Applying The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle to Improve Respiratory Care Delivery

Applying the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle to Respiratory Care Delivery

The purpose of this video presentation is to provide information, and examples, on a particular Implementation Science concept, the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle. The hope is that the viewer will have a better understanding of how certain Implementation Science concepts may be applied in the healthcare setting and ultimately improve upon Respiratory Care service delivery.

Historically, in healthcare, quality was commonly associated with instrumentation calibration and quality control, both of which have been a mainstay in most Cardiopulmonary Diagnostic laboratories. But these processes alone were recognized to be insufficient to meet the needs of a rapidly changing healthcare environment.

Beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s the quality assurance and continuous quality assurance initiatives were introduced into the US health care industry. However, despite good intentions, many of these initiatives proved to be unsuccessful as they were based upon quality constructs developed for the manufacturing industry and not for the health care industry.

To fill this quality gap, Implementation Science principles (which began in 2006) were designed to improve upon the delivery of healthcare services. In essence, Implementation Science is the bridge between Implementation Research and evidence-based practice, with the intent to improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare services. Implementation Science constructs can be applied to all areas of healthcare delivery and provide the needed frameworks to design, assess, modify, and enact sustainable evidence and quality-based healthcare practices.

Why now? The US healthcare arena is slowly transitioning, from volume-based, to value-based practice. Healthcare costs are consuming enormous portions of the gross domestic product. Because of these (and other) factors, payers, patients, and employers are expecting better returns on their investments in delivered services. Implementation Science constructs provide the necessary frameworks to ultimately achieve validated and sustainable evidence-based programs.
• Also, some professional healthcare organizations have developed position statements and have encouraged their members to be more proficient in understanding, and applying, IS concepts into service delivery.

This presentation addresses the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle.
• The PDSA Cycle has been employed in the laboratory setting for numerous years but may not have been labelled as such. While the PDSA Cycle has a Respiratory Care focus in this video, this cycle can be applied to all areas of Healthcare delivery and is commonly used in everyday life when decisions are being made; think grocery shopping, planning on filling your vehicle gas tank, etc.,

The PDSA Cycle is a good starting point to gain a better appreciation of how applying IS concepts may bring added value to your organization and to those customers (internal and external) that you provide service to.

Cheers!

Bob

Robert A. Brown, BS, RRT, RPFT, FAARC