What is the Model for Improvement? - Blog - Life QI

The Model for Improvement (MFI) provides a framework for developing, testing and implementing changes leading to improvement. FreeTrial Login Tools QItoolsareseamlesslyintegrated,providinganeasytouseplatform,tailoredtorunningQIprojects. Community Bringyourpeopletogethertoshareideas,acceleratelearninganddrivechange-anytime,anywhere. Reporting Trackoutcomesandanalyzeprogressacrossyourteam,organizationandbeyondwithsecureanalyticstools. Features OrganizationPortfolio AchieveandsustainbetteroutcomesthroughpurposebuiltQItools,accuratedataandacultureofsharing. CollaborativeProgramme Removethedistance,bringyourteamsexpertisetogetherandturngreatideasintomeaningfulimprovement. BuildingCapability PlaceQItrainingandthedevelopingofQIskillsatthecenterofyourorganization'sframework. UseCases Pricing AboutUs OurStory CustomerStories WhyLifeQI Careers Securityandgovernance ContactUs Resources Blog HelpCenter Labs-What'sComing MediaKit How-To SPC PDSA QILeadership ImprovementCollaboratives ImprovementJourney StaffEngagement RunaQIproject QICoaching Resources Signin FreeTrial WhatistheModelforImprovement? Publishedon25May2020at11:46 by AndrewLavender   TheModelforImprovement(MFI)providesaframeworkfordeveloping,testingandimplementingchangesleadingtoimprovement.Themodelprovidesaneasilyunderstandablescientificmethodwhichactstomoderatetheimpulsetotakeimmediateactionwiththewisdomofcarefulstudy. Asaconsequenceofitssimplicityandwidespreadapplications,itisthemostcommonlyuseQIapproachinhealthcare.   History TheMFIwasdevelopedbyAssociatesinProcessImprovement(API)andpublishedinTheImprovementGuidebyLangleyetal.(1996). ThemodelwasadoptedbytheInstituteforHealthcareImprovement(IHI)whoapplieditwidelyinhealthcaresettingsandpopulariseditsapplication. Itiscommonlyreferredtoasthe“IHImodel”,orinsomecasesjustthe“Plan-Do-Study-Act(PDSA)method”.   Fundamentalsofthemethod Themodelcanbebrokendownintotwoparts,oftenthoughtofasa“thinking”partanda“doing”part.Thefirstofthoseisasystematicevaluationoftheproblemandidentificationofpotentialsolutionsisachievedbyaskingthreekeyquestions…   1.Whatarewetryingtoaccomplish? Beforemakinganyattemptstoimprove,itisimportanttodefineexactlywhatitisthatyouaimtoachieve–thisisdonebyconstructinganAimStatement.Itmightsoundobvious,butsettingaclearaimensuresthateveryoneispullinginthesamedirectionandthateffortisdirectedattherightproblem.Asaminimum,anaimstatementshouldbetime-specificandmeasurable. Youcanreadmoreaboutconstructingagoodaimstatementhere.   2.Howwillweknowthatachangeisanimprovement? Withoutmeasurementitisimpossibletoknowwhetherthingshaveimproved. Settingappropriatequantitativemeasuresallowsyoutodetermineifaspecificchangeactuallyleadstoanimprovement.Measurescomein3principletypes;Outcome,ProcessandBalancing–youcanreadmoreaboutthemhere.   3.Whatchangecanwemakethatwillresultinimprovement? Therearelikelytobemanychangesthatcouldbemadetoimproveaprocessorsystem. Thisquestionencouragestheteamtoidentifyspecific,practicalchangesthatcouldbereadilytested–thesearecalledChangeIdeas(orsometimesInterventions). SomechangeideaswillbetestedinthenextphaseoftheMFImethod,usingthePDSAcycleapproach.   Thesecond(“thinking”)partoftheMFIprocessinvolvesthesmall-scaletestingofchangeideasinarealworldsettingthroughPlan-Do-Study-Act(PDSA)cycles. ThePDSAcycleguidesthetestofachangetodetermineifthechangeisanimprovement.LearningfromeachsmalltestandrefiningthePDSAthroughmultiplecyclesaimstooptimisethechangeforimplementationonabroaderscale. YoucanlearnaboutPDSAanditsapplicationshere.       KeyBenefits TheMFIisthemostwidelyusedimprovementmethodinhealthcare. Someofthekeybenefitsare: Itisasimpleapproachthatcanbeappliedbyanyone Ithasapplicationsformanytypesofprojectandatanyscale Itreducesriskbystartingsmallandsystematicallytestingchangebeforeimplementingchangeonawiderscale Itisproventobehighlyeffective,particularlyinthehealthcaresetting   ShouldIusetheModelforImprovement? Thechoiceofwhichimprovementmethodtousecanbedivisive.Eachofthemainimprovementmethodsstriveforsustainedchangethroughdefiningcleargoals,usingstructuredprocessesandmaximisingtheuseofdata.   TheMFIsupportsimprovementeffortsinafullrangefromtheveryinformaltothemostcomplex. Thesimplicityofthemodelmakesitattractiveformany,andthesystematicuseofPDSAsgivegoodassurancethatchangescanbeimplementedeffectively,andimprovementssustained.   Whenworkingonlargeprojectswithbroadreach,theMFIapproachmayrequiretheprojecttobebrokendowntointoseveralcomponents.Whilstthisissometimesviewedasanegative,itcanhelptoprovidefocustoeachelement.   TheModelforImprovementisasimpletoolthatcanbeusedacrossavarietyofhealthcaresystemstoimprovequalitywithinanorganisation.Byfocusingonsmallteststocreateandmeasurechange,improvementisseenfasterwithinanorganisation,comparedwithuseofatypicalresearchapproach.     References TheImprovementGuide:APracticalApproachtoEnhancingOrganizationalPerformance.G.Langley,K.Nolan,T.Nolan,C.Norman,L.Provost.Jossey-BassPublishers.,SanFrancisco,1996. ScovilleR,LittleK. ComparingLeanandQualityImprovement.IHIWhitePaper.Cambridge,Massachusetts:InstituteforHealthcareImprovement;2014.(Availableatihi.org)     Stayinformed,receiveourupdatesstraighttoyourinbox StartimprovingwithLifeQItoday FullaccesstoallLifeQIfeaturesandasupportteamexcitedtohelpyou.Qualityimprovementhasneverbeeneasier. OrganisationalreadyusingLifeQI?Sign-up Backtomainblog Recentarticles NovemberRoundup2021 RekaToth 10December2021at13:21 LifeQIandJoyinWork ErikaKittow 29November2021at12:48 OctoberRoundup2021 RekaToth 5November2021at09:10 Stayinformed,receiveourblogupdatesstraighttoyourinbox Privacy&Terms