Ask the Expert

Nuesoft Xpress™ is pleased to bring you this segment of
e-Nues, where our experts answer your questions about student health challenges that can be addressed through a technology solution.

Sherri Dumford, CHBME, MBA is a member of Nuesoft Technologies' client advisory board. View her response below to the question submitted by one of our readers.

Question:

I understand the process of internal benchmarking but I am interested in other benchmarking resources from universities when setting goals or guidelines for QI Studies. How do other universities go about benchmarking for the purpose of QI studies?
--Submitted by a nurse manager from Louisiana

Answer:

Effective benchmarking requires measuring performance data, both administrative and clinical, and then setting goals for your student health or counseling center. To decide what data to measure, develop a list of pertinent questions about your health center to which you would like to know the answers. These questions could include how many students per week you are seeing or how many procedures you are doing per month.

Things to think about when setting goals:

• How have things changed from last year to this year and how could they improve?
• What would you like to see done differently?
• Where is your extra time spent?

An effective way to benchmark is to use a practice management system that allows you to run reports on clinical and financial information from year to year. The Nuesoft Xpress™ reports and analysis module filters and exports your data in a customizable, easy-to-use format. Additionally, if your health center charges for procedures, Nuesoft Xpress™ features a built-in RVU calculator that can automatically take the RVU data from procedures performed within a specified time frame and prompt you for your cost information to build up an accurate picture of what you might choose to charge per relative value unit.

For more information about the Nuesoft Xpress™ reports and analysis module, please click here.