Putting Benchmarks and KPIs to Work: The Improvement Plan

In our previous blog posts, Benchmarking for the Future of PDGM and Key Performance Indicators: How they Help you to Succeed with PDGM, we shared with you a summary of some of the key points from the session NAHC hosted on New PDGM Benchmarks and Trends.

Now that you’re a benchmarking and KPI pro, let’s talk about your improvement plan. The KPIs you have defined will be integral to your plan, and here are some tips for first managing your KPIs:

Establish goals: You have your KPIs from your benchmarks, but you aren’t done yet. Goals need a timeline. The timeline is important as it will act as a way to monitor your goals, but it will also keep you honest regarding what you can actually accomplish. You’ll want to monitor how you are doing within your allotted timeline to ensure you are 1) not creating unrealistic goals and 2) prioritizing them so that you are tackling a few at a time vs. all at once and subsequently, not completing any.

Identify your sources: You can pull information from your EMR, the Medicare data site, or third-party options that can provide you with the data you need. One thing to note is to also identify how the data is calculated as that will impact your overall goals.

Monitor: Define who is looking at these goals, the frequency, and who needs to be aware of the status throughout the defined timeline. Ensure that your frequency lines up with decision making so that your status can help when making important business decisions. 

Analyze: This stage goes hand-in-hand with monitoring, as they are usually done at the same time.  It’s important to analyze the data and take the time to drill down and determine what it means for your organization. A lot of times, organizations look at a summary of data, but not the individual pieces that go into it.

Creating your Improvement Plan

The last stage of managing your KPIs is the Action stage, i.e., the Improvement Plan. This is the final — and arguably the most important— stage as it informs what you are doing with all of this new data. As we mentioned in the previous blogs, the first step to making meaningful change in your organization is to see where you stand. Once your organization has created your benchmarks, you’ll want to review each one to see areas where you are succeeding and the ones where you can improve. Then, once you have a handle on that, you’ll create your KPIs. And finally, you will create your improvement plan to ensure you are making a positive impact on your organization.

So, as the saying goes, you need to walk before you can run. You need to have the right data in place in order to establish your goals and you need to have both done in order to develop your improvement plan. Once everything is in place, you’ll be able to maximize your efforts, track your progress, and improve your business overall.

Succeeding with PDGM

Earlier this year home health agencies were faced with an intimidating regulation change when PDGM came into effect. For many, complying with the new PDGM requirements has been a challenge. When speaking with our customer, Recover Health, we found that when it comes to PDGM, being prepared and having the right data are key to keeping their agency on track. CEO Greg Von Arx said, “By having access to the data early on, thanks to PointClickCare jumping on the PDGM bandwagon early, we were able to put plans in place and respond in ways that had positive clinical and financial impacts.” In the end, organizations need to have the right tools and solutions in place in order to succeed. Utilizing benchmarks, KPIs, and thus, creating an improvement plan, can help your organization succeed with PDGM by keeping your tasks and goals on track.