Presenter: Lindsay Fox, MD
Summation: A dashboard is a visual representation of the key performance indicators. A dashboard can give a hospitalist team real-time feedback on desired measures. The Floating Hospital for Children Center in Boston created a network dashboard across four hospital sites. The areas measured in the pilot dashboard included descriptive quality metrics, value added activities, productivity, and group sustainability.
An example of improvement in sustainability measures was documentation of the need for more staffing by evaluating staff to RVU ratios. More staff was provided to one site that had a disproportionate ratio. An example of improvement in value added activities was hospital throughput. Discharge by 10 a.m. improved to more than 90% at several sites after implementation of this dashboard and distribution of data.
Takeaways:
• A dashboard can give a hospitalist team real time feedback on desired measures.
• A dashboard can effect change by engaging individual hospitalists.
• Dashboards are tools that are useful for several parts of the care delivery system including individual hospitalists, hospitalist programs, and for hospital administration.
Dr. Hale is a pediatric hospitalist at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and a member of Team Hospitalist.
