1. © 2013 American College of Cardiology
Quality Improvement in Action: Using the FOCUS-PDSA Method to Conduct a QI Project
November 22, 2003
© 2013 American College of Cardiology

2. © 2013 American College of Cardiology
Learning Objectives
After viewing this presentation, you will be able to:
State each step of the FOCUS-PDSA method
Draft a QI project plan
Build a QI project team
Conduct a QI project step-by-step
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3. Getting started can feel like…
Who’s in charge?
Are we there yet?
Haven’t we done this before?
By going step-by-step,
you can make sense of your QI project
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4. © 2013 American College of Cardiology
FOCUS-PDSA Method
Find a problem
Organize a team
Clarify the problem
Understand the problem
Select an intervention
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5. Commonly Used QI Tools*
Stakeholder analysis
Brainstorming
Dot voting
Prioritization matrix
Flow chart
Root cause analysis
* Refer to the “QI Tool Box” for details
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6. Step 1. Find a Process to Improve
Assemble QI project team
Identify potential problems
Identify primary stakeholders
Select specific problems to improve
Draft a problem statement
Develop a project charter
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7. © 2013 American College of Cardiology
Step 2. Organize a Team
Form project team
Select a team leader and facilitator
Conduct kick-off meeting
Helpful hint: Make sure your team includes a representative of everyone affected by your QI problem
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8. Step 3. Clarify Current Knowledge of the Process
Develop understanding of situation
Establish measurement process
Collect data
Helpful hint: Use a flow chart to document what is actually going on
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9. Step 4. Understand Process Variation
Graphically present data
Identify patterns of variation
Identify sources of variation
Helpful hint: Use a fishbone diagram or another root cause analysis tool to figure out the cause(s) of the problem
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10. Step 5. Select the Intervention
Identify potential interventions
Prioritize potential interventions
Helpful hint: Your team should brainstorm all the possible solutions to your QI problem and vote to pick one
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11. FOCUS-PDSA Method Plan Act Study Do
Implement the intervention and determine its success
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12. Step 6. Plan How to Implement
Develop clear objectives
Develop implementation plan
Make a prediction about the impact
Determine data and assess impact
Plan the test cycle
Seek buy-in from key stakeholders
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13. Step 7. Do – Implement the Plan
Test your intervention
Document what happens
Begin analysis of test data
Helpful hint: Test your intervention on a small scale with a few providers or patients...make it simple!
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Step 8. Study the Results
Analyze data
Compare the results to your predictions
Reflect on what happened
Determine if modifications are needed
Helpful hint: Look for the unintended consequences to your intervention
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15. Step 9. Act – Continue or Change
Apply the lessons learned
Change the project or implement again as-is
Prepare a plan for the next test
Helpful hint: A lesson learned may be that you need to change your implementation plan or just start over
© 2013 American College of Cardiology