Tip and Tricks: Using People and Places

Two of the most important pieces of shadowing data are the people and places involved in an experience. In the initial stages of a shadowing project, the documentation of the people and places is used to create a process map. That map is used to align stakeholders around the identification of the ideal pathway. Using a shadowing tool to quickly capture and record all of the locations that a patient visits and each and every caregiver, staff person, and individual they encounter along the way are essential to gain a full picture of the process. Are certain personnel being underutilized, are there unnecessary visits to certain areas? Is patient time being used most effectively while they are in a doctor’s office or hospital? Are patient handoffs being done efficiently and with ease?

Prior to shadowing it is best to work with project leaders and the shadowing team to create naming conventions. In healthcare, it is common to have multiple individuals in the same role (ie doctors, nurses, transport). Since shadowing protocol recommends that staff is de-identified, be sure to create naming conventions to avoid data variation when downloading and creating reports.

goShadow App User Tricks

When starting a new segment, always begin with a place followed by a person to ensure that the data collected and resulting reports will be as accurate as possible. As we like to say, “you’re always somewhere,” so be sure to start shadowing segments by entering a place by clicking the place icon.

When entering a person or a place, you can choose to “Save & Time,” which starts a running timer of each person or place or choose “Save & Close” to simply create a timestamp.

goShadow makes it easy to add people and places to a shadowing experience by creating a library for quick reference. This helps to avoid data variations and spelling mistakes.  For more information about how to use the goShadow app for shadowing, use the free quickStart guide at goshadow.org/tools.

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