You may already have the solutions to some of your toughest management challenges but they are buried in the mounds of information to which you have access. In most healthcare organizations, computer systems hold hundreds, even thousands, of data elements on financial and clinical matters. Don’t let this abundance of data intimidate you. This book provides a straightforward approach to turning data into useful information, which you can use to make rational and objective decisions.

Learn how to bring meaning to your data by using indicators, or metrics, to specifically measure the outcomes of the actions taken by administrators, directors, managers, and staff in their day-to-day work. This book explains how to develop metrics using a goal-setting process, hone the metrics by creating an action plan, and adopt the metrics through effective implementation.

The techniques discussed in this book work and have worked for some of the most highly successful hospitals in America. Six case studies are presented, illustrating how these organizations used metrics to achieve superior results. Adopt their approach in your organization.

Topics covered in the book include

• How to present information so that it is effective and useful for better decision making
• What elements and metrics are involved in a balanced scorecard, and how one is used to significantly improve outcomes
• What financial and clinical indicators a hospital can successfully use in its operations