Information Technology and the Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Use of Dashboards to Monitor Quality of Care
AMY J. BARTON PhD, RN, FAAN
CHAD CARROLL BSN
NORA FLUCKE BSN
Teri L. Thompson PhD, CPNP, FNP-BC

$3.95 		Clinical Nurse Specialist: The Journal for Advanced Nursing Practice
April 2013 
Volume 27  Number 2
Pages 61 - 62
 
  PDF Version Available!

ABSTRACT
The use of performance dashboards dates back to the 1970s but did not gain popularity until the 1990s when the digital revolution transformed the manner in which information is managed within organizations. The healthcare industry has been particularly slow to adopt the usefulness of the dashboard, especially for clinical applications. As the storage of health information in electronic format continues to grow, many healthcare institutions are beginning to appreciate the benefit of using the dashboard as a decision support tool. For the clinical nurse specialist (CNS), a dashboard can be an important tool in monitoring the quality of patient care.A performance dashboard is a "graphical comparison of actual performance to a desired performance giving an at-a-glance view of the health of an organization."1(p22) Dashboard tools are best known as simple displays of key performance indicators that are engineered to keep the complexities of the underlying software system out of sight. The software application can tap into the organization's electronic health record or enterprise data warehouse to generate automated reports with drill-down capabilities. The user interface is most commonly displayed using intuitive analogies, often much like a car dashboard with traffic-light color coding.Effective dashboards have data presented within a single page, use a compelling visual display of key performance indicators, can be easily understood by all levels of staff, and can be easily updated.2 The CNS can have a pivotal role in the design of a performance dashboard for quality improvement. To establish an effective and successful application, it is important for the dashboard to contain information that is current, accurate, and reliable.3 The CNS can identify meaningful metrics to measure the quality of patient care and ensure those data are carefully defined and collected within the electronic health record. Benefits of the dashboard are that it provides a snapshot of overall performance;

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