Charts

How is a run chart different from another chart? How can you use it to its full potential when presenting data from your quality improvement project?

Reporting QI Results Part 2 - Run Charts

A basic approach to utilizing this powerful tool, how it can guide your thinking about a family of measures, and how you data can be collected and displayed

Designing a QI project – Difference between Quality Improvement and Traditional Research Paradigms

When should you choose a quality improvement methodology vs a traditional research methodology? What factors should you consider when making this decision?

How to Read and Make Statistical Process Charts - Part 1

Discussion of the preparation prior to constructing an SPC chart, and the common elements in interpreting an SPC chart

Preparing a QI Manuscript - The SQUIRE 2.0 Guidelines

Understanding the value and extended purpose of reporting guidelines and why you should care about them!

Better Measurement in Quality Improvement

Take a deep dive into the types of measures that can be used in your quality improvement project and the value they each can carry

Navigating Ethics in Quality Improvement

Have a QI project you're looking to implement and unsure how to ensure your data is collected ethically? Read more to get some tips on how to navigate ethics in QI work