METRIC Program


METRIC: Measuring, Evaluating, and Translating Research Into Care

  1. Complete a short questionnaire. Residents will create and fill out a checklist evaluation form to provide a sense of current systems of practice.
  2. Review charts and enter patient data. Next, residents will pull 10 patient records for chart review based on evidence-based performance measures.
  3. Assess performance. After reviewing patient records, residents will see how their data compares with evidence-based guidelines for standards of care.
  4. Build an action plan. Next, residents will build an action plan based on feedback from the chart review. The action plan will include a QI intervention.
  5. Implement the plan. The QI intervention will be implemented over a six-month action period to serve as a guide to making change in the practice system.
  6. Re-measure and re-assess. Residents will complete a second checklist evaluation form based on reviewing a second set of 10 patient charts. They will then prepare a final report to compare baseline and follow-up data and assess the impact of their QI intervention on quality of care for their patients.


Don't think of it as "quality improvement"

  • Think of METRIC as improving patient outcomes and enhancing your practice.
  • Think of METRIC as earning CME credit and fulfilling your MC-FP Part IV requirement.
  • Think of METRIC as a single online learning opportunity that benefits both you and your patients.

How does the METRIC program work?

The METRIC program guides you through a step-by-step process. The time to complete the program ranges between 3 and 12 months and depends on the action plan you develop.

  • Stage A: Learning from Current Practice
    • Complete Practice Assessment Questionnaire.
    • Enter data from patient charts (10 or 15 charts, depending on the module).
    • Assess personal performance and compare results nationally.
  • Stage B: Learning from the Application of Performance Improvement to Patient Care
    • Select from multiple interventions.
    • Use provided resources to develop Action Plan.
    • Implement Action Plan for a minimum of three months, using tips, templates, and resources from METRIC.
  • Stage C: Learning from the Evaluation of the Performance Improvement Effort
    • Complete Practice Assessment Questionnaire (re-measure).
    • Enter data from patient charts (re-measure).
    • Compare to baseline measurements and reflect on experience.


The METRIC program follows the AMA’s nationally standardized Performance Improvement CME format.

Tutorial: Walk through the program step-by-step.

Some content copied from: http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/cme/selfstudy/metric.html