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January 2023 - ‘STAC’ing Up for Quality Improvement

With the CPSA’s new Physician Practice Improvement Program, there’s a surge in interest in quality improvement. The STAC (Sequence to Achieve Change) is a simple 7-step framework that can be used by a clinic team to guide any QI project.

Session Summary

Session Hosts: Dr. Tina Nicholson, Erin Hay, Michele Hannay 

Session Objectives:

At the end of this webinar, you will be able to:

  • Describe the process of quality improvement using the ‘sequence to achieve change’ (STAC). 
  • Explain the value of taking a structured approach to change for clinic teams.  

Recommended Resources:

Session Highlights & Themes:

  • The science of ‘quality improvement’ provides a structured approach for making changes and helps teams to be efficient and effective in their process improvement work.
  • Working in a clinic can feel like being caught in a whirlwind and adding quality improvement projects to the mix can seem like an impossible notion but taking a bit of time to step back and examine how ‘we do things’ to make improvements in processes can make that whirlwind feel less intense. 

The sequence to achieve change consists of 10 steps: 

  1. Form an improvement team
  2. Clarify the problem or opportunity
  3. Map the process
  4. Set an aim statement
  5. Identify measures
  6. Select changes or PBPs to test
  7. Test changes (PDSA)
  8. Sustain the gains
  9. Spread the successful changes
  10. Celebrate!

(These are described in detail in the Sequence to Achieve Change Workbook for Teams.) 

  • Practice facilitators have deep knowledge and are skilled in the field of quality improvement.
  • Many PCNs have PFs who work with clinics to support their QI work.