The board of directors of a 400-bed women's hospital receives a report of key quality indicator results on a periodic basis. The report always includes the quarterly cesarean section rate and has for many years. This recent period they have seen a rise in the rate and want to know if this is significant. What is the best Q1 tool for this purpose?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A control chart is the best tool for this purpose as it shows the trend and variation in a process over time. The quarterly cesarean section rate can be plotted on a control chart to determine if the rise is statistically significant or within the normal variation of the process. A Pareto chart would only be useful if there were multiple factors contributing to the rise in the rate, a run chart would only show the trend over time without indicating if it is significant, and a scatter diagram would not be useful in this case as there is only one variable being analyzed.

The Board of Directors of a 400-Bed Women's Hospital Receives