Office of Performance

The Office of Performance's role is to coordinate and improve the collection and reporting of data. Internally the Office works with individual programs and divisions to improve the collection and reporting of data for performance measures and program services. Externally, the Office provides data and reports to the Department of Finance and to aid in the development of health policy and documentation of program performance. For additional information on the Office of Performance and its activities, email Vicky Howell, PhD, Director at Vicky.Howell@state.nm.us or call (505) 827-2570.

Major publications produced by the Office are the Department's quarterly performance reports and strategic plan, the New Mexico Health Disparities Report Card and the State of New Mexico Comprehensive Strategic Health Plan, which are all posted on the Department's home page in the Plans and Reports Section.

The quarterly performance report is required by the Accountability in Government Act (AGA), which was enacted to provide state government with the framework to allow for more cost-effective and responsive government services. The AGA allows resources (funding, FTE) to be directly linked with performance. The report consists of the Department's performance measures, targets, results and the activities that assist us in working towards our targets.

The strategic plan covers all operations of our agency. In it, we develop strategies, goals, objectives and performance measures to achieve our vision of health for New Mexico.

The New Mexico Health Disparities Report Card was created to monitor the state’s progress towards eliminating the health status gap between different population groups and to create a more cohesive approach to identifying and addressing health disparities. The Report Card contains data on five major racial and ethnic groups in the categories of mother and child health, preventable diseases, infectious diseases, violence and injury, and risk behaviors. The Report Card is available for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 and also in Spanish for 2007. Consequently, the Department has published for two years a special edition of the report card that focuses on American Indian health in the hope that public and private partners will join us in identifying the factors that contribute to the disproportionate burden of disease experienced by American Indians in New Mexico and help us to identify successful strategies to reduce this burden.

The New Mexico Comprehensive Strategic Health Plan is a statewide plan to assess the health care needs on a community by community basis. The plan provides data on specific health care concerns as well as detailed strategies for addressing these issues. The information contained in the plan is compiled during a series of town hall meetings that are conducted by an independent contractor.