Using dashboards: How real time data informs clinical care

Timely

Prior to dashboards, managers would submit data requests to an analyst for the information which was costly and not an effective use of time.¹ As a manager, I spent my time in a hospital requesting reports and receiving them a month after they were requested. It would have been extremely well received to have real-time data to assist with service recovery and with information to provide excellent care for patients. Immediate service recovery was not an option. Every patient follow up happened in a slow and inefficient manner. An administrative dashboard would have helped to care for patients at the level they are at and meet the needs they have in the acute setting or at home.

Administrative dashboards help administrators and staff make the appropriate decisions to provide safe and effective patient care.

Efficient

Dashboards can be configured to meet the staff and facility needs. For example, a dashboard can be used in staff rounding to assess patient information and prioritize needs near the point of care.

Here’s a sample of the type of data that can be utilized from a dashboard display.

1. PAM (Patient Activation Measures)

Patient Activation Measures^TM describe the knowledge, skills and confidence a person has in managing his or her own health and care.² These scores assist the staff with the patient’s levels of understanding his or her condition, medication and health future.

2. Education

The patient’s education assignment is displayed with the information to gauge the patient’s level of participation. This is helpful for understanding when patients may need encouragement, reinforcement or when they would be ready for teach back. The information displayed can include how many titles the patient has watched, and the amount of time watched.

3. Meals

The patient’s meal ordering status can be displayed on the dashboard. Staff can see if there is a meal that has not been ordered and avoid a possible need for service recovery due to the patient having a delay in meal delivery.

4. Requests

Staff can monitor non-critical requests and follow up with any need of the patient that is not being met. This function also helps with avoiding situations that need service recovery.

5. Risk Assessment

Risk assessments and patient scores can be displayed. A patient fall risk, suicide risk, postpartum risk, skin risk, etc.—all these scores play an important part of the patient’s safety and help the staff to tailor a patient’s care.

6. LOS

Patient LOS (Length of Stay) is important for both the patient’s wellbeing and the facility reimbursement. The longer a patient stays in the hospital, the greater chance for complications or errors. Plus, insurance companies and CMS will only pay for contracted amounts of time.