What this means for your practice
Define source freshness and the conditions under which a combined report is valid. Show incomplete or mixed-period data clearly when a source misses its expected update.
An example to discuss with your team
Delay one source in a test reporting cycle.
Questions to take to your supplier
Delay one source in a test reporting cycle. Does the report explain the mixed dates or follow an agreed withholding rule? Name the person responsible for the missing information. Readers should not need technical knowledge to recognise that the combined figure has a limitation.
Agree the working process
Identify when each source is normally ready and what period its latest update actually covers. The time a connection ran is not always the time through which its information is complete. Agree the freshness needed for the management decision and what should happen when one source falls behind. The report may need a clear limitation, a provisional version or a delay, depending on the owner's decision. Ask the supplier to show which source is late and how that affects a combined measure. Test partial updates as well as a completely missing feed.
Readers should not need to inspect technical logs to understand the limitation. Keep the responsibility for investigating and communicating the delay explicit. When corrected information arrives, preserve enough version context to explain changed figures. In regular reviews, distinguish delays in the original information being recorded from delays in moving it between systems. Those problems need different owners even though both can appear as an outdated dashboard.
How to check the result
Measure reports published with unexplained freshness differences.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
Need help with this?
Tell us what is getting in the way. Kay & Co. can help you understand the options and turn the next step into something that works for your practice.
Explore integrations & data services or discuss your project.
Try the free Healthcare Digital Planner to find your starting priority.