Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) Practice Exam

What is the most important step to address a problem with anticoagulant injections, according to a recent hospital initiative?

1. Share the data with decision makers and monitor run charts

2. Use the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle method for improvement

3. Require staff to attend an annual training on professional guidelines

4. Request that pharmacy and nursing brainstorm solutions with their staff

The correct answer is: Use the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle method for improvement

Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle method for improvement stands out as the most critical step in addressing issues with anticoagulant injections. The PDSA cycle is a systematic and iterative process designed to test and implement improvements in clinical settings. It allows teams to plan a change aimed at improvement, put that change into action (Do), study the results to understand the impact of the change (Study), and then act on what has been learned (Act). Employing this method enables healthcare teams to rigorously test interventions in a controlled and manageable way. Specifically for anticoagulant injections, it ensures that any proposed changes can be evaluated for their effectiveness in real-world settings, ultimately leading to safer patient outcomes. This data-driven approach embodies continuous quality improvement, ensuring that practices are not only based on professional guidelines but also tailored through evidence derived from actual implementation. Monitoring run charts is also important for tracking progress, but without first establishing an improvement plan through the PDSA method, it may lack clear direction and purpose. Annual training on professional guidelines can enhance knowledge but may not directly translate into immediate, actionable changes in practice. Brainstorming solutions without a structured framework might result in good ideas but can lead to inconsistent application