September Roundup 2021

Spread, scale and sustainability in quality improvement

Last month we focused on spread and scale, we looked at the difference between them and the importance of creating a spread plan to share the intervention beyond your own team or department to other areas in your organisation which could benefit from making the same intervention to their working practices.

In the latest set of articles, we dig deeper and examine the two widely-recognised approaches to spread and how to use their combination as an effective way to spread innovations.

We take a closer look at the IHI's classic ‘7 Spreadly Sins’ thinking, which they created to establish what not to do when spreading quality improvement! As well as exploring the ‘nots’ we also suggest effective methods you can use to spread your Quality Improvement (QI) ideas across your organisation.

We also show you how to use, develop and set up measurement systems to help you measure spread and impact, and what the key factors are to achieve sustainability in quality improvement.

Types of spread in quality improvement - diffusion and dissemination Two types of spread in Quality Improvement (QI) are diffusion and dissemination. In this article, we have a closer look at them and explain when you can use them to bring about an organisation-wide approach to improvement. Read more.

7 Spreadly Sins - what not to do when spreading improvement The 7 Spreadly Sins are things that the IHI doesn't recommend to do while spreading improvement. We explore these ‘nots’ and we also suggest effective methods you can use to spread your improvement ideas across your organisation. Read more.

How to measure scale and spread There are plenty of ways to create and develop a measurement system for scale and spread. In this article, we look at the various types of methods you can use to measure impact, spread and scale within Quality Improvement (QI) and explore frameworks and systems for doing just this. Read more.

Key factors in sustainability Sustainability in healthcare does not come without its challenges, which can stem from the people within your organisation. Therefore, it's important to meet the conditions before attempting the change, otherwise this can damage the chances of sustaining improvement. Read more.

Interesting Read

World Patient Safety Day 2021 - Act now for safe and respectful childbirth The World Health Organisation (WHO) made their third, annual World Patient Safety Day on 17th September focusing on the theme “Safe maternal and newborn care”. To raise awareness, we collected three outstanding examples of state-wide collaboratives being run in the US. Read more.

Comparing Quality Management Approaches: Which Is the Best Path to Take? Organisations often have difficulties to choose from the different approaches to quality management. The IHI in a recent article examines the benefits of each method, and recommends the use of the whole system quality approach as a unifying framework. Read more.

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