Integrating Data Sources for Clinical Operational Improvement: Innovative Business Strategies in a Multi-Hospital System

Purpose:
Development of an innovative business model serves to integrate data resources into clinical operational improvement strategies by establishing structure and processes for meaningful use of nurse sensitive data to “heat-up” quality patient outcomes, staffing models, and organizational initiatives.

Significance:
Integration of nurse sensitive data sets into new business model with oversight by highly qualified professionals increases utilization of data driven clinical operational improvement strategies that cross essential areas of administration, fiscal management, informatics, staffing, and research.

Strategy and Implementation:
In 2010, Florida Hospital administration and nursing leadership recognized opportunities to share data driven successes for operational improvement initiatives. A new, innovative business model was established from six specialty areas identified as essential to the work. Highly qualified personnel, resources, and budgets were selected from Nursing Research & NDNQI, Nursing Administration & Finance, Nursing Informatics, Nursing Labor Resources, Staffing & Operational Strategies, and Surgical Services Fiscal & Information Administration. The new business model, Clinical Operational Improvement, provides an innovative delivery structure for dissemination and utilization of data based resources. The professional team serves as internal consultants to a hospital system with >2000 licensed beds and >5000 nurses for staffing, operational and the clinical management of resources to optimize high performance and quality of healthcare services.

Evaluation:
Evaluation is based on increased utilization of data based resources; increased number, quality and integrity of nurse sensitive based projects using data as a framework to improve practice and patient outcomes; increased requests for internal consults, custom reports and data based services.

Implications for Practice:
Clinical Operational Improvement provides effective model for data driven practice. Examples: Eliminating patient falls, decreasing wound prevalence, management of labor, clinical, fiscal resources, data collection from electronic medical records, and Baldrige, Magnet, and Sterling applications.