What type of data is typically analyzed to drive process improvement in case management?

• A. Process metrics
• B. Patient age
• C. Insurance category
• D. Hospital location

Answer: (A)

Focusing on how well a process operates is the core idea behind process improvement. The data you analyze for this purpose are process metrics—specific, quantitative measures that track steps in the case management workflow. Examples include time from referral to assignment, time to complete an assessment, number of handoffs or escalations, bottleneck points, adherence to care plans, and overall throughput. By examining these metrics, you can see where delays occur, how changes affect performance, and whether the process is meeting defined targets.

Demographic attributes like patient age, insurance category, or hospital location describe who is involved but don’t directly measure how the process performs. They can be useful for segmentation or understanding context, but they’re not the data that reveal process efficiency or quality. Process metrics, in contrast, provide the actionable insight needed to drive improvements in case management.