A hospital quality team notices high medication errors on one ward. They plan a double-check protocol, implement it for six weeks, compare error rates with baseline data, and then adopt the protocol ward-wide with staff training. This sequence best exemplifies which management tool?
- A Six Sigma DMAIC methodology
- B Delphi technique
- C Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle ✓
- D Critical path method
Correct answer: C. Deming's Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle
Explanation
The scenario maps exactly onto the PDCA (or PDSA) cycle attributed to Deming: Plan the intervention, Do it on a small scale, Check results against baseline, Act by adopting it broadly. Six Sigma uses Define-Measure-Analyze-Improve-Control phases aimed at reducing variation to 3.4 defects per million, which is not what is described here, and the other options are unrelated to iterative quality improvement.
Reference: Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine, 27th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.