Quality Improvement Is Not Just For Problems: Success and Effect Diagram
June 24, 2011
Quality Improvement tools and techniques have been used extensively for solving problems in organizations. The authors of the ASQ Newsletter article Quality Improvement is Not Just for Problems: Success and Effect Diagram propose using those same methods to analyze successful processes. Understanding...
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Conduct a Personalized SWOT: Align Yourself for Professional Growth
June 16, 2011
This free resource offers tools and methods for individuals to learn how to fully promote their talents, skills, and abilities within their organization. The personal SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) is a useful tool for investigating conflict between individual and organizational...
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A Lean Day in the Tulsa Health Department White Paper
April 13, 2011
With assistance from PHF, the Tulsa Health Department Quality Improvement Council (QIC) conducted a Lean event in three of its facilities with the objective of beautification of the environment and creating efficiency for the customer. Lean is a process management philosophy that helps optimize the...
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Quality Improvement Success in Kansas with H1N1 and Social Distancing
April 11, 2011
In the summer of 2009, Kansas Department of Health and Environment QI teams used flowcharting to create a new information alert system. The QI team identified three major channels for information. The teams subsequently used their new flowcharting skills to design isolation activities for infected individuals...
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Quality Improvement Success in Orange County, Florida with Documentation Cycle Time
April 11, 2011
The Orange County Health Department Division of Environmental Health in Florida chartered a QI team to improve customer satisfaction with the speed and accuracy of Septic System Permitting. Measurement of operations indicated that the causes for delay in issuing permits were uninformed contractors,...
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Quality Improvement Success in Orange County, Florida with Operational Efficiency
April 11, 2011
The Orange County Health Department in Florida chartered a QI team to reduce total time for administering child immunizations. With assistance from Grace Duffy, the QI team identified a number of disruptions to the process, including times when patients’ families were waiting to be interviewed and for...
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Quality Improvement Success in Orange County, Florida with Early Syphilis Detection
April 11, 2011
Between 2004 and 2005, the Orange County Health Department (OCHD) in Florida experienced a 45% increase in new early syphilis cases in its jurisdiction, from 136 cases to 195 cases per year. Surveillance data also showed significant increases in early syphilis over the previous four years. If not controlled,...
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Starting and Sustaining a Complete Quality System
October 8, 2010
John W. Moran and Grace Duffy wrote an article entitled “Starting and Sustaining a Complete Quality System” that was featured in the August 2010 Quality Texas Foundation Update. The article describes a complete quality system and focuses on the processes that need to be in place to maintain consistency...
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TAPP into the PDCA Cycle
September 14, 2010
Written by PHF’s Senior Quality Advisor, John W. Moran, and quality improvement experts Grace Duffy and William Riley, this article in ASQ’s May 2009 Healthcare Update describes how to improve the management of public health processes through setting performance targets, measuring key quality characteristics,...
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Utilizing the Advanced Tools of QI to Solve Problems: Understanding the Challenges Public Organizations Will Face in 2010
September 13, 2010
Written by Ron Bialek, Sarah Gillen, and John W. Moran in early 2010, this white paper highlights the advanced tools of QI that are designed to deal with complex issues that are not obvious without detailed analysis. This analysis guides away from the simple answer and into a process of continual refinement...
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