FASStR: a framework for ensuring high-quality operational metrics in health care

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Healthcare Operations Management
• Performance Measurement

Background:

• Poorly defined operational performance metrics hinder comparisons between healthcare institutions.
• Inconsistent metrics impede accurate interpretation of results and effective process improvement initiatives.
• A need exists for a standardized approach to define and document healthcare operational performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a unifying framework for defining and documenting operational performance measures.
• To ensure comparability and reproducibility of healthcare operational metrics across different settings.
• To provide administrators, practitioners, and investigators with a tool for metric development and evaluation.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective analysis was conducted.
• An iterative process involving literature review, expert assessment, collaborative design, and end-user feedback was employed.
• Literature from medical, health systems research, and healthcare operations disciplines was sampled.

Main Results:

• Two primary deficiencies in outpatient performance metric definitions were identified: incompletion and inconsistency.
• The FASStR (Focus, Activity, Statistic, Scale type, and Reference) framework was proposed.
• The FASStR framework was tested and revised iteratively with practitioners and investigators.

Conclusions:

• The FASStR framework guides the design, development, and implementation of operational metrics in outpatient healthcare.
• This framework aids investigators in evaluating the metrics they utilize.
• The FASStR framework promotes clearer, more consistent use and evaluation of outpatient performance metrics.