Innovation Report Outline

Your Innovation Report should address each of the following areas in the sequence provided. If an area is not applicable, please include a brief statement explaining why in your report. Your report should be complete, but succinct.

The bulleted items following each area are included to provide guidance regarding specific kinds of information which should be included in each section. Please also see the section on Innovation Evaluation Criteria for additional guidance.

The report should not exceed 25 pages (not including supporting materials). Please remove all identifiers such as facility/institution names, exact geographic locations, names of co-workers etc, from your report. Your report will include the following:

A. Introduction
   · Provide a general description of your facilities
       setting, including size, type, estimated annual
       operating budget, scope of services offered, and any
       other information you feel pertinent such as case
       mix, patient population, etc.

   · Please eliminate all identifiers such as facility name,
       exact geographic location, employee names, etc.

   · Describe the problem to be solved or the
       improvement desired, including how the issue was
       identified. If an organisational impact assessment
       was completed prior to implementation, describe this
       as well. Indicate if this is a new project or process or
       an improvement to an existing project or practice.
       Indicate whether the problem is unique to your
       facility or is common to other organisations or
       settings.

· Planning and implementation process

· Bulleted summary of Innovations identified

· Description of how the project was evaluated

· Description of positive outcomes.


B. Planning

    · Describe people involved, the nature and extent of
      any consulting services required, and the
      decision-making process required.

   · Describe the goals and objectives indetified during the
       planning process, and how they were arrived at.

   · Include alternatives evaluated and reasoning for final
       selection of the project to be implemented.

C. Measures, Benchmarking, and Supporting 
    Information

    · Describe the tools used to develop and monitor the
      project - surveys, flow charts, etc. Describe key
      information you learned.

   ·Did you work with external organisations to benchmark
      or compare processes and practices? If so, with whom?
      Describe the methods used to facilitate external
      collaboration.

     · Describe benchmarks, indicators or information used as
       goals for improving your practice. Describe how your
       project compared with benchmarks.

     · Describe any gaps identified between your practice
      and benchmarks that became areas of focus.
      Summarize key information that was learned and how it
      affected the development of your project.

    · Describe any reference material, key information,
      expert opinion, etc., that supported development of
      your project. Describe any other data collection or
      information gathering and the methods used to manage
      and/or analyse this information.

D. Project Design / Implementation

   · Discuss the plan and framework / system that guided
       the development and implementation of the practice.
       Include key components and materials of the practice,
       timeline of its key activities, processes used to facilitate
       collaboration, costs and cost justification, and hurdles
       faced.

   · Explain who was involved in implementation and what
       mechanisms were used to promote effective
       communication, promote trust and facilitate
       collaboration.

   · Describe how individuals outside the HIM area were
       involved in project design or development
       (if applicable).

   · Describe any legal or ethical concerns related to the
       project and, if any, how they were addressed.

   · Describe mechanisms used to assure compliance with
       the new project or process. Describe mechanisms used
       to assure consistency in implementation.

   · Describe and provide copies of any policies, guidelines,
       or other tools developed to support the project.

E. Roles and Skills

     · Describe any role changes that were made as a result
       of the project.
   
     · Describe any skill mix or staffing changes that resulted.

     · Describe education, training or other resources offered
       to support project implementation.

F. Impact / Evaluation

      · Summarise the measurable results of the project,
        including how benchmarks were met or exceeded.
        What specific innovations were identified? Describe any
        innovative components.

      · Summarise time efficiencies, quality improvements,
        process improvements, or outcomes that positively
        benefited the institution. How were the original goals
        and objectives met or exceeded? Describe any
        unexpected benefits of the project.

      · Describe the mechanisms used to evaluate outcomes
        or benefits.

      · Did the project meet the needs and expectations of the
        users? How was this verified?

      · Is this project transferable to other HIM settings or
        organisations? Describe who would benefit from
        knowing about this project or who might want to
        implement a similar project.

      · Explain how this project is particularly relevant to the
        practice of HIM today.

G. Bibliography and References

      · Provide a bibliography of materials used to develop
        project improvements. This may include publications,
        Web sites, expert opinion, presentations, research
        studies, etc., which provided information useful in
        developing the project.