Whiteboard The PDSA Cycle Part 2

Robert Lloyd, Vice President, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, uses his trusty whiteboard to dissect the science of improvement.

You can use Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles to test an idea by temporarily trialling a change and assessing its impact. This approach is unusual in a healthcare setting because traditionally, new ideas are often introduced without sufficient testing.
The four stages of the PDSA cycle:
Plan – the change to be tested or implemented
Do – carry out the test or change
Study – data before and after the change and reflect on what was learned
Act – plan the next change cycle or full implementation