The goal of this rapid cycle improvement (RCI) project was to streamline the reporting process of the Minnesota Planning and Performance Measurement Reporting System to improve the content and quality of the data submitted and add more value for state and local stakeholders. RCI PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is the act of applying the recurring sequence of PDCA in a brief period of time to achieve breakthrough or continuous improvement results quickly.

The Minnesota state and local teams developed 16 recommendations to help make the system more user friendly, effective in providing local health departments with reports they can utilize, and efficient in the time required to enter and correct data in the future. The status of the implementation steps is being tracked quarterly to determine if the project’s Aim was met and to identify future improvement opportunities.

The Public Health Foundation (PHF) provided RCI technical assistance to the Minnesota Department of Health in spring 2011 and is assisting Maine and Wisconsin with RCI as part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Public Health Improvement Initiative (NPHII).