The Development of a Clinical Dashboard for Monitoring of Key Performance Indicators in ICU

Background: Given the importance of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), it is necessary to monitor the performance of this department to provide the urgent information required for clinical and managerial decision making. Its use can play an important role in improving the performance of the ICU. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical dashboard to monitor key performance indicators in ICU of Imam Khomeini Hospital affiliated to Urmia University of Medical Sciences. Methods: The current study was carried out as a descriptive study in 4 main phases, in 2019. In the first phase, key performance indicators were determined through an electronic questionnaire. In the second phase, the dashboard was designed based on the user and technical requirements. In the third Phase, the dashboard was implemented in ICU of Imam Khomeini Hospital at Urmia. In the final phase, the dashboard usability was evaluated through the think aloud method. Results: A total of 28 key performance indicators in 3 categories were considered essential for the ICU dashboard from the perspective of intensive care professionals. The dashboard was created using the PHP programming language and MySQL database management system. The dashboard was implemented in the ICU, and information of 400 patients was entered online. Based on the data entered for each patient, the indicators were automatically calculated. After the physicians and nurses worked with different sections of the dashboard, their comments were used to improve visual features of the dashboard. Conclusion: The designed dashboard in the present study can be a useful tool for better understanding of the patients’ clinical conditions. It also enables managers to monitor the healthcare quality of the ICU department in real-time based on the key performance indicators.