In quality improvement, what do the letters PDSA stand for?

PDSA stands for Plan, Do, Study, Act, which is a widely utilized framework for quality improvement in various fields, including healthcare. This cycle is designed to help organizations implement changes systematically and evaluate the impact of those changes on processes and outcomes.

The "Plan" phase involves identifying an opportunity for improvement and planning a change, including defining goals and objectives. In the "Do" phase, the planned change is executed on a small scale to test its effectiveness. During the "Study" phase, data is collected and analyzed to assess the effects of the change, comparing the results to the expectations set in the planning stage. Finally, in the "Act" phase, based on the findings from the study, the organization decides whether to adopt, adapt, or abandon the change.

This structured approach allows teams to learn from their experiments and make informed decisions about how to move forward, fostering continuous quality improvement. The other options presented do not accurately capture the essence of the PDSA methodology, which is critical for developing and refining processes in a systematic way.