The dashboard glows. But what we truly measure is minutes returned to the bedside.
Organizations obsess over go live dates and ticket counts. Those metrics matter, but they miss the soft dividends: minutes that clinicians reclaim, conversations that aren’t cut short by forms, and fewer repeat histories. After the click, the real question is, how much more human are we able to be?
A hospital we worked with tracked a small but telling metric: bedside time per patient. After targeted workflow optimization in the months following go live, bedside time rose by an average of seven minutes per patient small in isolation, massive in aggregate. Nurses reported more opportunities to educate families; clinicians reported fewer after-shift hours spent reconciling charts.
Meaningful post go live metrics
- Minutes at bedside per patient (tracked via timed observations or proxy measures).
- Repeat history calls (how often patients have to repeat their story).
- After-shift charting hours (time clinicians spend finishing notes off the clock).
- Clinician burnout & satisfaction scores.
- Time from lab result to action (how quickly care follows data).
Turning metrics into practice
- Set baseline measures before go-live so gains are visible.
- Tie sprint goals to human metrics (reduce after-shift charting by X minutes).
- Celebrate wins and iterate on losses Small, continuous improvements beat one big overhaul.
- Share stories alongside numbers: one extra minute at the bedside can mean one held hand.
After the click, the charts should free clinicians to be clinicians. Track the quiet returns and ensure your success is measured not only in uptime but also in the reclaimed minutes that let care breathe.