Measuring Quality Improvement in Healthcare


Book Description

This ground-breaking book addresses the critical, growing need among health care administrators and practitioners to measure the effectiveness of quality improvement efforts. Written by respected healthcare quality professionals, Measuring Quality Improvement in Healthcare covers practical applications of the tools and techniques of statistical process control (SPC), including control charts, in healthcare settings. The authors' straightforward discussions of data collection, variation, and process improvement set the context for the use and interpretation of control charts. Their approach incorporates "the voice of the customer" as a key element driving the improvement processes and outcomes. The core of the book is a set of 12 case studies that show how to apply statistical thinking to health care process, and when and how to use different types of control charts. The practical, down-to-earth orientation of the book makes it accessible to a wide readership. "Only authors who have used statistics and control charts to solve real-world healthcare problems could have written a book so practical and timely." - Barry S. Bader, Publisher The Quality Letter for Healthcare Leaders "Many clinicians and other healthcare leaders underestimate the great contributions that better statistical thinking could make toward reducing costs and improving outcomes. This fascinating and timely book is a fine guide for getting started." - Donald M. Berwick, M.D. President and CEO, Institute for Healthcare Improvement Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School Contents: Planning Your CQI Journey, Preparing to Collect Data, Data Collection, Understanding Variation, Using Run and Control Charts to Analyze Process Variation, Control Chart Case Studies, Developing Improvement Strategies, Using Patient Surveys for CQI, Formulas for Calculating Control Limits




Statistical Process Control For Quality Improvement


Book Description

With today's growing emphasis on quality improvement, training individuals in fundamental quality control skills is a major challenge. Professionals in manufacturing industries need to bring processes into statistical control – and maintain them. This book is designed to help readers learn the statistical tools and concepts needed to develop and use quality control effectively.




Statistical Process Control and Quality Improvement


Book Description

For freshman/sophomore level introductory courses in SPC (Statistical Process Control), Statistical Quality Control or Quality Control found in two and four-year college curriculums, and in industrial training programs. This mathematics-friendly text introduces students to basic concepts and applications of Statistical Process Control (SPC). Students get a solid foundation in control charts-including setting scales, charting, interpreting, and analyzing process capability. Problem-solving techniques are emphasized, and all learning is linked to the implementation of SPC in the workplace.




Statistical Process Control


Book Description

The business, commercial and public-sector world has changed dramatically since John Oakland wrote the first edition of Statistical Process Control – a practical guide in the mid-eighties. Then people were rediscovering statistical methods of ‘quality control’ and the book responded to an often desperate need to find out about the techniques and use them on data. Pressure over time from organizations supplying directly to the consumer, typically in the automotive and high technology sectors, forced those in charge of the supplying production and service operations to think more about preventing problems than how to find and fix them. Subsequent editions retained the ‘took kit’ approach of the first but included some of the ‘philosophy’ behind the techniques and their use. The theme which runs throughout the 7th edition is still processes - that require understanding, have variation, must be properly controlled, have a capability, and need improvement - the five sections of this new edition. SPC never has been and never will be simply a ‘took kit’ and in this book the authors provide, not only the instructional guide for the tools, but communicate the management practices which have become so vital to success in organizations throughout the world. The book is supported by the authors' extensive and latest consulting work within thousands of organisations worldwide. Fully updated to include real-life case studies, new research based on client work from an array of industries, and integration with the latest computer methods and Minitab software, the book also retains its valued textbook quality through clear learning objectives and end of chapter discussion questions. It can still serve as a textbook for both student and practicing engineers, scientists, technologists, managers and for anyone wishing to understand or implement modern statistical process control techniques.




