Educational Material

How can Benchmarking assist in the ICU Management?

Benchmarking is a management strategy that consists of the process of searching and comparing the best practices evidenced in the real world. Epimed Solutions, a leading company in the clinical information segment, allows an analysis to measure the quality and performance of the ICU. Through the software, which is currently used in more than 2000 ICUs in seven countries where physicians (via computers or mobile devices) can access real-time information on key quality metrics, risk-adjusted outcomes and adherence to prevention of adverse events and infection. Access to this data allows you to use the information as a target for quality assessment and improvement initiatives.

Traditionally, benchmarking can be divided into categories of process, performance, and strategic benchmarking. It also can be performed within the same institution (i.e., comparison between several ICUs from the same hospital or network) or as external benchmarking (i.e., in comparison with other ICUs in the market).

For ICUs, benchmarking should use standardized measurements to allow comparison of performance between intensive care units and if feasible involve risk adjusted measures such as the standardized mortality ratios that allows ICUs to compare their mortality rates with other ICUs with different profiles in a fair way. Or it could also involve risk-adjusted length of stay or resource use as a way to measure its efficiency regardless of the ICU profile. Although imperfect, severity-adjusted mortality rates should be used preferentially associated with processes of care and compliance as they can offer an alternative approach to benchmarking, providing actionable data.

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