Quality Improvement
Overview
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services define quality improvement (QI) as "the framework used to systematically improve care. Quality improvement seeks to standardize processes and structure to reduce variation, achieve predictable results, and improve outcomes for patients, healthcare systems, and organizations."
Frameworks
While there are many frameworks to choose from to guide a QI project, some of the most common ones are:
- Model for Improvement (Plan-Do-Study-Act [PDSA] cycles): The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Model for Improvement combines two popular QI models: Total Quality Management (TQM) and Rapid-Cycle Improvement (RCI). The result is a framework that uses PDSA cycles to test interventions on a small scale.
- Six Sigma: Six Sigma is a method of improvement that strives to decrease variation and defects.
- Lean is an approach that drives out waste and improves efficiency in work processes so that all work adds value.
Source: American Academy of Family Physicians
