Currently submitted to: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Feb 13, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 14, 2026 - Apr 11, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Leveraging Cross-Disciplinary Quality Control Circles to Revolutionize Perioperative Respiratory Care
ABSTRACT
Background:
Perioperative respiratory care is a multidisciplinary process that includes several sequential steps and handoffs. Variability and inefficiencies within this workflow may delay care delivery and increase the workload of clinical staff. Quality Control Circles (QCCs) have been widely used in health care as a practical approach to addressing process-related quality problems identified in clinical practice.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to assess whether a Quality Control Circle–based intervention could improve workflow efficiency and care consistency in perioperative respiratory care.
Methods:
We conducted a before-and-after time–motion study on 30 perioperative respiratory care episodes to compare workflow before and after the implementation of a quality control circle. Recorded variables were: (1) total time from physician order to completion of respiratory care, (2) patient waiting time for incentive spirometry preparation, and (3) time clinical staff spent on patient education and respiratory training. Eligible patients were those prescribed perioperative respiratory care before or after surgery; those with prior exposure to the intervention or with hearing impairment were excluded. Guided by the Plan–Do–Check–Act cycle, improvement strategies included standardizing the provision of incentive spirometry, pre-positioning equipment at nursing stations, unifying education content, and delivering multimedia educational materials via quick response codes.
Results:
Before quality control circle implementation, the total process time was 266.65 minutes (240 minutes for equipment preparation and 17.5 minutes for patient education). After implementation, it dropped to 28.75 minutes (8.7 minutes for preparation, 10.5 minutes for schooling), improving overall efficiency by 89.2% and significantly reducing workflow time.
Conclusions:
A quality control circle framework not only optimized perioperative respiratory care but also engaged frontline staff, fostering a sense of teamwork and shared purpose. Multimedia patient education improved understanding and engagement, and cross-disciplinary collaboration reduced clinical workload. This strategy may reduce postoperative pulmonary complications and can be applied to other respiratory care workflows.
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