How do I benchmark my service using the e-resources usage statistics dashboards?

Medians are used for comparison. Median lines are included on the dashboards. They are dynamic and will change depending on the data being presented.

The median is the mid-point in a range of data values. We prefer it to the mean or average as this is sensitive to outliers in the data. At NHSE we look at the median of Trusts of same size and type in your region.

Step 1

Check your organisation for its type and tier.

Step 2

Open the Tableau dashboards and select the dashboard you want to use. Note that you will need to be given access to Tableau. Request access via the Service Desk.

Step 3

Filter the data to show organisations of your size and type. If your organisation is an acute Trust in tier 3 in the North West.

Select the down arrow next to Organisation Type and deselect all options by clicking All. Once all option boxes are blank, select 'Acute'.
Select the down arrow next to Organisation Tier and deselect all options by clicking All. Once all option boxes are blank, select '3-Medium Organisations'.
Select the down arrow next to Region and deselect all options by clicking All. Once all option boxes are blank, select 'North West'.

Step 4

In this example, all the tier 3 acute Trusts in the North West are displayed in the Trusts section of the dashboard. The median line shows the median for the Trusts you selected in step 3. Make a note of it.

Step 5

Now select your own Trust to find your median. Select the down arrow next to Trust Name and deselect all options by clicking All. Once all option boxes are black, select your own Trust.

Make a note of your median. Is it above or below the median for all similar Trusts in your region?

If it is above, you can be reassured that your usage of the resource is good. If it is below, find a Trust with usage significantly above the median for all similar Trusts in your region, and ask what they have been doing to achieve it.

Please note that if there are organisations with particularly low usage compared to others in the filtered set of organisations, they will lower the median unduly. If this is the case, please filter to exclude these organisations.