11. Test and Measure Changes with the PDSA Cycle

Overview From the IHI⯠There are a fewāÆbasic concepts neededāÆto run successful PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycles in a clinical setting. First, planning and conductingāÆaāÆsmall-scaleāÆtests of change. Next,āÆestablishingāÆa helpful set of measures and a data collection plan that facilitates rapid learning, such as through sampling.āÆAdditionally, studyāÆofāÆthe data collected,āÆSuchāÆas the value of aāÆrun chart this stage of the […]
10. Work on Final Assignment (PDSA Cycle)

Overview Continue working on your final assignment. Do NOT upload this week’s work to E.Flo MD. Step 3: Set an aims statement. Consider the following guidelines: It is an issue that is important to those involved Addresses these questions: How good? By when? For whom (or what system)? Step 4: Choose at least 2 measures […]
9. How to Improve with the Model of Improvement

Overview From the IHI The Model for Improvement, developed by a group called Associates in Process Improvement, is simple to understand and apply. But itās powerful. This course will teach you how to use the Model for Improvement to improve everything from your tennis game to your hospitalās infection rate. Youāll learn the basic steps […]
8. Use Patient Safety Tools

Overview Reducing medical errors and improving patient safety is primarily a systems-based problem, and there have been a number of specific tools and approaches developed to address this problem. This component presents a number of the more common tools that have been used and provides tips on how to implement them. Abstract and learning objectives […]
7. Apply High-Value Care to Clinical Practice

Overview Principles of high value care should be incorporated in everyday clinical practice. This component provides ways to help you outline the management plan for your patients. Abstract and learning objectives Find the learning objectives on E.Flo MD required reading Laine C. High-value testing begins with a few simple questions. Ann Intern Med. 2012;156:162ā163.Ā High-Value […]
6. Create Safer Care Systems

Overview The first step ināÆreducing medical errors and providing safe patient care is to analyzeāÆand categorizeāÆthe kinds of errors that occur and all the complex steps that lead to those errors. The next step is to create systems of care that interrupt the steps and prevent or at least reduce the frequency of those errors.⯠[…]
5. Work on Final Assignment (PDSA Cycle)

Overview This is the first part of your final assignment. Begin answering these questions in a separate document (find out more about the final assignment). Do NOT upload this week’s work to E.Flo MD. Step 1:Ā Consider one of the following that you witnessed in your clinical-learning environment: An error/near miss OR an instance where […]
4. Introduction to Health Care Improvement

Overview We will work on a high-level picture of the current quality of care in the United States and how six aims for improvement from the Institute of Medicine haveāÆcreated a sense of direction for improvement efforts all over the world, and anāÆintroduction to the science of improvement, with a theory of how to change […]
3. Introduction to High-Value Care

Overview Health care in the United States is fraught with complexity, fragmentation, inefficiency, unexplained variation, and waste. To achieve better health outcomes for patients and families, and to make care more affordable, safe, and convenient, physicians will need to understand how to engage in and deliver value-based health care. This week, we will focus on […]
2. Introduction to Patient Safety

Overview Improving the quality of patient care starts with providing safe,āÆerror free,āÆmedical care.āÆHowever, humans in all highāÆdecision-makingāÆprofessions make unintentional errors. The practice of medicine is a complex, high-risk endeavor, and providing safer care must be based on designing systems of care that make it hard to ādo the wrong thingā rather thanāÆrelying only on the […]