Apply improvement methods, based on data from the outcomes of care processes, to design and test changes to continuously improve the quality and safety of healthcare. (PO 8)

Continuous improvement is necessary to improve patient safety, outcomes and quality. Plan-Do-Study-Act is a method of continuous improvement that involves using data and developing changes to healthcare processes.

The first step in applying the PDSA cycle to healthcare is identifying a problem or an issue that can be improved. A healthcare facility might have high rates for hospital acquired infections (HAI), which can lead to increased mortality and morbidity.

Plan the improvements and test them by developing changes in care processes. The healthcare facility might plan to train and educate healthcare workers on hand hygiene to decrease the number of HAIs.

In the third stage, the changes are implemented to the existing care process. The healthcare facility can educate and train the staff on hand hygiene, including the correct techniques of washing hands and sanitizing them.

In the fourth step, you will collect and analyse data in order to analyze the effects of your changes. In order to assess the efficacy of its hand hygiene programs, healthcare facilities can track hand hygiene compliance, rates of HAI and outcomes for patients.

Final step: act upon the findings of the research by improving the system. The healthcare facility could implement further infection prevention measures such as cleaning and disinfection protocol if hand hygiene training and education are found to be effective at reducing HAIs.

The PDSA cycle can be used as a tool for continuous improvement. This method allows you to make changes in the care process and then test them and fine-tune further to increase quality and improve safety.

Conclusion: Using improvement methods based upon data that comes from outcomes of the care process, like the PDSA Cycle, will help to continuously improve the safety and quality of healthcare. In order to improve patient safety and outcomes, healthcare organizations need to continuously evaluate and monitor their care processes. They should also collect and analyse data.