The webinar will help you understand how
the Statit Performance Indicator & Management
Dashboard (piMD) solution provides the tools
necessary for "process expert accountability"
and meaningful performance improvement success.
Some of the questions posed during the
webinar include:
Q: At one point you showed JCAHO criteria
for significance of change...8 data points
in a row above or below the centerline. But,
when you discussed statistical significance
on the Inpatient Mortality chart, the pop-up
box stated that 3 data points are required
to determine statistical significance. Please
reconcile.
A: The Joint Commission criteria look
for patterns of unusual variation in a process.
The rules that we apply to detect this unusual
variation are: a point outside the control
limits, 8 points in a row above or below the
centerline and 6 points in a row increasing
or decreasing.
When we assess
the impact of a process change, we are essentially
splitting the process into two process: one
before the intervention and one after the
intervention. We use a couple of statistical
tests to determin if there is a statistical
difference between the phases. In the case
of the Single Value or Multiple Values chart,
we use what is called a t-test. We recommend
that this statistical procedure require 3
periods for each process (e.g. original and
new) to get a good statistical test to determine
if the new process is different from the original
process. For the percentage or Rate data types,
we use a proportions test to determine if
the process has changed.
Q: On the control charts, tell us
about your control limits—how are they
calculated?
A: Statit's SPC charts use the standard
algorithms for calculating control limits
based on the type of data you are using: percentage,
a general rate, multiple values (e.g. LOS
for each patient) or single values (e.g. counts).
With Statit, you have a choice of specifying
the sigma value to be used for the SPC chart.
You can explicityly specify a 2 sigma control
chart or a 3 sigma control chart. But what
we recommend in most situations is to use
our control chart that automatically determines
the sigman for the control limits based on
how many periods of data you are charting.
This option greatly simplifies charting a
new metric as the system automatically adjusts
the sigma value as you collect more data.
Q: The note on the Falls data says
"Not yet Validated"...what data
is not validated? The current quarter only?
A: For each of the indicators you define,
you can decide whether the Process Expert
is required to validate new data as it arrives.
Validation is necessary whenver a new period
of data is detected OR if the data for the
most recent two periods on the chart changes.
Q: Many organizations use the term
"process owner". Is there a differentiation
between process owner and process expert?
A: We believe that these two terms
are the same. Within Statit, the Process Expert
for an indicator or process is responsible
for the overall peformance of the measure
and is able to make assessments, action plans,
improvement plans and identify process changes
for the measures.
