Time frame for ORYX: Know these deadlines
Your hospital already should have selected six noncore-measure indicators from the ORYX program, which requires you to measure performance indicators regularly and report data on an ongoing basis. ORYX, an initiative of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, will require your ED to compare its outcomes with those of other facilities.
"At present, the Joint Commission has capped the noncore measures at six indicators," says Kathleen Catalano, RN, JD, senior consultant to the Greeley Co. in Marblehead, MA. "That means that facilities are currently collecting data that is transmitted to Joint Commission on six indicators."
Most facilities chose to measure areas in which they already were performing well, notes Catalano. Because of this, the Joint Commission has switched to standardized sets of performance measures, or "core" measures, to replace the indicators, she says. "Most facilities chose indicators that made them look good in the eyes of the Joint Commission. The core measures are very specific and will allow for consistent comparisons."
Here’s an explanation of future ORYX requirements:
• Each facility will be required to selected two core measure sets from the five focus areas by Sept. 1, 2000. "Once hospitals begin collecting data on the two core measure sets, they will no longer have to collect data on noncore-measure requirements," says Catalano.
• Hospitals must begin collecting those core measure data by Jan. 1, 2002. When the core measures begin in 2002, they will take the place of the other ORYX indicators. "For a period of time, I would suspect that the surveyors would use the ORYX indicator data during survey because there would not be enough data on core measures," she notes.
• The core measures must be chosen by September 2001 and implemented by January 2002.
• The core measures are acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, community-acquired pneumonia, pregnancy and related conditions, and surgical procedures and complications. The first four of those may relate to the ED, says Catalano.
• The two core measure sets chosen will have specific measures. AMI will have eight measures, heart failure will have five, community-acquired pneumonia seven, pregnancy and related conditions four, and surgical procedures and complications two.
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