1. Improvement 101 Learning Series
Module 1:
Fundamentals for Change
Your Host:
Leanne Couves
Improvement Advisor

3. What the heck is QUALITY IMPROVEMENT?

4. “Identifying and defining what matters”
Quality
Acceptability
Appropriateness
Accessibility
Safety
Effectiveness
Equity
Efficiency
“Identifying and defining what matters”

5. Quality Dimensions in BC
Acceptability
Appropriateness
Accessibility
Safety
Effectiveness:
care is known to achieve the intended outcome
Equity
Efficiency:
optimal use of resources
to yield maximum benefits

6. “Process of making things better”
Improvement
Systematic, data-guided activities designed to bring about immediate improvement in a health care setting.
“Process of making things better”
(Lynn et al., 2007)

7. Understanding what we do and making things better on what matters most
Quality Improvement
Understanding what we do and making things better on what matters most

8. Health care is a SYSTEM “Every system is perfectly designed to
An interdependent group of items, people, or processes working together towards a common purpose.
Parts of the system are aligned by this common purpose and processes within the system help to achieve this purpose.
“Every system is perfectly designed to
achieve the results it gets”

9. Health care is COMPLEX Adaptive / Resilient / Uncertain
Complex adaptive systems are composed of many interdependent, heterogeneous parts that self-organize and co-evolve.

10. CULTURE matters too! “The way we do things around here…”
Shared beliefs, attitudes, values and norms of behaviour between colleagues in an organization
Way of making sense of the organization
Way things are understood, judged and valued

11. Improvement TEAMS Include multiple perspectives
Engage patients/residents/clients and families
Secure a project sponsor

12. In summary…
Quality improvement is understanding what we do and making things better in what matters most
There are some fundamental principles to guide improvement
Quality in health care is multi-dimensional
Understanding culture and complexity is key
Assembling a good team promotes success and sustainability

13. Thank you!
PatientVoicesBC.ca
@PatientVoicesBC