HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Web-only figures Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Guthrie, B Articles by Sullivan, F Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Guthrie, B Articles by Sullivan, F

Control, compare and communicate: designing control charts to summarise efficiently data from multiple quality indicators

Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee DD2 4BF, UK

Correspondence to:
DrB Guthrie
Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Dundee, MacKenzie Building, Kirsty Semple Way, Dundee DD2 4BF, UK; b.guthrie{at}chs.dundee.ac.uk
ABSTRACT
Summarising the complex data generated by multiple cross sectional quality indicators in a way that patients, clinicians, managers and policymakers find useful is challenging. A common approach is aggregation to create summary measures such as star ratings and balanced score cards, but these may conceal the detail needed to focus quality improvement. We propose an alternative way of summarising and presenting multiple quality indicators, suitable for use for quality improvement and governance. This paper discusses (1) control charts for repeated measurements of single processes as used in industrial statistical process control (SPC); (2) control charts for cross sectional comparison of many institutions for a single quality indicator (rarely used in industry but commonly proposed for health care); and (3) small multiple graphics which combine control chart signal extraction with efficient graphical presentations for multiple indicators.

Keywords: control charts; quality indicators; statistical process control