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Raymond G Carey

Publications and source records attributed to Raymond G Carey.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

How do you know that your care is improving? Part II: Using control charts to learn from your data.

This article builds on my article in the January 2002 issue of JACM on the use of run charts to analyze data variation and document process improvement. It describes a more powerful tool than the run chart for analyzing variation and measuring process improvement, namely, the control chart developed by Walter Shewhart. This article first explains the basic elements of a control chart, the tests for detecting a special cause variation, and how to choose the best control chart for the type of data being collected. It concludes with one case study using a control chart to document a successful intervention and some suggestions regarding computer software.

Data Collection↗
PubMed2002

Improving patient satisfaction: a control chart case study.

Health care providers both in inpatient and outpatient settings commonly use patient satisfaction surveys. However, when the surveys are administered and the results are interpreted without attention to sound scientific methodology, the findings may be useless and even misleading. As a result, money and resources are wasted. To use surveys to improve patient care, providers must first obtain high-quality data. This requires choosing an instrument that is valid and reliable, employing an appropriate and credible sampling method, and obtaining a representative response rate. Providers are then faced with the difficult challenge of interpreting and responding to the survey findings. This article addresses this latter task by presenting a case study that demonstrates how control charts can be used to interpret survey findings, develop improvement plans, and assess the effectiveness of these plans.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗
PubMed2002

Constructing powerful control charts.

Control charts are intended to tell a story about whether or not a process is stable, improving, or deteriorating. Effective storytelling requires more than correctly following the rules for choosing the best control chart and applying the tests for a special cause. The story will be told more effectively when control charts include all the information needed to convey the key messages and exclude information that distracts from the storyline. This article presents some graphical guidelines for making control charts tell their stories more forcefully.

Computer Graphics↗