The Paediatric Diabetes team of an inner-city hospital use Microsoft Excel to record Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) measurements of 116 patients. HbA1c levels inform the clinician of long-term glycaemic control and allow adaptation of the patient management plan.
IT literacy of staff, training times, and costs limit the use of technological advances. Microsoft Excel - a cheap, simple, and easily accessible program - empowers teams to create dynamic spreadsheets. We aimed to increase the time efficiency of the Paediatric Diabetes team by improving their spreadsheet.
The original HbA1c spreadsheet was assessed using a questionnaire and team discussion. The spreadsheet was amended based on team requirements and suggestions. Data grouping was used to simplify the spreadsheet. Conditional formatting highlighted missing data and appointments, upcoming appointments, and colour coded HbA1c values within certain ranges. Summaries were evaluated using “COUNTIF” and “AVERAGE” formulae. Four hours were spent by a medical student implementing these changes.
All participants reported the new spreadsheet was easier to use. Post-implementation questionnaire responses noted that the spreadsheet had higher accuracy and improved layout. The time taken for data input by healthcare professionals reduced by 77.7% (from 45 to 10 minutes per month).
Better data presentation enables healthcare professionals to provide further support to those with higher HbA1c therefore improving patient care. This could be adapted to various teams, especially those managing chronic conditions. Clinicians could consider investing time in straightforward programs like these, as they can be effective at a lower cost than new technological advances.