Data reporting using run charts

Data reporting using run charts

At every team meeting, your specific aims should be reviewed. At least as important, your progress towards these aims should be presented to the group.  The best way to do this is with a graph of your chosen metrics.

There are two ways to graph improvement data to follow trends over time: the run chart and the statistical process control (SPC) chart. While SPC charts offer useful advantages, run charts are easier to make and usually more than adequate.

Run charts simply plot performance data over time. Compared to tables of data, run charts offer our brains a quicker picture of how an intervention is working relative to a baseline. You can also mark run charts along the x-axis where new interventions or events occur. This little addition can make it easier to see the effects of different stages of an intervention – or to subtract the effect of known secular trends. For run charts, ubiquitous software (Excel© or any of several free online run chart applications) is available and no statistical expertise is needed.

For QI projects, monthly plots are usually adequate, although when testing new or revised improvement strategies via PDSA, weekly plots may be desirable since they show effects of your interventions sooner.

Especially when presenting your performance to your institution’s reporting structure, you will want your data to appear in the graphical format of run charts rather than in the denser tabular format.

The table and run chart below represent identical data from UCSD. Clearly the run chart makes it easier to appreciate the dramatic trends in performance over time.