Data Type

The web-based Palliative Care (PC) Report Card details team activities by site on a monthly basis and focuses on processes of care.

Description

Using a web-based report card to monitor implementation and performance of a network PC Program

Goal

To provide feedback to PC teams and improve their performance on the number of consultations, proportion of hospital and nursing home deaths with palliative care and other process measures on a monthly basis.

Measures

Per month: Number of PC team consultations; number of days from hospital admission to PC consult total number of inpatient deaths; percent of inpatient deaths with PC consult; mean and median number of days from initial PC consult to death; location of inpatient deaths with PC consult in acute care, ICU, nursing home and inpatient palliative care unit; percent of inpatient deaths with PC consult in previous list of care venues; number of referrals to home hospice and source of funding for hospice referrals

Data Collected

The Palliative Care Director and Program Manager developed and implemented a web-based PC Report Card to report performance data. Because VA uses an electronic medical record and VISN 3 uses a standardized PC consultation template, the Report Card data could be collected electronically from medical records. The PC Director and Program Manager use the Report Card data to 1) give direct performance feedback to the interdisciplinary PC teams on a monthly basis, 2) provide monthly reports on the PC Program to the VA- VISN 3 leadership in geriatrics and long-term care, 3) provide annual presentations on the PC Program to the VISN clinical and administrative leaders who allocate resources and control program development.

Graph or Table of Results

Summary of Results/ What Worked and Why

PC consultation increased dramatically in all inpatient venues in VISN 3 through the use of a web-based Report Card. The Report Card uses ongoing monitoring of team performance on important program goals in concert with regular feedback to teams and both facility and VISN leadership.

Lesson Learned

• Ongoing monitoring of team performance enhances program growth, development and sustenance.
• Regular feedback to the teams, facility and VISN leadership on the PC program promotes support and identifies opportunities for quality improvement on a site and VISN level