Understand the system
Understand systems and processes is an important step in improving quality. The ways in which a patient progresses through the healthcare system are often complex and involve many different departments. A process map provides a map of the patient journey and helps everyone understand the work undertaken. The process map can be used to identify problems areas for improvement.
Pareto Chart is a bar chart showing how often different categories of events take place, ordered with the most common to the left, and at the least common to the right. It sometimes also includes a line showing the cumulative frequency (adding each columm's value to the previous ones in turn). Using a Pareto Chart allows us to focus on where improvement efforts will make most impact.
Process Mapping is used to develop a 'map' of a process within a system. It will help you to map the whole patient journey or diagnostic pathway within a range of people who represent the different roles involved. Process mapping can be used to help a team understand where the problems are and identify areas of improvement.
Because they are simple to make and relatively straightforward to interpret, run charts are one of the most useful tools in quality improvement. They allow us to: Display data to make process performance visible, Determine if a change resulted in improvement & Assess whether improved performance has been sustained.