Public health agencies are navigating a new era of accountability, collaboration, and data-driven decision-making. In response to evolving community expectations and national standards, departments are turning to performance management systems to align their strategies, demonstrate progress, and build public trust. From accreditation and improvement planning to data modernization, the right tools and frameworks can make all the difference.
Establish Community Trust with PHAB Accreditation
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, public health agencies are working to build back trust with their communities. Following a global health crisis, people’s needs shift to wanting to feel sure that they’re safe, that proactive measures are being taken, and that their officials are working with their community’s best interest in mind.
Public health leaders such as Health Equity Directors, Epidemiologists, and Information and Systems Coordinators have since shifted their strategies to emphasize transparency and communication.
One major way to establish faith with communities is to become accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).
PHAB accreditation “promotes public trust and demonstrates an ongoing commitment to quality and performance improvement” (quoted from PHAB’s site) and serves State, Local, Tribal, Territorial, and Military Departments of Public Health alike – as well as International Health Organizations.
Being recognized as having met the same standards as many other established public health agencies, along with many other facets of successful relationship rehab, helps renew faith within the communities health departments serve.
The Purpose of Domain 9: Performance Management System
The sixth Foundational Capability required for PHAB accreditation is a performance management (PM) system (from PHAB; this falls into Domain 9).
A PM system can take many forms, but it has to accomplish the following (PHAB, 2022):
In order to meet the standards of:
- Building and fostering a culture of quality
- Using and contributing to developing research, evidence, practice-based insights, and other forms of information for decision making.
An agency must:
- Establish a performance management system
- Implement quality improvement projects
- Identify and use applicable research and practice-based information for program development and implementation
The role of a PM system is to measure outcomes of goals that support the overall department’s success and growth.
Read more about plan alignment here
A performance management system should enable public health officials like Operational Excellence Leaders and Directors of the Strategy and Transformation Management Office to easily and regularly collect and monitor data so leaders can allocate resources and attention to areas of improvement.
Read more about setting up your PM system from NACCHO
A reliable way of tracking progress and improvement has an immense impact internally, and is also a key component in setting up a transparent reporting system to further public trust.
Performance Management System Opportunities for Public Health Initiatives
Once a performance management system has been integrated into the culture of your department, there are a number of ways you can use the established measurement and feedback method to greater effect.
Read more on creating a culture of strategy execution
Managing PHAB Accreditation and Reaccreditation
As all PHAB Accreditation Coordinators know, making sure reaccreditation stays top of mind during the 5-year periods between assessments is all too important.
Read the reaccreditation requirements from PHAB
Using the PM system that’s required for accreditation is an excellent way to ensure your department continues to meet requirements over time. Whichever PM system you choose, make sure to dedicate a pillar of your plan – or even monitor accreditation requirements as a plan on its own – to track the things you know will be on the checklist at the time of your next accreditation application.
Read more about which performance management methods NACCHO recommends
Tracking Your CHIP and Improvement Plans
Your performance management software can also help you accomplish your Community Health Assessment (CHA) to identify your community’s current health status, needs, and issues (CDC).
In turn, once you use that information to draft your Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), you can use the PM software to track that plan for the next 3-5 years to address the needs highlighted by the CHA. Communal health is an ongoing collaborative, community-wide effort and oftentimes your department may need to request information from parties outside of your public health agency to track progress.
When you’re in the process of assessing different PM systems, if you know you’ll need to receive regular data updates from partnering health organizations or hospitals, make sure to choose a solution that allows external collaborators to input updates directly into your system.
Also, as ASTHO highlights, your PM tool can also be used to track progress on the Quality Improvement projects that spin off from your performance management feedback loop.
Aiding in Data Modernization Efforts
A robust performance management system can also help you track data modernization efforts. As stated by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF):
The Commission’s recommendations for the nation call on government at all levels, business, community-based organizations, philanthropy, and others to take specific action to reimagine and modernize the public health data system.
The National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems is spearheading a movement that’s being taken up by public health agencies nationwide to “prioritize governance of our data infrastructure to put equity at the center.” Supporting projects for this initiative can live within a performance management plan or a strategic plan and tracked alongside reaccreditation requirements and CHIP initiatives.
Read more on Equity in Data Systems Transformation Cohort from PHAB
Producing Reports and Public-Facing Dashboards
Whichever system your agency chooses, internal and external reporting will always be crucial to your transparency strategy.
Among your team, it’s necessary to tie front-line goals and projects to agency-wide initiatives they support. This ground-up reporting creates a greater sense of connectivity that can inspire folks at every level, and increase buy-in when they see how their direct work supports the organization’s vision.
As for the public – compiling a 70-page progress report every two years is a step in the right direction, but isn’t conducive to true communication and understanding. The density of the information in the format of a report is inaccessible to the layperson who craves insight into their public health agency’s initiatives.
Some PM software will allow you to deliver data to live dashboards, which present an at-a-glance view of initiatives and progress that’s easier for everyone to understand. And in some states like California, this is required by law. As an example, the Oklahoma Department of Health’s live dashboard can be viewed here. Dashboards are an unparalleled way to show the work that has been done on things like opioid response, overdose reduction, and health equity.
Read the Oklahoma Department of Health’s case study from ASTHO here
Choose the Right PM System for Your Public Health Agency
There are three decisions to make when choosing how you’ll track performance for your health department.
The first is to consider the plan building framework that best suits your agency (e.g. OKRs), then the method by which you’ll track and measure (e.g. a business model canvas), and finally the platform you’ll use to adhere all the data and insights together (e.g. a balanced scorecard).
Read more about planning models and tools here
ASTHO’s Performance Management Leadership Guide emphasizes that your performance management system is more about the method you choose, having executive-level commitment, and how you integrate it into your culture. Something as simple as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or a Sharepoint site can be just what your agency needs to get started.
Often the growth of your public health agency teeters on the success of many different types of plans with various contributors and countless data. The challenge then becomes getting an all-in-one view, for which you’ll need to find a platform that is built for integrated plan management.
If your department is looking for software to help, AchieveIt is FEDRAMP Authorized and used by many public health agencies across the country. With Power BI and Tableau widgets for dashboards, cross-plan linking for grant funding, and automatic update requests from external contributors, AchieveIt could be the right fit for your needs.
If you think AchieveIt could help with tracking regulation compliance, integrating disparate data, and building a culture of performance management, reach out to one of our Execution Experts for a tailored look at how AchieveIt fits your organization and schedule a free demo today.
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North Carolina Board of Nursing Customer Story
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