Overview of Improvement Project Tasks

With Your Team: 

1. Collect and enter baseline data to measure your current level of care and create a starting point for improvement. Note: Each member of the team needs to enter their own baseline data in order to receive credit.

2. Analyze results to identify gaps in key clinical activities (KCA). If you are collaborating with others in a group, you can compare your data to other EQIPP subscribers in your group, as well as to district, state, and recommended goals.

3. Select 1 or more gaps and create improvement plan(s) to clarify the improvement idea(s) to be tested. Note: The Clinical Guide provides relevant background information for each key clinical activity. It is recommended that you review related content before beginning an improvement plan.

4. Test ideas quickly on a small scale through PDSA cycles to determine if changes lead to improvement. Note: The formation of subteams can facilitate the testing of multiple ideas or the creation of multiple projects simultaneously once the team is comfortable using PDSA cycles.

5. Collect and analyze follow-up data to measure the results of the test. (A minimum of 2 follow-up data collection cycles are necessary for course completion and maintenance of certification recognition). Note: Similar to baseline data entry, each member of the team needs to enter their own follow-up data in order to receive credit.

6. Determine how to sustain successful changes and how to systematically integrate them into the culture, processes, and workflow of your practice.

7. Create additional improvement plans for the remaining KCAs and repeat PDSA cycles until you reach your goals. 

See the course flow for an example approach to using EQIPP; view or print the Improvement Planning Worksheet to capture ideas on paper for aims, measures, ideas, and PDSA cycles during team meetings.