PDSA Scenario 1

A community health center needs to increase percentage of patients over 65 years old who receive a pneumococcal vaccine.

The practice plans to increase the number of patients over 65 years old who have and pneumococcal vaccine from 7% to 20% in 3 months by having the nurses or MA discuss with the patients the importance of getting the vaccine. The practice will make sure to have the vaccine in stock and will also provide staff education on the importance of immunization. Change will be measured by the having the QI director and patient care coordinator run a report and asking pharmacy how many vaccines are being ordered.

The vaccine is ordered, and the staff attend a training about the importance of the pneumococcal vaccine in patients over 65. There are 50 doses of the vaccine on hand in the clinic.

Over the course of the next 3 months, the nurses and MA’s remember to discuss the vaccine with 60% of patient’s over 65. As a result, only 30 doses of the vaccine are used. The QI director and patient care coordinator run the report that shows the 50 vaccines ordered.

PDSA Scenario 2

A family practice aims to increase foot exams for patients with diabetes.

For patients with diabetes, a team member will place a sticker on the patient’s chart. Registration staff will identify those patients and will give pamphlets for comprehensible education mentioning the importance of foot care to those patients while they were waiting.

The foot exam will be documented in chart, dated, and timed. High risk diabetics will be identified and referred to podiatrists. The practice will measure success by reviewing the charts six months after starting the process.

A yellow sticker is placed in all diabetic patient’s charts by the staff. At each appointment, a staff member gives the diabetic patient a pamphlet on foot care as they check in. The nurse practitioner or physician then does a patient foot examination during the visit and refers the diabetics who are at high risk to a podiatrist.

After six months, a chart review is done on diabetic patients. 98% of all high-risk diabetics were referred to a podiatrist, and only 80% of all diabetic patients received information on foot care due to not having enough pamphlets printed.

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• Go to the following website: Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Directions and Examples | Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (ahrq.gov) (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)
• Read through the PDSA examples and create your own Plan, Do, Study, Act worksheet using a made-up scenario (you can use a variation of the examples on the website or create your own)
• Upload your worksheet to the drop-box
• Sections of worksheet should include: scenario, plan, do, study, act (rubric)