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Moving Past Summary Statistics and into Charting as a Means to View Processes and Improvement Over Time

If you haven’t already viewed the introduction to summary statistics please see

the “Understanding and Using Summary Statistics” SlideShare http://www.slideshare.net/QHRClinicalOps/using-summary-statistics

This presentation will walk through creating a visual representation of time

period data

Metric Hospital LOSCount (N) 30Arithmetic Mean (Average; Mean)

3.1

Standard Deviation 0.67Minimum 1.95th Percentile 2.025th Percentile 2.6Median 3.175th Percentile 3.495th Percentile 4.2Maximum 4.3

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LOS (Days) Over Time

Going From This: To This: To Ultimately This:

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What is a “Run Chart” and What Do I Need to Create a Run Chart?

A “Run Chart” is simply a graph that displays observed data in a time sequence

It allows the user to view the process over time and compare each observation with the median value

for the entire period

Run Charts provide a visual representation of whether the process is improving, find trends in the data,

and determine any outliers or periods that may need further investigation

Run charts require 3 pieces of information:

A Defined Time Period

Variable, tracked over the defined time period

MEDIAN of Variable Being Monitored over the entire time period

I have created an example to walk you through all of the steps and data needs to create such a chart

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LOS (Days) Over Time

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Step 1: Tracking the Data and Getting it Ready for Charting

Each month, the hospital recorded each visit’s length

of stay and then found the monthly Average LOS by

summing the total length of stay for all visits and

dividing by the number of visits

They recorded this each month as that month’s

Average LOS

Next, the hospital calculated the median Length of

Stay using the Excel Formula: =MEDIAN(Array). The formula is as follows in this example:

=MEDIAN($B$3:$B$32); copied down for the entire time period

Alternatively, you can use the "Insert Function" option found

under the formulas menu or the "fx" option found next to the

formula bar to search for the MEDIAN() formula (Instructions

based on Excel 2010)

4 Proprietary and Confidential

Step 2: Creating a Basic Run Chart – Part 1

Go to the "Insert" menu and select

the type of chart you want. In this case, we want to use a line

chart.

After you select the chart type

(assuming you have not

preselected the data), a blank

window will appear.

Right click on this new window to

see a list of options (or go to the

"Drawing Tools: Format" tab after

selecting the chart).

In this menu, you want to select

"Select Data Source" to access the

data series menu.

5 Proprietary and Confidential

Step 2: Creating a Basic Run Chart – Part 2

In the “Select Data Source” menu, you

will use the "Add" option under "Legend

Entries (Series)" to select your data

Enter the name of the series in the first

option, or link the name to a cell using

the icon to the right of the entry box

Select the range of the values you wish

to be displayed as “Series Values” by

using the icon on the right hand side of

the second bar

Each Series added must be done

individually, repeating the above 2 steps

You will be adding two series to the

chart.

Average LOS: in this case the series values

would be =$B$3:$B$32

Median LOS: in this case the series values

would be =$C$3:$C$32

6 Proprietary and Confidential

Step 2: Creating a Basic Run Chart – Part 3

The final Step of the chart is

ensuring that the "Horizontal

(Category) Axis Labels" match the

desired labels

If they do not by default, simply use

the "Edit" option for this section and

select the range of labels desired,

in this case we select the date

range

The final product should look like

the chart pasted to the left

Now that you have the data linked

to the chart, you can customize the

look and feel of the chart to better

fit your needs

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Average LOS

Median

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Step 3: Customizing a Chart to Fit Your Needs

Customization options are

available in Excel’s Ribbon,

visable after you click on the

chart, under the “Layout” Tab

Some common chart

customization includes: Adding a title

Adding Axis Titles

Moving or removing the legend

Removing the gridlines (not performed on

this chart)

Resizing the chart (done by grabbing the

corner of the chart and dragging until

desired shape/size)

The screenshots are of the

customization selections I made

with the end result shown below

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Aver

age

LOS

LOS (Days) Over TimeMedian LOS