Slide 10

Outcome Metrics for Target Population

• Average length of stay
• 30-day unplanned all-cause readmission rate
• Pre/post data: Patient experience related to discharge preparation
• Pre/post data: Frontline staff survey related to discharge preparation
• Pre/post data — PCP survey related to discharge preparation

Notes:

Now that you've mapped your current state process and have identified gaps and overlaps, it's a good time to consider baseline measurement to evaluate how well your current state is working. The final phase of the Measure phase is to determine what outcome metrics exist and what metrics need to be designed. Performance improvement (PI) projects are not designed to be research studies. Process and outcome metrics are collected as simply as possible at the beginning of the project so data can drive the team's perception of reality. We come to the table to engage in problem-solving activities when we have knowledge, skills, and perceptions of a given process, but we rarely have data that identify the realistic causative variables within a process. If the team enters the PI project without fully understanding the data from the current state, there will be no baseline to assess overall improvements.

The next five slides, including this one, detail several measures you may want to use to assess project impact. This slide lists outcome metrics you may consider using to help you evaluate the impact of your re-engineered discharge process. The first two you should already be able to capture from existing systems in your organization.

Data for the last two metrics on this slide can be collected pre- and post-implementation of the re-engineered discharge process to evaluate if there has been a change in perception or opinion. We have created three brief questionnaires to assist you with these measurements if you choose to use them. A brief phone survey can be completed with patients, and brief written surveys can be completed by members of the hospital staff and by primary care providers.