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Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

Improvement in one measure can create unintended consequences in another area. Although transport time has improved, an increase in specimen rejection may represent a significant balancing problem that affects patient care, workflow, and resource utilization.

The team should examine why rejection rates increased. Faster transport may have changed labeling, packaging, handoff, collection, or verification practices. Staff may be rushing to meet the new timing goal or responsibilities may have become unclear.

A strong improvement process evaluates both intended outcomes and balancing measures. The objective should not be to optimize one metric while worsening overall care. The team may need to modify the workflow, clarify responsibilities, standardize labeling, or introduce another targeted intervention.

Stopping measurement of unfavorable outcomes would conceal important information and could allow patient-safety problems to persist. Similarly, declaring the project complete based on one successful measure would provide an incomplete evaluation.

The Program/Project Management and Process Improvement domain emphasizes performance indicators, project methodologies, evaluation, and strategies for sustaining and maximizing outcomes. NPD practitioners should therefore help teams consider the broader effect of a change rather than focusing on a single favorable metric.