Red Alerts for Dashboards
Patient Safety Quality Monthly
August 14, 2008
This month’s article was written by Ken Rohde, senior consultant at The Greeley Company.
In a car or in an airplane cockpit, the most important information is presented to the driver or pilot right in front of them. In a car, we call this the dashboard—it has speed and gas gauges, engine temperature, a tachometer, and often other gauges or warning lights.
In our hospitals or care facilities, many quality departments are developing dashboards for their organization, senior leadership, and the board. While dashboards are a great idea if implemented correctly, they often become ineffective and, sometimes, misleading.
As we work with organizations to review their dashboards, one of the first problem areas we notice is the use of the red alert. This is shown by squares that have turned red on the dashboard. If too many of these squares stay red for too long, it’s an indication that you have fallen into the “Cry Wolf” syndrome. Soon, no one pays attention and nothing changes. Even worse, we start to accept that everything is as it should be, even with many areas in red alert. If we ignore the red warning lights in our car, bad things happen. The same applies to our quality dashboards.
What to do:
- Select the set points for turning a dashboard indicator red based on an indication of a real, vital problem in the organization. Avoid red set points that are deviate “x”% from the national average, that may not be where you want your performance to be. If your dashboard goes red, you want everyone to know that something is unacceptable.
- Think of a red alert on your dashboard as the equivalent of a Code Blue for your organization. Make sure they are vitally important and get your leadership’s attention.
- Plan ahead with a response strategy. The most effective dashboards have an accompanying chart that has preplanned actions if any of the indicators change. The reason we can respond effectively in a Code Blue situation is because we have planned and practiced. Shouldn’t we plan what we will do if our infection control indicator goes into red alert.
Your red alerts are perhaps the most important things on your dashboard, so use them wisely, make sure they communicate the need for immediate action, and plan ahead. Doing that is one key step in making your dashboards work for you.
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Question of the Month | Expert Advice & Guidance
- Are there specific requirements for governing board members, as leadership, to receive education related to the 2009 TJC standards?
Yes. Specifically under the 2009 standard LD.01.07.01, governing board members are to be oriented to the hospital's:
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