Project Assignment: Promoting Health Care Quality
Section: Quality Improvement Strategies
Throughout this course you have been considering the relationship between structure, process, and outcomes as it relates to health care quality. Looking at outcomes, alone, may not tell the "whole story." For instance, if you are concerned with improving fall rates, evaluating the process-related activities or practices-can help you identify factors that contribute to outcomes and develop strategies for improving them.
For this section of your Course Project, you create a process map to examine a current process related to your quality improvement issue. You will use the results of the process mapping to redesign a process to help minimize or close the performance gap(s). As you proceed, keep in mind the importance of maintaining a patient-centered focus so the patient experience is not negatively affected by any changes in process.
To prepare:
• Review the instructions provided in the Learning Resources for creating a process map.
• With your quality improvement issue in mind, as well as the other work you have completed on your Course Project thus far, think about how creating a process map could help you to better understand your quality improvement issue and redesign an associated process.
• Create a process map using Microsoft Word or PowerPoint.
• Refine the strategies for promoting systems-level change to minimize or close the performance gap(s) that you began to think. As part of this, identify a way to redesign at least one process based on your analysis of the process map that you have created.
To complete:
• Write a 2- to 3-page paper in which you describe quality improvement strategies that you selected related to your quality improvement issue.
• Finalize your process map, which will be submitted along with the paper.
The response should include a reference list. Double-space, using Times New Roman 12 pnt font, one-inch margins, and APA style of writing and citations.
Required Readings
Cookson, D., Read, C., Mukherjee, P., & Cooke, M. (2011). Improving the quality of emergency department care by removing waste using Lean Value Stream mapping. International Journal of Clinical Leadership, 17(1), 25-30.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
This article demonstrates how a process map can be used to identify waste and promote efficiency, particularly in large departments.
Ford, J. H., Wise, M., & Wisdom, J. P. (2010). A peek inside the box: How information flows through substance abuse treatment agencies. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 28(3), 121-143.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
The authors of this article establish the importance of using process maps for improving productivity and information flow.
Abubakker, H. T. (2010). Practical guide to creating better looking process maps.
iSixSigma's website offers a practical guide with many tips for creating an easy-to-follow process map.
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. (2010). Quality and service improvement tools: Process mapping-an overview.
The NHS article outlines the importance of process maps and provides a detailed description of how to create a process map.