DQA 101: Improving Dental Care with the Model for Improvement

Overview

A cultural shift is taking place in dentistry, which is putting greater emphasis on measurement for improvement. In this unique Open School online course developed in close partnership with the Dental Quality Alliance (DQA) — you’ll learn how to use quantitative and qualitative feedback to evaluate the quality of services in your practice, both clinical and operational, and use that feedback to drive toward meaningful change for you and your patients. Through a series of five short modules, you’ll learn how to use the Model for Improvement to improve processes, procedures, and outcomes within your clinic. Through this interactive learning experience, you will learn, do, and apply the steps needed for any improvement project: Set an aim, select measures, develop ideas for changes, and test changes using Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. List the three questions you must ask to apply the Model for Improvement.
2. Identify the key elements of an effective aim statement.
3. Identify three kinds of measures: process measures, outcome measures, and balancing measures.
4. Use change concepts and critical thinking tools to come up with good ideas for changes to test.
5. Test changes on a small scale using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle.

Lessons

• Lesson 1: An Overview of the Model for Improvement
  You'll learn how to use the Model for Improvement (MFI) to improve oral care in hospitals.
   
• Lesson 2: Setting an Aim
  You'll learn how to craft a measurable aim statement to help reduce patient wait times and increase oral care services.
   
• Lesson 3: Choosing Measures
  You'll learn the importance of building measurable systems by using the Model for Improvement (MFI) to improve outcomes and processes.
   
• Lesson 4: Developing Changes
  You'll identify change concepts using the Associates in Process Improvement (API) and Cause and Effects diagrams to improve dental care within hospital settings.
   
• Lesson 5: Testing Changes
  You'll examine the testing phase within the Model of Improvement to help minimize risks and foster change within complex healthcare systems.
   

Estimated Time of Completion: Time

Continuing Education Credits

Course completion typically earns 2.5 Continuing Education credits. Please read the full details to ensure that this course offers your desired credit type. Learn more about Continuing Education credits