How to Make a Run Chart

Understanding data over time is one of the essential methods of quality improvement. But how do you graph your data so that you can easily see the variation, including the results of your tests of change? A run chart, of course! In this video, Bob Lloyd, IHI Executive Director of Performance Improvement, uses his trusty whiteboard to show you how to make a run chart. Try it out with anything you can measure regularly — even your commute time! Learn even more in our course, QI 103: Measuring for Improvement.

In a recent piece in JAMA, Dr. Don Berwick plotted a path for health care to move into a new era, where care is based on relationships, not complex incentives. To do so, he said we have to stop excessive measurement. But what, exactly, can we stop measuring? In a new installment of “Dear IHI,” IHI Faculty Kathy Duncan answers a reader’s question about when you can stop measuring a process that you’ve already improved. The good news — you can. Read on to find out how.

You’ve probably heard of Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Columbia — they’re some of the world’s best medical schools. But you haven’t heard of their world-renowned family medicine programs, and here’s why: Right now, none of these elite schools offer training in family medicine, even though there’s a shortage of primary care providers in the U.S. Students and faculty at Harvard are trying to change this. Learn more about how primary care improves health in TA 101: Introduction to Population Health.

The IHI Open School offers funding to help Chapters host events every semester. Here’s some of the great work the network did this spring:

Health care providers spoke at Boston University (Boston, MA) about successful quality improvement projects at a large-scale hospital.
Temple University (Philadelphia, PA; pictured right) held a health fair for 150 students at a local elementary school. An interdisciplinary team helped plan the event, which used creative ways to teach dental hygiene, nutrition, exercise, and medication safety.
The CEO of a local health care consulting firm spoke at Medical University of South Carolina (Charleston, SC) about how she has used quality improvement in population management and Patient-Centered Medical Homes.
Augustana University (Sioux Falls, SD) partnered with multiple departments to host a simulation of an athletic neck injury.

Need help planning your Chapter’s next event? Here are a few helpful tips from the IHI Open School.