What should healthcare staff access in an analytics portal?

Have you ever been in a meeting where presenting one report turns into debating between three conflicting versions of the same document? This is an all-too-common scenario. Luckily, there's a solution. Analytics portals allow staff from across a healthcare organization to access files, patient information, reports, and more from a single URL. Unfortunately, many organizations are grappling with how to fit an analytics portal into their existing systems, as well as what to include in the tool.

If you're wondering what your healthcare staff should be able to access in an analytics portal, here are three steps to ensure you include what's needed.

1. Lay the groundwork.

An analytics portal is powerful enough to be used as a one-stop destination for accessing and organizing all content. Unlike a general CMS, it allows users to see and interact with real-time analytics from their homepage view, then drill down into related content and conversations. Configuring this type of analytics portal requires upfront time and effort, but the process can be streamlined with out-of-the-box tools. There are two things hospitals should consider before collecting data and resources for their analytics portal:

1. User experience (UX)

The number one priority for any portal is to create a usable and engaging solution. This requires investing in upfront user experience (UX) design. UX forethought will ensure engaging interactions and simple and usable navigation. The goal of any portal should be to serve the whole user, not just the analytics function of their role.

2. Permissions and security

During the UX research and design process, we develop user personas and take an inventory of content and assets. Those pieces guide the development of portal architecture, but will also be essential for determining permissions for each user. For example, executives should have access to all content on the analytics portal, but directors may only be able to see insights relevant to their teams. It's important to prioritize information security when designing a portal to protect PII.

2. Be thorough about gathering content.

To get detailed insights, you will need to integrate content from across your organization. Some sources to think about are:

• Patient data. Data about patient progress, is an essential element of a successful healthcare analytics portal. Without seeing their progress, physicians and other healthcare staff won't be able to create a roadmap for success.

• Existing analytics reports. If you have reports that currently draw from multiple sources, these are a great tool to make sure you get the data insights you need. These reports can be adapted and integrated into your analytics portal.

• The siloed files used by just one team. In order to work effectively, information must be shared transparently across teams. Without integrating any relevant files stored locally or separated from broader team view, your portal can't give you accurate insights.

• Legacy data. All industries suffer from some degree of legacy software: the outdated tools that require too much manual work but somehow serve an essential, seemingly-irreplaceable service. Including this information from your organization will give you the most comprehensive understanding of your team, your history, and what needs to happen next.

3. Include features to promote user engagement.

Analytics portals shouldn't just be about analytics. Keep users engaged with some of the following features:

• A communications tool. Conversations around data and insights should reside alongside content so that users full understanding of each topic or project. analytics portals can include an internal chat application or integrate external tools, such as Slack.

• Adequate search tools. A user’s ability to find content will determine whether that user will continue to engage with the tool. The portal should have a robust search feature and also allow users to tag and filter content in a way that makes the portal more usable to them.

• Shared spaces. Analytics portals can also host team project sites, shared calendars, project timelines, etc. The shared space can be built into the portal or can link to an already-established external sites.

• Social connection. Embed business Twitter and LinkedIn feeds into the analytics portal to increase user connection to the business as a whole.

• Training materials. It should be simple for users to find training documentation and videos within the analytics portal.

Analytics portals are charting new territory for healthcare organizations managing staff knowledge and a broad range of data and reports.