Six sigma

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Introduction

a quality improvement approach designed to reduce variation, cost & defects, developed to improve industrial manufacturing, since adapted for healthcare
the name derives from a statistical measure indicating the number of standard deviations from the mean in which no production defects occur
the process tends to focus on quality control in each step rather than overall system function & efficiency
root cause analyses are conducted for sentinel events to determine potential causes, which in turn were used to identify improvement strategies.
focuses on improvement through reducing variability in patient care

Six Sigma comprises five phases: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, & Control
in the define phase, goals & measures of success are established
in the measure phase, past performance levels are determined, to provide a baseline for future comparison.
in the analyze phase, causes & improvement opportunities are identified
- root cause analyses & identification of improvement strategies
in the control phase, improvement is standardized to maintain sustainability

↑ Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 17, 18. American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2015, 2018
Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 20 American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2025