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Often, report sponsors gain access to information from one particular source of data—a patient experience survey, administrative/claims data, data from medical records, etc. Over time, they gain access to additional data sources. In many cases, as a result, their reports end up being organized by data source.

Advantages of Categorizing by Data Source

• This approach permits a sponsor to expand a report without having to redesign it from scratch each time new data become available.
• It makes it more natural to present information on the sources of data, which should be explained somewhere in the report.

Disadvantages of Categorizing by Data Source

• Consumers don’t generally think in terms of a particular data source; they are more concerned about the content or substance of a particular measure. (The one exception is data from surveys; there are sizable groups of consumers who are either very attracted to this kind of information or who do not trust it at all.)
• Over time, your report can get extremely unwieldy and difficult to navigate because the same data source may provide several different kinds of information. This makes it hard for people to find the information that interests them.
• It is possible that measures from different sources may address very similar issues. If users are interested in that issue, it will be hard to help them find all the information you have on it. Worse still, the data from different sources may conflict, leading to even greater confusion and distrust of the entire report.
• People do not necessarily know what they are likely to find in reports labeled by data source (e.g., do they know what kind of information will be revealed by “health inspections?”).

EXAMPLE: Organizing Measures by Data Source

Also in "Organizing Measures To Reduce Information Overload"

• Using Composites
• Organizing Measures by Quality Domain
• Organizing Measures by Disease or Condition
• Organizing Measures by Type
• Organizing Measures by Data Source