The use of dashboards to improve quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of care (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Purpose – The paper aims to explore the use of dashboards in healthcare organizations and their potential for evaluating financial, operational, clinical, and patient centric metrics. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, we scanned articles in the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library and Ovid MEDLINE. In the review process, the articles included comprised of two categories (information needs and dashboard use in healthcare). In the first phase, the needs were identified for management, providers, consumers, and employers and in the subsequent phase, the role of dashboards was evaluated to serve the needs of the identified groups. Findings – The paper provides insights into how dashboards should be designed to meet the information needs of the end user. Further, the paper identifies key information needs of healthcare organization’s management, providers, consumers and employers and the role of dashboards in improving quality, effective care. Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack comprehensiveness. Practical implications – The paper informs the design of dashboards in terms of information and indicators in the context of healthcare organizations. Originality/value – Previous research discussing dashboards in healthcare reports the use of different types of dashboards in healthcare. While much research focuses on synthesizing existing dashboard use, literature is scarce in identifying how dashboards can be used in meeting the information needs of end users. Keywords: Primary care clinic (PCC), sponsor, total cost of care (TCC), cost, tiered health plan, return on investment (ROI), electronic health records (EHR) OBJECTIVE The paper aims to explore the use of dashboards in healthcare organizations and their potential for evaluating financial, operational, clinical, and patient centric metrics. METHODS In this study, we scanned articles in the databases PubMed, Cochrane Library and Ovid MEDLINE. In the review process, the articles included comprised of two categories (information needs and dashboard use in healthcare). In the first phase, the needs were identified for management, providers, consumers, and employers, and in the subsequent phase, the role of dashboards was evaluated to serve the needs of the identified groups RESULTS The paper provides insights into how dashboards should be designed to meet the information needs of the end user. Further, the paper identifies key information needs of healthcare organization’s management, providers, consumers and employers and the role of dashboards in improving quality, effective care. CONCLUSIONS The design of dashboards should align with the end goal and needs of the user. While middle and senior management would be interested in tactical and strategic dashboards (operational and financial), PCC staff would monitor operational and clinical metrics using an operational dashboard. PCC providers are likely to use a clinical and patient-centric dashboard to ensure efficient care delivery. The goal of a patient-centric dashboard would be to capture information about patient satisfaction and help them schedule, communicate and exchange info with specialists. An effective user-centric dashboard design would be made possible by keeping in mind of the objectives of the end user.