Background Plan–do–study–act (PDSA) cycles provide a structure for iterative testing of
changes to improve quality of systems. The method is widely accepted in healthcare …

Objective Lean interventions aim to improve quality of healthcare by reducing waste and
facilitate flow in work processes. There is conflicting evidence on the outcomes of lean …

Importance The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement
Program (ACS NSQIP) provides feedback to hospitals on risk-adjusted outcomes. It is not …

This article describes the importance and role of 4 stages of formative evaluation in our
growing understanding of how to implement research findings into practice in order to …

The article focuses on the role of methodological standards and patient-centeredness in the
success of comparative effectiveness research (CER) in producing meaningful, timely and …

Clinicians who are asked to participate in quality improvement programmes in healthcare
organizations are often heard to ask for the evidence that they 'work'. By that, they often …

Background Over the last two decades, we have seen the successive rise and fall of a
number of concepts, ideas or methods in healthcare quality improvement (QI). Paradoxically …

Abstract Background In 2012, the Saskatchewan Ministry for Health mandated a system-
wide Lean transformation. Research has been conducted on the implementation processes …

Background Lean thinking as a quality improvement approach is introduced in hospitals
worldwide, although evidence for its impact is scarce. Lean initiatives are social, complex …

Healthcare organisations are using redesign to tackle variation in the quality of care and
improve public satisfaction. It is represented as a radical challenge to traditional …