Benchmarking With Hospital Data

Using the Hospital Compare tool on Medicare.gov, obtain benchmarking data on several health care facilities. Write a 3-4 page memo to the HIM director specifying the use of benchmark and comparative data in health care, the statistical data that allows for comparisons, an interpretation of the results of the comparison, and other pertinent details. Include three or more graphs, charts, or tables in the memo.

INSTRUCTIONS

In a 3–4 page memo to your Vila Health HIM director, include the following headings and address the questions following each heading at a minimum:

• Benchmark and Comparative Data
  • How can Vila Health use this specific type of benchmark and comparative data?
• Statistical Data Allowing for Comparative Measures
  • Which kinds of statistical data allow for comparative measures? For example, consider mean and median.
  • What examples can you provide from your Compare Hospitals results to support your points?
• Interpretation of Results
  • What types of information can Vila Health glean from these comparative measures?
  • What examples can you provide from your Hospital Compare results that support your interpretations?
  • Knowing that your director responds well to charts, graphs, and other visuals, how can you convey this information graphically?
• Users of Benchmarking Data
  • Who are the potential users of this benchmarking data at Vila Health?
• Data Implications
  • What are the implications of the data you have collected for Vila Health?
  • Assuming that these facilities are competitors with Vila Health, in what areas could excellent patient service give a competitive advantage to Vila Health? Benchmarking With Hospital Data

  RESOURCES:

• Horton, L. A. (2017). Calculating and reporting healthcare statistics (5th Rev. ed.). Chicago, IL: AHIMA Press. Available from the bookstore.
  • Chapter 3, “Patient Census,” pages 31–52.
  • Chapter 4, “Percentage of Occupancy,” pages 53–69.
  • Chapter 5, “Length of Stay,” pages 71–90.
  • Chapter 10, “Descriptive Statistics in Healthcare,” pages 213–243.
• Mean, Median, and Mode | Transcript.
  • This Capella media piece nicely summarizes the differences among the three statistical terms.
• Summary and Descriptive Statistics | Transcript.
  • This five-minute Capella media piece provides an overview of summary and descriptive statistics.
  • Fibuch, E., & Van Way, C. W. (2013). Benchmarking’s role in driving performance. Physician Executive, 39(1), 28–32.
  • Signorelli, H., Straseski, J. A., Genzen, J. R., Walker, B. S., Jackson, B. R., & Schmidt, R. L. (2015). Benchmarking to identify practice variation in test ordering: A potential tool for utilization management. Labmedicine, 46(4), 356–364.
  • Valdes-Perez, R. (2015, October 30). Smart benchmarking starts with knowing whom to compare yourself to. Harvard Business Review Digital Articles, 2–5.
  • Wind, A., & van Harten, W. H. (2017). Benchmarking specialty hospitals, a scoping review on theory and practice. BMC Health Services Research, 17, 1–21.