Disseminating Performance Measure Data

People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they have not communicated with each other.
            -Martin Luther King Jr.

Utilizing Data for Performance Measures

Besides reporting your performance measures data to HRSA, what else can you do with it? Anything? Of course! Keep the following in mind:

Remember the Purpose

The performance measures represent key aspects of pediatric emergency medical care infrastructure. The purpose of gathering initial data is to measure the baseline and then make improvements where deficiencies exist. If you do nothing to address these deficit areas after gathering baseline data, there is little reason to believe the numbers will be any different next year!

So, at a minimum you want to use the data to develop a strategic plan to address those areas in which you feel you have the greatest chance of making progress. In 2012, NEDARC offered a workshop called Identifying Opportunities to Improve Performance Measure Results. The workshop materials are available for downloading from the NEDARC website.

Share the Data

You have had to work with numerous people in your state to gather information for these measures, especially if you have conducted surveys to provider groups. These parties are interested in the results of all this data collection and effort to achieve compliance with the measures, so share the results with them as well as any other groups such as partner organizations and policymakers.

Sharing results in the form of reports, fact sheets, charts and graphs, and in other ways will help highlight the issues and generate support for making progress in the measures, and may also help individual provider groups in benchmarking their own performance and activities. NEDARC has taught workshops on how to make dissemination materials and how to create effective tables and graphs. These workshop materials are available for download.

NEDARC taught a workshop during 2011 called Jump Start Your PM Data Dissemination. The materials are available for download.

Why Communicate Your Performance Measure Findings?

You’ve done all the work to collect the data. Now it’s time to communicate your findings to others! The end goal of the performance measures is to ensure long-term progress at both state and national levels of the EMSC program. To ensure this progress, you need to communicate your findings.

• You cannot do everything yourself: None of us can accomplish great things on our own. You need to build on the expertise of others to utilize your data most effectively, and that can only be done through good data communication.
• You are not the only decision maker: Your data may give you great evidence for change in your state, but you will need the buy-in and support from other decision makers to implement them. You may need approval from your EMS director, buy-in from your EMSC Advisory Committee, or support from other advocates in pre-hospital care. If you use good data communication skills, you’ll be in a better position to rally the support of leaders and decision makers around you.
• You and your program will benefit: With the right data and support, good things can happen for you; your data may stimulate new improvement ideas you hadn't considered before; maybe your program will be eligible for new funding or partnerships; perhaps your results will interest people that can help you down the road.
• You want to share the knowledge you’ve gained: Data is a valuable commodity, especially in the EMS world where data are often harder to come by than in other healthcare systems. There are probably dozens of other people in your state and elsewhere who would love to see your data, and all it takes is a simple website, fact sheet, or presentation to help get the word out. If you don’t share your data with others, who will?
• You will need to collect data again at a later date from the same sources: The EMS agencies and hospitals in your state took the time to complete and return your surveys. Now it’s your turn to pay them back by providing them with the findings. If you do not, they might not be as willing to provide data the next time you need to collect it for the performance measures.
• It’s a waste of time if you don’t! You’ve collected all that data! Don’t let it go to waste. Data communication is not just a luxury step; it is essential! Otherwise, no one will benefit from your work.

Further Research & Analysis

Some performance measure areas may lend themselves to further research and analysis.

For example, studying the differences in transfer times and patterns and patient outcomes between hospitals who have pediatric inter-facility transfer agreements and guidelines and those who don’t might be very revealing.

Or, evaluating treatment patterns for those patients seen by EMS providers with on-line medical direction and those without might highlight the need for having more comprehensive availability of on-line medical direction.

Reporting is Only One Aspect

Remember that providing HRSA with baseline and annual data for the performance measures is only one aspect of the process. More can and should be done to use the data to generate support for making improvements where deficiencies exist.

Please do not hesitate to contact staff at NEDARC or HRSA for help on any of these issues!

 

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rev. 14-Aug-2012