Public Health Accreditation – Our Little Secret to Conquering Domain 9

If you’re interested in increasing your efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the community, you may be considering (or already in the process of) applying for public health accreditation.

Acquiring accreditation is a long process that requires a significant amount of time and resources. You must complete the prerequisites, design your improvement strategy, fulfill documentation requirements, engage in site visits, and wait for a decision.

There are ways to accelerate this process so that you can focus more of your time on what matters: achieving better health outcomes for the populations you serve.

Read more to gain a better understanding of accreditation and how an online performance management system can be the key to accelerating the accreditation process…

What is Domain 9?

As part of the accreditation requirements, you must develop, implement, and document the utilization of a performance management system and a quality improvement processes.

As part of the accreditation requirements, you must design, implement and document processes encompassing 12 “domains.” 10 of these domains relate to service-delivery and 2 relate to governance and administration.

Domain 9 establishes 2 standards that must be met for accreditation:

• Standard 9.1 Use a Performance Management System to Monitor Achievement of Organizational Objectives
• Standard 9.2 Develop and Implement Quality Improvement Processes Integrated Into Organizational Practice, Programs, Processes, and Interventions

Our Secret to Conquering Domain 9…

Using an online performance management software can help you conquer both standards of domain 9. It can also accelerate the process by which you meet the standards and develop your supporting documentation.

Here are 3 ways an online performance dashboard software can help you get accredited:

1. Get Up and Running Quickly with a Performance Management System

Part of accreditation is using public health indicators to drive program changes. You must also use performance measures to make changes and create impact in the community. Part of this process is tracking and sharing data in an easy-to-read and find way. Utilizing an online performance dashboard system will help you meet these requirements faster by providing automatic data visualization, customizable organization of measures, and simplicity of use. Some online dashboards, like the Clear Impact Scorecard, make it easier to share data internally and externally by allowing you to embed scorecards on your website. Instead of trying to develop an in-house solution or use excel, online scorecards automate the process for you.

2. Design an Effective, Data-Driven, Evidence-Based Quality Improvement Process

To conquer Domain 9, you can’t just measure performance; you have to develop a process for improving it! Online dashboards put the most important information at your fingertips by allowing you the capability to organize and visualize your performance measures. You will be able to spot and correct issues more quickly. Not all online dashboards are created equally though. The best dashboards don’t just display your data – they facilitate the quality improvement process. For example, the Clear Impact Scorecard allows you to engage in a 5-step improvement process for each of your indicators and performance measures. This simple process can be utilized to design and document quality improvement initiatives. The Scorecard will even train you on how to complete this process so you can start making improvements immediately (bonus points!).

3. Meet Performance Management System and Documentation Requirements Simultaneously

PHAB recommends starting the documentation process as early as possible, even though it’s not required until step 3. The point of this process is to submit physical (digital) evidence proving that your organization is meeting the standards and measures of accreditation. Some online dashboards can help you meet these requirements faster. For example, the Clear Impact Scorecard allows you to download and print custom reports showcasing the progress of your performance measures, the process by which you are engaging in quality improvement, and the specific actions you are taking to achieve these ends. These reports can be uploaded as part of the documentation requirements in step 3.

When It’s All Said and Done

You can alleviate some of the anxiety surrounding accredidation and accelerate your completion of requirements through the use of an online dashboard designed for your needs.

The public health accreditation process is an arduous one…there’s no way around it. But you can accelerate your completion of requirements through the use of a dashboard that meets the needs of public health organizations. Not all dashboards are designed to meet these needs, so be sure to do your research and find a solution that offers the appropriate the features needed to achieve your goals. Check out the Clear Impact Scorecard if you haven’t already – it’s specifically designed for public sector organizations and is already being used by many organizations to support the public health accreditation process.