Q&A: Manage your data management process (part II)
Q: Do you have any tips of how to manage and display risk assessment data?
A: Risk assessment data can support PI initiatives. Organizations collect plenty of data. However, one of the downfalls of collecting plenty of data is that many organizations fall short in terms of actually doing something with the data to improve the patient care process.
Think through the data system tracer. The purpose of the data tracer is to determine whether your organization’s PI process is using data effectively to improve care. The organization also needs to show how the management data was used to identify and prioritize areas to improve. In this manner, the surveyors will need to understand:
- How your data is collected
- The methodology used for data collection
- How data are used to identify processes to improve
- How the areas of needed improvement are prioritized
- How data are aggregated and analyzed
- How data are communicated throughout the organization, from the frontline staff all the way to the board
Tip for success: View this session as you would a job interview. You have the opportunity to boast about all the great quality improvements your facility has accomplished in the past couple of years. Organize your data and outcomes to prioritize those that have led to the most success as well as those that have provided you with the biggest challenges.