During the implementation phase of a Quality Improvement (QI)
project, frequently monitoring indicators or measures allows the QI team to
evaluate the effectiveness of the change and its effect on different
environments and situations. Sharing any improvements can be motivational for
teams to celebrate success and provide valuable feedback on the progress
achieved (or not achieved).
Use Multiple Measures
To ensure you have an accurate picture of the effects of the
changes your QI team has tested, consider using a “family of measures.” Each of these measures has a unique role in
monitoring quality improvement efforts and will ensure that you are tracking
the change and learning over time across different areas of the system or process.
- Outcome measures are the “voice of the client/customer” and
capture system performance (how well the system is working).
- Process measures are the “voice of the inner workings of the
system”. These act as a ‘pulse check’
and help to understand whether the changes to the processes, tasks or
activities are having an impact on the system (positively or negatively).
- Balancing measures determine whether your designed changes
are having unintended consequences on other parts of the system (this can be
positive or negative)
How to use a family of measures in the QIP
For each measure/indicator, organizations are asked to
provide a corresponding process measure and set a target goal for that measure
for the upcoming year.
TIP: When including process measures, it is important to focus on the processes
that directly contribute to the outcome that is desired.
Here is an example of process measures:
For more information see Ontario Health’s Measurement for Quality Improvement guide.