This article is written by Donald Illich, writer-editor, and David Horowitz, senior health policy analyst, at the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Workforce. This article is one of the entrants in Apolitical's 2020 American public servant writing competition

How do we make complex concepts more comprehensible to users? And by extension, easier for users to understand so they can meet their requirements?

Imagine being a new credentialer at a hospital. You’ve heard about the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), but you don’t know enough about it. You know the hospital has complex requirements, but which ones? Where can you get quick, accurate information, in an easier-to-understand visual way? That’s the need the NPDB set out to meet.

The NPDB is a US government repository of reports containing information on medical malpractice payments and certain adverse actions against licenses and clinical privileges, and civil and criminal judgments related to health care practitioners, providers and suppliers. The NPDB was created in response to patient safety concerns. In 1986, the US Congress passed legislation to create the NPDB after recognising the dual needs of both improving health care oversight nationwide and restricting the ability of health care practitioners to move from state to state without discovery or disclosure of their past performance. Today, the NPDB is used as a workforce tool to enhance professional review efforts, aid in the prevention of health care fraud and abuse, and protect the public.

As a federal organisation, the NPDB is governed by a code of regulations that stipulate complex reporting and querying requirements. Users being unable to understand these requirements can have negative consequences on their operations, such as hospitals not receiving important information. NPDB designed several flowcharts to simplify these legislative requirements for our users. These infographics are prominent on the NPDB website, and have been introduced through NPDB Insights, a monthly publication for NPDB stakeholders.

Why infographics?

Like several government programs, the NPDB’s rules and regulations can be complex. The NPDB Guidebook serves as a policy manual to help users with comprehensive guidance, including who is eligible to query the NPDB, what actions entities should submit, and how to dispute a report.

There is also extensive guidance on the NPDB website that can help with questions users might have. Yet those resources may be a lot to absorb. The NPDB staff knew that they had to clarify complex processes in a way that would be visual as well as textual. They wanted something users could refer to and even share with colleagues. They also explored videos at the same time, but found videos might be too long a time commitment for some users. They also felt like they could design and implement infographics in an efficient manner.

With one picture, a process can become clearer to any user interested in querying, disputing a report, and other complex policies

The NPDB’s infographics educate both users and the general public, and update them to provide additional clarification, as needed. With one picture, a process can become clearer to any user interested in querying, disputing a report, and other complex policies.

NPDB infographics provide basic guidance. Federal regulations and the NPDB Guidebook are available to provide more comprehensive instructions. The creation of one infographic takes the expertise of the NPDB staff, is put through a rigorous review process, and is updated if there are any changes to NPDB guidance. This extensive work meets the needs of users.

Where and what are the infographics?

Infographics are accessible through the NPDB website at this webpage. This is so the credentialer we described at the beginning has a central repository of these infographics to draw from.

They are divided into six categories:

  • General, which provides an overview of the NPDB;
  • Reporting, which shows how to submit reports to the NPDB;
  • Practitioners, which gives details on how practitioners can access information about themselves and dispute a report;
  • Registration, which explains how reporting entities can register with the NPDB;
  • Querying, which illustrates different ways to obtain information from the NPDB; and
  • Compliance, which spotlights maps that show which state licensing boards are in compliance with NPDB reporting requirements.

How one infographic works: the dispute process

Practitioners and health care organisations refer to the dispute process infographic to better understand the options subjects of reports have if they disagree with a report. The infographic outlines eight steps that practitioners may take.

Several characteristics make this work. First, the headline, “What If I Disagree With My Report? is both intriguing and informational. It also introduces the user to what the NPDB is and the purpose of the infographic. Second, the graphics make the instructions easier to read than a purely textual presentation. For example, the clock image with its 60 days points to time limits within the dispute process. And third, the numbering allows users to follow the progress of a dispute, while also providing relevant definitions associated with the process. Every piece of this infographic works together to turn a complex subject into one that health care practitioners will better understand.

For more information

The NPDB infographics are intended to enhance user knowledge and compliance by making complex concepts more comprehensible. Users can contact the NPDB customer service centre with detailed questions. With thousands of unique page-views each month, these infographics have helped NPDB stakeholders become more self-sufficient by better understanding their reporting and querying requirements. — Donald Illich and David Horowitz

(Picture Credit: Unsplash)

This article shows clearly that government organisations can make complex concepts easier to understand for its users. The views expressed are solely the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the health resources and services administration (HRSA).

Click here to see more examples. Users may also visit the NPDB website at www.npdb.hrsa.gov. If you have any questions about infographics and their creation, send them via email to NPDBPolicy@hrsa.gov.

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