New system will improve OPPE documentation
Cincinnati Children’s will introduce its Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) online system on January 15.
OPPE is required by the Joint Commission and supported by Cincinnati Children’s policy. “We as an institution must demonstrate that our providers are competent to be privileged to do what they do,” explains Mike Vossmeyer, MD, Hospital Medicine, who heads the committee for developing and implementing the system. “And it’s also the right thing to do.”
Providers are supposed to receive data regarding their OPPE measures every six to eight months. That has not happened consistently across the medical center. The committee has worked to standardize the process and measures to be in compliance with the Joint Commission and hospital policy.
Each division should have measures that address six separate Joint Commission domains:
- Patient care
- Medical/clinical knowledge
- Practice-based learning and improvement
- Interpersonal and communication skills
- Professionalism
- System-based practice
Cincinnati Children’s groups OPPE measures into four distinct categories:
- Regulatory/policy measures (e.g., signing H&Ps, discharge summaries, progress notes, encounter closures)
- Cincinnati Children’s strategic measures (e.g., medication reconciliation, care algorithms, readmissions)
- Professional behaviors (e.g., patient/family experience measures, unsolicited concerns, safety issues, 360 evaluations, CONNECT survey)
- Quality/competency measures (e.g., chart review, simulations, virtual reality, observed structured clinical evaluations, educational activities)
Says Vossmeyer, “We are standardizing the process of acquiring and delivering OPPE data by putting it online. Along with improving our compliance, it is easier and more convenient for providers.”
The new OPPE online system has been in development since July 2016. The committee piloted the system in seven divisions this past summer – DDBP; Behavioral Medicine/Clinical Psychology; Urology; Pulmonology; Hospital Medicine; Dentistry; and General and Community Pediatrics. Feedback from the pilot was positive in regard to ease of use and accuracy.
System Benefits
The new OPPE online system allows division directors to ensure providers in their area are being evaluated regularly against consistent measures. The data is well-organized.
Says Vossmeyer, “It used to be that when the Joint Commission came and asked to see documentation on a given medical provider, we’d have to go into different Excel spread sheets and pull together the information. It was a scramble. Now we can enter the provider’s name and pull up all the data in one place, along with a photo.”
While the system is set to launch mid-January, it will take another two to four years to ensure the system is meeting all stakeholders’ needs.
“It’s a work in progress,” says Vossmeyer. “The system will continue to evolve as the measures and regulations change and migrate. Having more consistent data can help us improve in all the areas we are measuring.”
If you have questions about OPPE or the new online system, send an email to oppe@cchmc.org.
