Clinician dashboard views and improvement in preventative health outcome measures: a retrospective analysis

Abstract

Background Measuring and reporting outcome data is fundamental for health care systems to drive improvement. Our electronic health record built a dashboard that allows each primary care provider (PCP) to view real-time population health quality data of their patient panel and use that information to identify care gaps. We hypothesized that the number of dashboard views would be positively associated with clinical quality improvement. Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of change in quality scores compared to number of dashboard views for each PCP over a five-month period (2017–18). Using the manager dashboard, we recorded the number of views for each provider. The quality scores analyzed were: colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates and diabetic patients with an A1c greater than 9% or no A1c in the past year. Results Data from 120 PCPs were included. The number of dashboard views by each PCP ranged from 0 to 222. Thirty-one PCPs (25.8%) did not view their dashboard. We found no significant correlation between views and change in quality scores (correlation coefficient = 0.06, 95% CI [− 0.13, 0.25] and − 0.05, 95% CI [− 0.25, 0.14] for CRC and diabetes, respectively). Conclusion Clinical dashboards provide feedback to PCPs and are likely to become more available as healthcare systems continue to focus on improving population health. However, dashboards on their own may not be sufficient to impact clinical quality improvement. Dashboard viewership did not appear to impact clinician performance on quality metrics.

Implementation and Impact of a Risk-Stratified Prostate Cancer Screening Algorithm as a Clinical Decision Support Tool in a Primary Care Network

“…[32][33][34] Guideline dissemination methods have varying effectiveness and many lead to only modest or even no impact on changing practice. [35][36][37][38] While incorporation in the EHR has been considered a potential implementation strategy, findings from studies have been mixed. 37,[39][40][41][42] The Duke Health simple implementation strategy using Health Maintenance combined with tailored laboratory results with follow-up recommendations resulted in substantially improved algorithm-based screening while reducing practice variation.…”

Development of a Dashboard for Rare Diseases – A Technical Case Report

“…Nevertheless, during development, general guidelines for healthcare dashboard design were considered, such as easy-to-read, graphical displays and system connectivity and integration [4,14]. The provided dashboard differs in terms of its absence of focus on individual patients and their treatments, compared to more common conditions that do not belong to the group of rare diseases (comparable examples [12,13]). This supports the statement by KHARATI ET AL.…”

An analysis of the structure and content of dashboards used to monitor patient safety in the inpatient setting

“… 4 Other studies found no significant impact on outcomes; for example, in one study, no significant association between dashboard use and preventive screening quality scores was identified. 5 Importantly, much of the work in this literature involves case studies of single dashboards or review articles. These studies have generated important insights regarding development and implementation of dashboards in specific cases, but few comparative studies that contrast multiple dashboards across different institutions have been done.…”