Using Quality Improvement Tools
What: A systematic problem-solving approach to determine factors that caused non-conformance and must be eliminated from a process
Why: Helps to ensure that proposed solutions will in fact prevent recurrence of the problem identified
When: Useful when addressing issues that are chronic, recurring, and/or systemic
How: We can answer this in a single bullet point. There are a number of approaches to conducting root cause analysis, including
Here's an explanation of the basics from IHI:
The American Society for Quality (ASQ) provides a useful overview and suggests these general guidelines:
- Form a team with members from areas relevant to the issue under review
- Include an individual with related decision making authority whenever possible
- Focus on understanding the problem, possible causes, and effects
- Ensure that team members understand their assigned roles
CMS provides extensive guidance for performing root cause analysis.
This ASQ article provides a framework for tool selection.