What is the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, and how is it used in health care quality improvement?

• A. Identify a problem, design a plan, implement changes, evaluate outcomes.
• B. Plan a change, Do it, Study results, Act to implement or adjust; repeated cycles refine processes and outcomes.
• C. Observe, Plan, Do, Reflect; used for regulatory reporting.
• D. Measure performance, Plan the next steps, Do nothing, Audit annually.

Answer: (C)

PDSA is an iterative approach used in health care to test changes and learn quickly what actually improves care. In each cycle you start by planning a small change with a clear goal and the metrics you’ll track. Then you implement that change (the Do step). Next you study the results by analyzing the data and comparing them to what you expected. Finally you Act on what you learned—adopt the change more broadly if it works, adjust it, or try a different approach—and begin another cycle. Because the cycle repeats, teams continuously refine processes and outcomes, spreading successful ideas.

The description that matches this exactly is Plan a change, Do it, Study results, Act to implement or adjust; repeated cycles refine processes and outcomes. The other statements don’t capture the learning loop or the emphasis on small tests and data-driven adaptation, which are core to PDSA.