RCA fishbone diagrams categorize potential causes into which themes?

RCA fishbone diagrams categorize potential causes into which themes?

• A. People, Process, Equipment, and Environment
• B. People, Process, Policies, Technology
• C. Patients, Providers, Payers, Places
• D. Root, Branches, Leaves, Seeds

Answer: (A)

RCA fishbone diagrams organize potential causes into broad domains to guide a structured search for root causes. The typical domains used are People, Process, Equipment, and Environment. People covers human factors such as training, skills, communication, and teamwork. Process examines how work is designed and performed—workflows, handoffs, standard procedures, and policies. Equipment includes tools and technology, focusing on availability, reliability, and suitability. Environment encompasses the setting and situational factors like physical space, lighting, noise, and organizational culture or leadership support. Using these categories ensures a comprehensive and systematic analysis, helping you pinpoint where improvements will have the most impact. Choices that group by stakeholders (patients, providers, payers, places) or use non-thematic terms don’t align with how root-cause analysis typically categorizes causes.

RCA fishbone diagrams organize potential causes into broad domains to guide a structured search for root causes. The typical domains used are People, Process, Equipment, and Environment. People covers human factors such as training, skills, communication, and teamwork. Process examines how work is designed and performed—workflows, handoffs, standard procedures, and policies. Equipment includes tools and technology, focusing on availability, reliability, and suitability. Environment encompasses the setting and situational factors like physical space, lighting, noise, and organizational culture or leadership support. Using these categories ensures a comprehensive and systematic analysis, helping you pinpoint where improvements will have the most impact. Choices that group by stakeholders (patients, providers, payers, places) or use non-thematic terms don’t align with how root-cause analysis typically categorizes causes.