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Analyze the Data and Identify Needed Changes
Time to Complete: 1 week
Difficulty: Moderate; requires analytical skills
Outcome: Awareness of how things are working now and how you want them to work
Steps
Get the data in shape
A "run chart", used to graph data over a period of time and identify trends, is a format that makes trends and cause and effect phenomena easy to spot.
Identify needed changes
For example, you might decide to create standing orders or initiate contact with patients who have not received recommended care.
What You'll Need
- Microsoft Excel, or a similar software package that enables the creation of charts using data points
- A project meeting to identify changes suggested by the data
- Decision-making authority
- Buy-in from the team that the changes chosen are the right ones to pursue and are achievable
Tool
The FPM article, "A Team Approach to Quality Improvement," describes how one practice implemented changes that resulted in better care for patients who had diabetes. The "Using a run chart" section provides an example of such a chart, which can help the team see where changes need to be made.
Where to Go for Help
Read FPM's articles "A Team Approach to Quality Improvement" and "13 Months of Quality Improvement: Did It Work?"
Join a free collaborative online network committed to practice transformation. Learn more about Delta-Exchange.
This Patient-Centered Medical Home section of the AAFP web site was supported in part by a grant from Merck & Co.
This Patient-Centered Medical Home section of the AAFP web site was supported in part by a grant from Merck & Co.
Use the System to Improve Care
