Quality improvement (QI) consists of systematic and continuous actions that lead to measurable improvement in health care services and the health status of targeted patient groups.

1. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT
TOOLS IN HEALTHCARE
Iyanar.S
MBA (Hospital Administration)

2. QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TOOLS
Quality improvement (QI) consists of systematic and
continuous actions that lead to
measurable improvement in health care services
and the health status of targeted patient groups.

3. SEVEN QUALITY IMPROVEMENT TOOLS

4. 1. FLOW CHART
 DEFINITION – Diagram that uses graphic symbols to depict the nature
and flow of steps in a process
 BENEFITS
 Promote process understanding
 Provide tool for training
 Identify problem areas and improvement opportunities

5. 2. CAUSE AND EFFECT DIAGRAM
 Famous tool used to establish the logical relationship of actions (causes) and its
outcome (effects). Also known as “Fishbone” diagram.
 Example: 6 M’s method – Lab results delay

6. 3. CHECK SHEET
 Pre-designed structured template for collection, compilation and
grouping of data with clear categorization.
 Used to track the outcome of a process or event with reference to
time or any other relevant variable.

7. 4. HISTOGRAM
 A bar graph with visual indication of category-wise performance/response.
 Used to summarize large data sets graphically, Compare measurements to
specifications, Communicate information to the team

8. 5. PARETO CHART
 Bar chart arranged in descending order of height from left to right
 Bars on left relatively important than those on right – Breaks big problem into
smaller pieces, Shows where to focus, Identifies more significant factors
 “80 % problems are created by approx. 20 % of the causes” – Pareto Principle

9. 6. SCATTER DIAGRAM
 Used to study & identify the possible relationship between the
changes observed in two different set of variables.
 If relationship is there then the causal variable must be addressed to
eliminate desired effect.

10. 7. CONTROL CHART
 Performance data are collected and plotted over time, it has central
line which indicates the target value and two lines indicating upper
control limit & lower control limits.
 In healthcare – used for monitoring of fever, blood pressure etc.,