This document discusses methods and tools to improve personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance through process mapping. Process mapping is a systematic seven-step model to guide project implementation by identifying where, how, and why things go wrong. The seven steps are to identify a target, synthesize optimal and current practices, find discrepancies, develop strategies, assess effectiveness, and determine implementation. The document also mentions the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle and asks for definitions, examples, and applicability of tools to identify issues with PPE compliance.
2. • Methods and tools that have potential to improve
PPE compliance...
Identify tools that help to identify:
Where things go wrong.
How things go wrong.
Why things go wrong.
3. Process mapping
• Systematic process to guide project
implementation
ie. Seven-Step model for process improvement
4. 1. Identify potential target
2. Synthesize information about optimal
practice
3. Synthesize information about current
practice
4. Identify reasons for discrepancy
5. Develop strategy
6. Assess effectiveness
7. Determine whether practice should be
implemented
This week’s topic is to explore methods and tools that have the potential to improve PPE compliance in hospitals.The task was to research the tools that identify where, how and why practices go wrong.
While we were researching tools, we came across the concept of process mapping, a systematic process to guide project implementation, and realised that this was the most important quality improvement tool of all.
The seven step model runs as follows:Identify potential target of opportunitySynthesize information about optimal practiceSynthesize information about current practiceIdentify reasons for discrepancies between current and optimal practiceDevelop a strategy for practice improvementAssess effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the practice improvement strategyDetermine whether practice improvement strategy should be implemented and how it can be improvedAs we discussed this model, we realised that it was closely related to the PDSA model of quality improvement and so decided to arrange our presentation according to the PDSA stages. The PDSA model was also chosen because it utilises rapid cycles of improvement to identify optimal process improvement in a limited time period, both characteristics are appropriate for the improvement of PPE compliance in hospitals.
Plan stage: objective, questions and predictions must be defined, and a plan to answer the questions and collect the resulting data must be identifiedDo stage: the plan must be carried out and data collectedStudy stage: an analysis of the data is carried out and the results are compared to the predictionsAct stage: the question of whether the process change can be implemented is answered and the next cycle is planned according to the answerTools for quality improvement can be applied to each of these stages.Image retrieved from: http://www.apcc.org.au/images/uploads/The_PDSA_Cycle.gif
We have decided to structure our presentations as follows:Initially, a definition of the tool will be given, followed by an example in which the tool was implemented. From this research we will give a judgement on whether this tool could be applied to improve PPE compliance in hospitals.