Quality Metrics Glossary

Start with a metric specification

A key performance indicator is a selected measure tied to an important objective and a named decision. The label KPI adds no rigor by itself. Write down the unit, eligibility rule, cutoff, exclusions, data source, cadence, formula version, target, and response before using the result.

The CASP resources page links organizational and clinical resources for autism service providers. It does not prescribe the formulas on this page. These definitions are an editorial operating model that a practice should adapt and validate.

Pair counts with rates. Twelve late plans out of 100 due plans means something different from twelve late plans out of 15. Keep a frozen denominator for each reporting window and show pending work separately.

Measure access and continuity

Time to first service follows a defined starting event, such as a completed referral, to a defined first service. Report medians, ranges, and aged open cases alongside an average.

Client continuity rate measures whether planned care continues across a defined period under stated eligibility rules. Client retention rate tracks how many clients remain in a cohort through a chosen endpoint. Neither rate explains why a person stayed, transferred, paused, completed goals, lost coverage, or chose to leave.

Authorization utilization rate compares eligible delivered or billed units with authorized units for the same service, member, provider conditions, and period. HealthCare.gov notes that preauthorization does not promise cost coverage. Consuming more units is not automatically better care, and a clinical recommendation should not be changed simply to improve utilization.

Keep clinical results person centered

A clinical outcome is a measured change or status relevant to the person receiving care. Define the construct, method, baseline or comparison, timeframe, ordinary supports, uncertainty, and whose priorities it reflects.

Goal mastery rate counts goals meeting predeclared mastery criteria among goals eligible for review. A practice should keep discontinued, revised, newly introduced, maintenance, and generalization goals in separate states. Accessible communication, prompting, mobility support, or AAC may be part of successful performance rather than defects to remove for a cleaner score.

Caregiver training attendance reports attended sessions or contacts among those offered and mutually scheduled for the eligible cohort. Attendance cannot show teaching quality, caregiver skill, client benefit, burden, or whether the format was accessible.

Audit records and follow through

Care plan review timeliness compares reviews completed by the applicable due date with all reviews due. Documentation timeliness uses the actual service time, entry time, applicable deadline, and mature record cohort. Keep accuracy separate from speed.

Documentation error rate needs a defined unit, such as record, field, claim-support element, or note. Report error types and severity because one missing signature and one wrong client identity carry different risks.

Quality assurance is the planned system for checking whether defined requirements are met. A corrective action plan assigns a finding, cause analysis, action, owner, due date, validation method, and sustainment check. Closure should mean the affected work was resolved and the fix was tested, rather than merely that a task was marked complete.

Watch staffing and delivery together

Schedule utilization rate compares used slots or hours with a defined available schedule. State whether cancellations, travel, training, supervision, leave, and protected administrative time belong in the denominator.

Staff turnover rate divides defined separations by an appropriate workforce denominator over a stated period. Segment voluntary and involuntary exits, role, tenure, site, and exposure. A low rate can still coexist with burnout or poor fit.

Supervision completion rate must follow the governing rule for the credential, role, payer, employer, and month. The BACB supervision page separates several relationships. The June 2026 RBT Handbook supplies certification-specific requirements for RBT ongoing supervision; it is not a universal formula for every worker.

Use experience scores carefully

Net Promoter Score is a recommendation measure. Bain's official method subtracts the percentage of 0 to 6 detractors from the percentage of 9 to 10 promoters; 7 and 8 are passives. Report response rate, invitation method, accessibility, timing, and distribution. NPS does not establish clinical quality, safety, equity, or treatment effect.

A compact dashboard example

A fictional practice locks 40 care-plan reviews due in July. Thirty-four were completed on time, so timeliness is 34/40, 85%. Five are late and one is awaiting a documented external record. All six stay visible in the due cohort.

The same dashboard shows 18 of 20 mature first-service cases started by the target, 22 of 24 supervision periods met their applicable rule, and 11 of 16 invited families responded to an experience survey. Each measure has a different unit and denominator. The practice investigates cases, adds balancing measures, and avoids combining them into one unsupported quality score.

Start or grow your ABA practice with Finni. Ask how a platform preserves definitions, raw evidence, due cohorts, ownership, corrections, and balancing measures during diligence.