It’s not how much you CAN track, it’s how little you NEED to track
At the beginning of each new project we work with our clients to understand their current tracking efforts: the data input to the tracker to be replaced (usually a spreadsheet), the users responsible for updating the tracker, and the compliance metrics gathered and presented in a timely manner (usually a big monthly effort for some lucky few).
These workshops are a great opportunity to gather input from the business owners across the organization, ranging from leaders in Global Patient Safety to Local Safety Officers. It turns out that the biggest efficiencies achieved are when the group can decide to NOT TRACK data elements. You see, Orbit comes standard with over 30 fields per tracker. We like to challenge the group to reduce this number to around 10 data elements. We are able to achieve this by moving many of the data elements in the old trackers to our Activities and Milestones, which are great for tracking the completion dates for various tasks.
Reducing the number of tracked fields has three major benefits:
-Higher quality of data (fewer mistakes)
-Reduced training efforts (fewer fields means less training)
-Higher concentration of quality data (we find most data lives in other systems and shouldn’t be duplicated unless absolutely mandatory)
So for a 2019 New Year Resolution, let’s trim the fat from our trackers and maybe hit the treadmill too (I had too delicious Thanksgiving!)
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!
-Dan Feith
