Everyone in your hospice program should be aware of what you are measuring and the results. This knowledge will:
- Provide them with positive feedback about the care they are providing, an immediate “Great job!”
- Demonstrate the program’s commitment to quality care
- Let everyone know what is being measured and offer an opportunity for all team members to provide input into performance improvement
- Provide the liaisons with another approach for sales calls
These approaches for sales calls include:
- Educating about the quality measures and what they mean
- Presenting the performance/quality results to position your hospice as the provider of choice (which will result in the referral of appropriate patients)
Here’s an example of this kind of sales call:
“Sally (discharge planner), one of our quality measures is the patient’s pain being brought to a comfortable level within 48 hours of admission. NHPCO data shows that 70.5 % of patients and families reported pain being brought to a comfortable level within 48 hours. I am proud to let you know that our last quarter results showed 73% of patients and families reported a comfortable level within 48 hours.I know you care about the comfort of your patients so I wanted to share this information with you. In addition, if pain is managed quickly, the patient will be less likely to return to the ER or hospital. Wouldn’t you agree?”
(The quality measures and results used are NHPCO 2010 national results. You, of course, will have your program specific quality measures. These statistics are presented as a way for you to compare your program to national results. At the end of this blog, you’ll find some HU recommends for a self-evaluation of your hospice.)
NHPCO QUALITY MEASURES and RESULTS
Family Evaluation of Hospice Care
Hospice team clearly explained plan of care: 96.6% rated ‘Yes’
Rating of hospice patient care: 75.6% rated ‘Excellent’
Hospice response to evening/weekend needs: 66.4% rated ‘Excellent’
Family Evaluation of Bereavement Services
How well services met bereavement needs: 76.9% rated “Very Well”
End Result Outcome Measures
Patient’s pain brought to a comfortable level within 48 hours of hospice admission:
70.5% rated “Yes”
Your hospice program self-evaluation:
1. What are we measuring to evaluate performance improvement?
2. Are we measuring the right services/care/responses?
3. Have we identified the components of quality care for our hospice and the patients/families and customers we serve?
4. Are we identifying what care delivery is effective?
5. Are we targeting areas for improvement and implementing plans for ongoing
improvement and evaluation?
6. Do all team members know what quality care means in your hospice? Do they know what
is being measured and how they are doing?
7. Are appropriate performance measures being shared with customers (referral sources?
external care partners?)
Is your hospice ready to self-evaluate? Hospice University ® offers on and off-site customized consultations!