Abstract
The strengths of control charting and other statistical process control (SPC) tools have not previously been applied to acuity systems. Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City, Utah, developed a new acuity system that relies heavily upon control charting for an array of purposes, including immediate feedback to caregivers regarding decisions, ongoing feedback to managers regarding decision patterns, and longer-term feedback regarding trends and budget-relevant information. The use of control charts has eliminated the need for auditing acuity-based staffing and has maintained the reliability of classifications at levels above 95 percent. Implications for other novel applications are offered.

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