By David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. So we talked about data and collecting data, but how do we now convert data into something that we can visually see and enables us to build knowledge and learn. One of the simplest tools is to […]
Harnessing the Power of Data
in Health Care, Measurement, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. So very traditionally in almost every setting, whether it’s health care or education or business, people look at data all the time. But they don’t necessarily look at data in a way that’s helpful for understanding what’s […]
How to Use Data for Improvement
in Measurement, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. So, what is data? So what is data? Simply put, it’s information. It comes in many, many forms. It could be measurements, like measuring your body weight or measuring the size or the distance of something. It […]
Planning for Data Collection
in Measurement, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. So when you’re thinking about data, ask yourself, how do I get that data, and then how can I get just enough to learn. You also need to be thoughtful and intentional about the plan you develop […]
Scatter Plots
in Health Care, Tools & Methods, Variation, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Have you ever wondered about the relationship between two measures. For example, what happens to patient satisfaction when people have longer wait times? A scatter plot is a graphical tool used to examine the association between two […]
Pareto Charts
in Health Care, Tools & Methods, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Have you ever heard of the 80-20 rule? While its roots are in economics and process improvement, it’s found its way into popular culture. The basic idea is that with everything we are trying to improve, 80% […]
Histograms
in Health Care, Tools & Methods, Variation, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Understanding variation is one of the key lenses of our theory of improvement. As improvers, we aim to reduce the variation of process and create a process that achieves a certain level of reliability. One tool that […]
Stratification
in Health Care, Tools & Methods, Variation, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Frequently, when you look at a problem, you may have questions about various groupings within your data. For example, is there a difference between new staff members vs. experienced staff? Do we see a difference between shifts […]
Cause and Effect Diagrams
in Health Care, Tools & Methods, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. A common challenge for improvement teams is identifying what changes you can test to improve a process or problem. One great method to help you break down ideas is a tool known as a “cause-and-effect diagram.” You […]
HarvardX Practical Improvement Science in Health Care
in Health Care, Improvement Science, VideosBy David M. Williams, PhD Trailer for our Harvardx course Practical Improvement Science in Health Care with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. — If this was helpful, share and include me @DaveWilliamsATX. Sign up here to receive a monthly email from me that includes all my blog posts and other Improvement Science resources I think you’d […]