Diagnostic value of run chart analysis: using likelihood ratios to compare run chart rules on simulated data series.

ABSTRACT: Run charts are widely used in healthcare improvement, but there is little consensus on how to interpret them. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the diagnostic properties of different sets of run chart rules. A run chart is a line graph of a quality measure over time. The main purpose of the run chart is to detect process improvement or process degradation, which will turn up as non-random patterns in the distribution of data points around the median. Non-random variation may be identified by simple statistical tests including the presence of unusually long runs of data points on one side of the median or if the graph crosses the median unusually few times. However, there is no general agreement on what defines "unusually long" or "unusually few". Other tests of ques

SUBMITTER: Anhoj J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4370372 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature