What to do about ORYX? Improve priority areas
HPR’s expert offers advice on weathering storm
"Quality management professionals appear to be caught in the middle of a he said/ she said’ debate," comments Patrice Spath, ART, a health care consultant in Forest Grove, OR, and Hospital Peer Review’s consulting editor. "It’s no wonder everyone is confused." (See articles on pp. 37-42, 47, regarding the Joint Commission’s proposed ORYX requirements.)
The unanswered questions are myriad and monumental, says Spath:
• How many measures must a hospital have chosen for the ORYX initiative, as of this date?
• How many will be required in the future?
• Will specific measures be required, or just any measures that fall into the core focus areas? And are these core measures or focus areas? [Editor’s note: That question still is unanswered at the time this issue of Hospital Peer Review went to press.]
• Will these measures be in addition to, or instead of, the ones currently chosen by the hospitals?
• Will the number of "approved" systems decrease if vendors can’t support the proposed new focus areas/measures?
• Will my hospital’s approved system become non-approved at some date?
Spath offers this advice: "Continue to measure and improve patient care activities that have been chosen as high-priority areas by your organization’s quality council. Remember, the bottom line must be meeting the needs of your facility. Continue to gain experience collecting valid and reliable data and using comparative data — from whatever source — to compare your performance with that of other facilities. Learn how to interpret risk-adjusted measurements, analyze comparative reports, and respond to outlier situations. This experience will be invaluable regardless of what the Joint Commission or state and national regulatory groups may require in the future."
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