Killer Analytics: Top 20 Metrics Missing from your Balance Sheet

Chapter 9

The Outcomes Index

WHY AN ORGANIZATION MIGHT TRACK THIS

Questions Answered

• Do our programs actually produce valuable outcomes for customers and stakeholders?
• Can we see a direct link between our processes and activities and outcomes?
• Which outcomes have improved and which ones have not?
• Have changes in our approaches or processes led to better outcomes or reduced costs?
• Did our product or program work with other efforts to contribute to broader outcomes?
• Are there any negative side effects caused by our product or program that could be worse than the problem being addressed?

Why Is This Information Important?

The United States has one of the highest health care costs in the world, and our quality is ranked in the fiftieth percentile worldwide. We continue to dump more money into education but many high schools still have a 25 percent dropout rate, and graduating students can’t read or do math at a ninth-grade level. The government spends millions on a program like “Just Say No to Drugs” that has failed to decrease drug use. In today’s world of restricted funding for government programs, each activity, initiative, and program is being questioned as to its value to society and taxpayers. Since everyone now has to have health insurance and pay something for the services they receive, government, organizations like Medicare, and insurance companies are looking to avoid paying for brand-name drugs and expensive surgeries, making it harder for pharmaceutical companies and ...