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Tip of the Week: Three tips for collecting data

Accreditation Connection, July 4, 2005

Collecting data isn't enough; the JCAHO expects you to do something with it.

Ron Moen, partner of Associates in Process Improvement in Clarkston, MI, suggests the following three tips when collecting data:

1. Define what you're measuring

This isn't always as simple as it sounds. If you're assessing the quality of your intensive-care unit (ICU), for example, you might use mortality as one of your measures. If so, you'll need to clearly define the term mortality.

Will you count six-month postadmission mortalities as well as ICU mortalities? How will you count patients who have been admitted to the ICU more than once?

How will you classify patients who have been transferred from another hospital (and who tend to have higher ICU mortality rates)?

2. Choose your measurement tool

Standardized tools, such as data-collection forms, are essential. The best measures are easy to understand, inexpensive to collect, precise, and yield a low level of variance. They also hold up against the six measures of quality recommended by the Institute of Medicine.

3. Pilot test your measures

Because your data is only as reliable as your measurement tool, it's critical that you pilot test your measures before plunging into data collection.

Ask your data collectors to use the measures for a short amount of time and give you feedback about them. Were staff confused by any of the measures or their definitions? Are the measures relevant?

Be realistic: Nearly all measures will require revision after a pilot test.

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