Process Flow Mapping: A Critical QI Tool

Achieving your quality improvement goals will almost certainly require that substantial changes be made to whichever process you target. Although you may think that you understand the gaps between your current process and the best practice, formally mapping the process will almost certainly reveal gaps that would otherwise be overlooked. It will also provide your team with a better understanding of the process in general. Process mapping is really nothing more than writing down everything that happens in a given process. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement(IHI) and the American Society for Quality Web sites provide more in-depth information about process mapping. Often, the major steps of the process are defined first, and then each step is analyzed in detail (see examples of process flow maps in the clinical tools section). In some cases the major steps in a process can be accurately defined by a single individual (such as the team leader). However, usually no individual is able to complete a detailed analysis of all the steps. This highlights the importance of the multidisciplinary team in completing this exercise. It is critical that the process map that outlines current care captures the true current state, not an optimized flow. The current state map allows the entire team to reflect on where the opportunities for high-impact improvement may lie.

Once the process is mapped, the gaps between the current process and the best practice will become apparent. The members of the team with the most detailed understanding of the best practice will be able to recognize the gaps and highlight them for the team. The assessment questions, presented earlier in this section, can also help team members to recognize the gaps. It may be that after reviewing your high-impact opportunities, a more drilled-down process map focused on the specific area of interest may be required to identify specific strategies for improvement.

Ideally, this process will leave the team with a list of gaps that need to be addressed in order to achieve the team’s goals, and this list will be used to create interventions.