Monday, November 7, 2011

Performance Improvement Tip of the Day: The "SMART Profile"

As you can gather from previous posts, SMART is a recurring acronym from our "performance improvement perspective".

The SMART Profile is a tool that can help you generate a sense of who the “top performers” are for any performance measure, who the “outliers” or “low performers” are, and how each individual practitioner ranks within his/ her peer group. When prepared with an eye to the SMART elements below, this tool can provide an important impetus to behavior change.

PPII SMART Profile Tool













Physicians in general are data-oriented and competitive. The SMART Profile comparing an individual's performance to others in their professional peer groups provides a helpful reference for the individuals to know where they fall "within the ranks". Those on the "Top Performer Reports" are supported and reinforced to continue their positive behavior, while those on the "Low Performer Reports" are motivated to improve their performance.















Performance improvement staff often worry about the negative ramifications of Profiles and the potential for "angry physicians". However, most individuals do not react negatively - particularly if the profiles follow the SMART paradigm. Those rare individuals who do get upset about the profiles generally become quite compliant once they have blown off steam and understand how these contribute to the overall improvement effort. 

It is important for PI Specialists to understand that behavior cannot change unless one provides some "framework" for the same. SMART Profiles are an important means to establishing such a reference.

These Top Performer and Low Performer Report Cards were provided courtesy of Physician Performance Improvement Institute. 

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