Quality improvement
Improvement is rarely a single “light bulb” moment. It takes teamwork, commitment, and a process for defining and measuring success. We help our partners by consulting and coaching them through the practice of change.
- Building the will for change – we coach through change management and rallying support for improvement.
- Finding ideas for how things might be done differently – coaching, facilitating, and identifying tools that can help generate new ways of thinking.
- The execution – putting the ideas to work, using a simple and proven model for improvement.
Our Model
The model is driven by three questions that focus our improvement efforts:
- What are we trying to accomplish?
(aim statement) - How do we know that a change is an improvement? (measures)
- What changes can we make that will result in improvement? (ideas for change)
Once these are identified, we move into the PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycle.The PDSA is meant to drive rapid, small-scale changes that allow us to put an idea into action quickly. A typical improvement process will move through multiple PDSA cycles, with each one building on the knowledge of the last.
What does an improvement project look like?
From a small team running PDSA cycles, to patient journey mapping, to a structured learning collaborative with hundreds of participants, improvement takes many forms. Learn about some of the improvement systems used by ImpactBC and partners throughout the province.
Resources
If you’re new to this topic or looking for a refresher, register for our online Quality Improvement Basics course. This no-cost learning opportunity can be done at your own pace in a series of short modules.
For additional tools and reading on quality improvement, including templates, suggested readings, and case studies, visit our Resources page.