ISG Playbook
APIs
The bottom line at CMS is “Patients First”. This core concept innately reflects the central message of Human-Centered Design (HCD). After all, patients are human. We’ve already explored what HCD is. We’ve talked about how it can be accomplished, where it can be implemented and what methodology can be used. The question that remains is why. Why does HCD matter to you as a part of ISG or CCSQ? The simple answer is because… people matter.
People Matter
Now this answer might seem too simplistic, but let’s delve into it. One of the goals of CCSQ is to analyze the data provided by the HCQIS Systems and pay health care providers based on the quality of service they provide to patients. However, in order to receive feedback, people must provide it. People play a big role in the entire process because they provide this information on which you base your assessments. In addition, they provide this information through avenues you create. These avenues must be understandable, convenient, and easy to use.
If you create a form to fill out, but have not included customer feedback before releasing it, there is a greater likelihood that the customer will be confused with what the questions mean or even how to submit it. This confusion could result in either you never receiving the information or the responses not providing the answers you are looking for. The quality of the feedback received is based on how “User-friendly” or “Human-Centered” the avenues you created are.
Learn about HCD
Sign up to gain an understanding of the Human-Centered Design process through hands on training or browse the Microlearning videos section.
- Introduction to HCD Training for CCSQ Staff - Tuesday, 10/22/2019 (All Day)
Return on Investment (ROI)
Developing a human-centered approach to garnering feedback will increase your return on investment (ROI). Research shows that every dollar invested in HCD generates $100 dollars in return. This is an ROI of 9,900 percent! Even without an immediate dollar correlation from CCSQ, you can measure the ROI in actionable information directly translated into dollars. Using a more user-friendly process will exponentially increase the amount of relevant and applicable information received. The more actionable the information, the less resources are spent on attempting to garner that information. As a result, you save costs and are able to focus more on what matters most: helping people.
Continuous Improvement
On a conceptual level, even the CCSQ approach to continuous improvement is analogous to an HCD concept known as a feedback loop. The HCD Feedback loop consists of three steps which function in a continuous cycle to improve the user experience: Ask, Analyze, and Apply. Although these steps are specific to the HCD process, the concepts can also be applied to the CCSQ Continuous Improvement process as well. It’s visible in the diagrams below, just how similar the two concepts are and how integral the HCD mindset is to CMS culture.
Step | The CCSQ Continuous Improvement Process | The HCD Feedback Loop
|
|---|---|---|
Ask | Ask For Feedback: Patient provides feedback on Provider Services to CCSQ | Ask: Ask for feedback and observe the user experience. |
Analyze | Analyze Data: Feedback is Analyzed by CCSQ | Analyze: Analyze the feedback you’ve received. |
Apply | Apply Analysis: Payment is issued to Provider based on the feedback. Provider improves quality of service based on feedback-based payment | Apply: Apply the knowledge you’ve gained. |
START AGAIN! Continuous Improvement means creating customer feedback loops throughout the process so that solutions are improved without assumptions.
Getting Started
With HCD aligning so intricately with the fabric of CMS, it’s an easy jump into the HCD paradigm of thinking and methods. For assistance in further understanding the HCD mindset as well as applying its methods and leveraging its results, the HCD Center of Excellence (CoE) offers: regular trainings, a Community of Practice, as well as Confluence resources including micro-learning videos, method cards, and other sources of information. To view this cornucopia of information regarding HCD, please visit the Confluence Space : https://qnetconfluence.cms.gov/display/HCD
This is an “open” space which is accessible to anyone on the CMS or HCQIS network. It is not required that you have HCQIS Atlassian credentials or that you log into Confluence. You can also contact the HCD CoE team at HCD@hcqis.org, if you have any questions or comments, or need support.