Oral

“For every complex question there is a simple answer ---and it is usually wrong” stated Lao Tse, a Chinese philosopher. When public health professionals are confronted with complex community health or organizational issues or problems, they need to be able to analyze a lot of information quickly and efficiently to make the best possible decisions to solve the issues or problems. The advanced tools of quality improvement will help you to synthesize lots of information, identify the critical pieces to focus on, and guide you in your decision making process. When these advanced tools of quality improvement are used in a defined sequence they form a dynamic decision making process that continually synthesizes information, refines and focuses the issue/problem, identifies the critical pieces and narrows the scope and the approach to solve it successfully. Good decisions cause other good decisions to happen. The end result is better alignment, accountability, and performance within your organization. This highly interactive session will provide an opportunity for participants to explore and use some of the advanced tools of quality improvement in a defined sequence on a real issue. Presenters and participants will develop some approaches and gain insights into the challenges that public health organizations will face in 2011. The session facilitators will use the advance tools of quality improvement with session participants to help them gain insight into the issues they will face in 2011 and areas to focus on in order to provide solutions to their most pressing concerns.

Session Objectives: 1. Define the advance tools of quality improvement decision model 2. Explain how use of the advance tools of quality improvement in a defined sequence make problem solving more focused and successful 3. Use two of the advanced tools of quality improvement in a participative exercise