Selecting Health Care Improvement Projects: A Methodology Integrating Cause-and-Effect Diagram and Analytical Hierarchy Process


TESTİK Ö. M., SHAYGAN A., DAŞDEMİR E., SOYDAN G.

QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE, vol.26, no.1, pp.40-48, 2017 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 26 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2017
  • Doi Number: 10.1097/qmh.0000000000000119
  • Journal Name: QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN HEALTH CARE
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.40-48
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Objectives: It is often vital to identify, prioritize, and select quality improvement projects in a hospital. Yet, a methodology, which utilizes experts' opinions with different points of view, is needed for better decision making. Methods: The proposed methodology utilizes the cause-and-effect diagram to identify improvement projects and construct a project hierarchy for a problem. The right improvement projects are then prioritized and selected using a weighting scheme of analytical hierarchy process by aggregating experts' opinions. An approach for collecting data from experts and a graphical display for summarizing the obtained information are also provided. Results: The methodology is implemented for improving a hospital appointment system. The top-ranked 2 major project categories for improvements were identified to be system-and accessibility-related causes (45%) and capacity-related causes (28%), respectively. For each of the major project category, subprojects were then ranked for selecting the improvement needs. Conclusion: The methodology is useful in cases where an aggregate decision based on experts' opinions is expected. Some suggestions for practical implementations are provided.