Indian Health Services Performance Measures

Implementing the Agency Level Performance Measures Reporting project to satisfy federal reporting regulations efficiently and to allow the Indian Health Services to identify and track additional performance measures.

Indian Health Service

The Indian Health Service (IHS), the principal federal healthcare provider for American Indians and Alaska Natives, reports to the Office of Management and Budget and Congress on performance measures as required under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The law requires that federal agencies such as the IHS demonstrate effective use of funds toward fulfilling their missions. Along with its annual budget requests, the IHS submits annual performance plans and reports for more than 20 annual clinical performance measures. The performance plans and reports were developed manually and often took up to 9 months to complete.

To support the IHS, RESPEC staff implemented an Agency Level Performance Measures Reporting (ALPMR) project that encompasses all the GPRA measures and allows the IHS to identify and track additional measures. The ALPMR measures and performance metrics will rely on a new data mart with data entirely from the National Data Warehouse. The performance measures will be delivered via the web in a number of predefined reports and includes a powerful business intelligence component that allows the customer to “slice-and-dice” data and perform ad hoc “what-if” scenarios. This expanded capability also allows the IHS to view reports up to 3 months earlier than the previous method and identify trends earlier and on a periodic basis. The IHS can then use this information to fulfill its mission by improving patient care while supporting budgetary and reporting requirements.