Statistical Process Control Quality


Book Description




Introduction to Statistical Process Control


Book Description

A major tool for quality control and management, statistical process control (SPC) monitors sequential processes, such as production lines and Internet traffic, to ensure that they work stably and satisfactorily. Along with covering traditional methods, Introduction to Statistical Process Control describes many recent SPC methods that improve upon




Statistical Process Control for Managers


Book Description

If you have been frustrated by very technical statistical process control (SPC) training materials, then this is the book for you. This book focuses on how SPC works and why managers should consider using it in their operations. It provides you with a conceptual understanding of SPC so that appropriate decisions can be made about the benefits of incorporating SPC into the process management and quality improvement processes. Today, there is little need to make the necessary calculations by hand, so the author utilizes Minitab and NWA Quality Analyst—two of the most popular statistical analysis software packages on the market. Links are provided to the home pages of these software packages where trial versions may be downloaded for evaluation and trial use. The book also addresses the question of why SPC should be considered for use, the process of implementing SPC, how to incorporate SPC into problem identification, problem solving, and the management and improvement of processes, products, and services.




Measuring the Software Process


Book Description

"While it is usually helpful to launch improvement programs, many such programs soon get bogged down in detail. They either address the wrong problems, or they keep beating on the same solutions, wondering why things don't improve. This is when you need an objective way to look at the problems. This is the time to get some data." Watts S. Humphrey, from the Foreword This book, drawing on work done at the Software Engineering Institute and other organizations, shows how to use measurements to manage and improve software processes. The authors explain specifically how quality characteristics of software products and processes can be quantified, plotted, and analyzed so the performance of software development activities can be predicted, controlled, and guided to achieve both business and technical goals. The measurement methods presented, based on the principles of statistical quality control, are illuminated by application examples taken from industry. Although many of the methods discussed are applicable to individual projects, the book's primary focus is on the steps software development organizations can take toward broad-reaching, long-term success. The book particularly addresses the needs of software managers and practitioners who have already set up some kind of basic measurement process and are ready to take the next step by collecting and analyzing software data as a basis for making process decisions and predicting process performance. Highlights of the book include: Insight into developing a clear framework for measuring process behavior Discussions of process performance, stability, compliance, capability, and improvement Explanations of what you want to measure (and why) and instructions on how to collect your data Step-by-step guidance on how to get started using statistical process control If you have responsibilities for product quality or process performance and you are ready to use measurements to manage, control, and predict your software processes, this book will be an invaluable resource.




Statistical Methods for Quality Improvement


Book Description

Praise for the Second Edition "As a comprehensive statistics reference book for quality improvement, it certainly is one of the best books available." —Technometrics This new edition continues to provide the most current, proven statistical methods for quality control and quality improvement The use of quantitative methods offers numerous benefits in the fields of industry and business, both through identifying existing trouble spots and alerting management and technical personnel to potential problems. Statistical Methods for Quality Improvement, Third Edition guides readers through a broad range of tools and techniques that make it possible to quickly identify and resolve both current and potential trouble spots within almost any manufacturing or nonmanufacturing process. The book provides detailed coverage of the application of control charts, while also exploring critical topics such as regression, design of experiments, and Taguchi methods. In this new edition, the author continues to explain how to combine the many statistical methods explored in the book in order to optimize quality control and improvement. The book has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest research and practices in statistical methods and quality control, and new features include: Updated coverage of control charts, with newly added tools The latest research on the monitoring of linear profiles and other types of profiles Sections on generalized likelihood ratio charts and the effects of parameter estimation on the properties of CUSUM and EWMA procedures New discussions on design of experiments that include conditional effects and fraction of design space plots New material on Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma programs and training Incorporating the latest software applications, the author has added coverage on how to use Minitab software to obtain probability limits for attribute charts. new exercises have been added throughout the book, allowing readers to put the latest statistical methods into practice. Updated references are also provided, shedding light on the current literature and providing resources for further study of the topic. Statistical Methods for Quality Improvement, Third Edition is an excellent book for courses on quality control and design of experiments at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. the book also serves as a valuable reference for practicing statisticians, engineers, and physical scientists interested in statistical quality improvement.