rss
Qual Saf Health Care 2008;17:137-145 doi:10.1136/qshc.2004.012047
  • Developing research and practice

Plotting basic control charts: tutorial notes for healthcare practitioners

  1. M A Mohammed1,
  2. P Worthington2,
  3. W H Woodall3
  1. 1
    Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
  2. 2
    Prism Europe Consultancy Ltd, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides, UK
  3. 3
    Department of Statistics, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA
  1. M A Mohammed, Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; m.a.mohammed{at}bham.ac.uk
  • Accepted 18 September 2007

Abstract

There is considerable interest in the use of statistical process control (SPC) in healthcare. Although SPC is part of an overall philosophy of continual improvement, the implementation of SPC usually requires the production of control charts. However, as SPC is relatively new to healthcare practitioners and is not routinely featured in medical statistics texts/courses, there is a need to explain the issues involved in the selection and construction of control charts in practice. Following a brief overview of SPC in healthcare and preliminary issues, we use a tutorial-based approach to illustrate the selection and construction of four commonly used control charts (xmr-chart, p-chart, u-chart, c-chart) using examples from healthcare. For each control chart, the raw data, the relevant formulae and their use and interpretation of the final SPC chart are provided together with a notes section highlighting important issues for the SPC practitioner. Some more advanced topics are also mentioned with suggestions for further reading.

Footnotes

  • None declared.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF
  4. A correction has been published

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.