As the healthcare industry puts more value on evidence-based care, data is becoming more and more important for hospitals for improving care. Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside, Calif., uses data to great effect in its Cardiovascular Health Institute. Frequent internal reporting of data allows CVHI to make advances in heart attack care. The hospital had the fifth lowest 30-day heart attack readmission rate among U.S. hospitals based on CMS' Hospital Compare data submitted from July 2007 to June 2010. The hospital's rate was 15.6 compared to the national average of 19.8.
Data collection and analysis
Tri-City Medical Center collects data daily from several sources, including the finance department. Nurses also track information on patients daily. A department dedicated to analyzing the data then looks at the information and compares it to publicly reported data to assess the hospital's performance in relation to other hospitals. "Our goal is to be in the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide," says Chrisie Shand, data analyst for CVHI. "When we review publicly reported databases [such as] Hospital Compare and see positive progress, we know we are making the right steps toward our goal."
Data application
CVHI's quality and operational committees have monthly meetings in which data on cardiovascular patients is shared. "I have the opportunity to present data to committee members and provide feedback on their collaborative efforts," Ms. Shand says. The daily collection of data and monthly reports enable CVHI to make changes quickly to address problems. "We don't have to wait until publicly reported data [is published] a year from now. Concurrent monitoring of data allows us to identify the issues so we can adjust our plan and hopefully achieve the targets we established for ourselves," says Donald Dawkins, RN, MBA, vice president of strategic integration at Tri-City Medical Center and secretary of CVHI's board of managers.
For example, one of CVHI's goals is to ensure heart attack patients have a follow-up appointment within seven to 10 days after discharge. Data showed, however, that the rate of follow-up appointments was not increasing as expected. CVHI found that some patients could not schedule follow-up appointments within the desired time period because they were new to the area or were uninsured and did not have a primary care physician, among other reasons. CVHI thus decided to create a heart failure clinic within the institute to see patients soon after discharge. "Early warning triggers allow us to see whether we are going toward our target. If not, we adjust our strategy accordingly," Mr. Dawkins says.
In addition to monthly reports to the quality and operational committees, care coordinators in CVHI receive daily admission reports that indicate which patients are readmissions. The care coordinators then review readmitted patients' cases to determine possible causes for the readmission. Care coordinators report their findings to the quality and operational committees to help guide process changes.
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Data collection and analysis
Tri-City Medical Center collects data daily from several sources, including the finance department. Nurses also track information on patients daily. A department dedicated to analyzing the data then looks at the information and compares it to publicly reported data to assess the hospital's performance in relation to other hospitals. "Our goal is to be in the top 10 percent of hospitals nationwide," says Chrisie Shand, data analyst for CVHI. "When we review publicly reported databases [such as] Hospital Compare and see positive progress, we know we are making the right steps toward our goal."
Data application
CVHI's quality and operational committees have monthly meetings in which data on cardiovascular patients is shared. "I have the opportunity to present data to committee members and provide feedback on their collaborative efforts," Ms. Shand says. The daily collection of data and monthly reports enable CVHI to make changes quickly to address problems. "We don't have to wait until publicly reported data [is published] a year from now. Concurrent monitoring of data allows us to identify the issues so we can adjust our plan and hopefully achieve the targets we established for ourselves," says Donald Dawkins, RN, MBA, vice president of strategic integration at Tri-City Medical Center and secretary of CVHI's board of managers.
For example, one of CVHI's goals is to ensure heart attack patients have a follow-up appointment within seven to 10 days after discharge. Data showed, however, that the rate of follow-up appointments was not increasing as expected. CVHI found that some patients could not schedule follow-up appointments within the desired time period because they were new to the area or were uninsured and did not have a primary care physician, among other reasons. CVHI thus decided to create a heart failure clinic within the institute to see patients soon after discharge. "Early warning triggers allow us to see whether we are going toward our target. If not, we adjust our strategy accordingly," Mr. Dawkins says.
In addition to monthly reports to the quality and operational committees, care coordinators in CVHI receive daily admission reports that indicate which patients are readmissions. The care coordinators then review readmitted patients' cases to determine possible causes for the readmission. Care coordinators report their findings to the quality and operational committees to help guide process changes.
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