Steps to Quality Improvement > Assessment > Collecting the Data

In scheduling assessment activities, be explicit about the work being conducted. Include time for planning and preparing the assessment and for designating the appropriate fiscal and personnel resources. A detailed schedule of activities and target dates will make all participants aware of their responsibilities and deliverables before the assessment begins.

The assessment should begin with a meeting of all individuals involved in the process, including data collectors, reporters, assessors and administrative staff. Each person should be clear about the assessment’s goals, its process and desired outcomes. The group should decide how to communicate project status, who will make decisions and how they will be made. Assessment leaders should review the written plan; explain to participants how the assessment supports the organization’s mission and answer participant questions about roles and responsibilities. To assist in future assessment activities, a list of all issues and their resolutions should be kept.

Quantitative Data

Common sources of quantitative information include existing surveys and administrative, clinical and program data such as the following:

• Surveys. Survey results may contain information that can be obtained only by directly asking staff members, clinicians or patients. Useful survey information may include patients’ experiences, their knowledge about their condition and self-care or the attitude of clinicians toward integrating CLAS into their clinical practice.
• Administrative data. Administrative data is generally inexpensive and easily accessible. These include claims or billing information such as diagnosis and procedure codes; prescriptions filled; mental health or other specialty referrals. Other types of administrative data include patient demographics  (e.g., age, gender, place of residence).
• Clinical data. This information contains more details about clinical care and is typically easier to obtain from electronic medical records than from paper charts. Types of information obtained from clinical records include content of care such as lab test values, counseling given and prescription details.
• Program data. Cost, staffing and resources devoted to specific tasks or programs.
• Race/ethnicity and language preference data. These data may be collected directly from patients or members on enrollment or registration forms or health risk appraisals or on Web sites. They may also be extrapolated using indirect methods such as geocoding or surname analysis.
• Community or target population data. Information about a specific population and its needs may be available from public and private organizations in the community. The QI team should establish relationships with other organizations and consider pre-existing data sources to limit the amount of new data that must be collected.

Qualitative Data

It is often not possible or feasible to quantify all the information necessary to inform an assessment or a QI effort. Qualitative data are an extremely valuable source of information and may give additional insight or context to quantitative results. Creating a focus group composed of representative members of the target population, or interviewing experts or key informants allows the QI team to ask personalized questions and collect a wealth of information that may not be captured in a report or survey. Simply observing the target population or processes in question is also worthwhile and can yield useful insights.