Data Storyteller

Do you play a key role in gathering, analyzing, and visualizing data at your health center? This HITEQ webinar taught about how to use our Health Center Dashboard Design Guide, a comprehensive guide to user-centered dashboard design for health center staff. Using this guide, you and your team can develop dashboards that enable data exploration and use by making more informed design decisions, moving beyond the defaults.

Having rapid access to data in health centers is critical to managing clinics, using operational data to improve care, and reporting quality measures. Quality, accessible data in health care can do more than feature in reports and accountability systems: effective communication of information can improve quality of care, alignment to evidence-based care principles, and data-informed decision making. Charts, graphs, maps, and other data visualizations play a key role in making information accessible. Visualizations make the patterns in large datasets rapidly apparent, showing when numbers are going up or down, performance compared to goals, comparison between patient groups, and more. The purpose of this resource is to provide a comprehensive guide to user-centered dashboard design for health center staff.

Many health centers struggle to reap the benefits of technological advancement and investments in health information technology (health IT), while others embrace them and reap rewards. Interoperability is one such example; requiring health centers assess systems, relationships, and implementation.

There are keys to successful interoperability implementation for which health centers must develop processes, stand up infrastructure (within the system, internally and externally, and organization), and then take action.

Process refers to structured processes, policies, and procedures within the health center.

Infrastructure refers to structural capacity and ability within the health center’s technology and staffing structure.

Action refers to full implementation to the point of active and ongoing use and engagement.

This scorecard encourages health centers to consider their processes, infrastructure, and action in a number of key areas. Each area key to interoperability are to be self-graded on a scale of 1 through 5, where 1 is poorly or not yet developed and 5 is well developed. Health centers can also use this to guide discussions and monitor progress over time.

The Performance Measure Data Definition Worksheet can be used during the Quality Improvement (QI) process to assess the alignment of your health center’s workflows and documentation and your EHR vendor’s reporting logic processes.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) EHR Certification criteria requires EHR vendors to use eCQM (electronic Clinical Quality Measure) specifications to define measures. Therefore, reported data for a measure should be consistent regardless of EHR vendor. In practice, however, it is important to confirm that your EHR vendor’s reporting logic is consistent with your health center’s definition and workflows, and vice versa, as outlined in this worksheet.

The Social Determinants of Health Data Dashboards training is a four-module series. Modules range from about 8 minutes to 12 minutes in length. Module four provides advanced-level information on using social determinants of health data and dashboards for facilitating and tracking social needs referrals, conducting predictive analysis with social determinants of health and health outcomes data, and using social determinants of health data to improve reimbursement for addressing social needs.