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Caveats Regarding the Use of Control Charts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2016

Charles Humble
Charles Humble*
Affiliation:
National Performance Data Resource Center, Durham, North Carolina
*
National Performance Data Resource Center, VAMC 558/NPDRC, Durham, NC 27705
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Abstract

Control charts are essential tools in the statistical process control armamentarium. Although designed for ease of use in highly structured production settings, they are in fact quite complex in nature; their proper use depends on numerous conditions that may not be clear to newer users. This article briefly contrasts the use of control charts in production and healthcare settings and highlights common sources of problems among novice users. These include misunderstandings of the type of data being charted, non-independence of samples, the influence of natural cycles, ignoring known special influences, overlooking clear signals that a process is out of control, and calculating control limits before adequate data are available.

Type
Beyond Infection Control: The New Hospital Epidemiology
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 19 , Issue 11 , November 1998 , pp. 865 - 868
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1998

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