Tableau - Coding Productivity

Coding Productivity ‐ Tableau ‐ Part 1

The directions below will lead you through Part 1 of the “Coding Productivity” activity.

ANALYZING A COMPLETE DATASET

Step 1: Access the raw data for use in the project, save a new version.
 Open the Excel file you downloaded from the activity Introduction titled “2018 Coding
Productivity Results”. (If you do not have this file readily available, exit out of this activity,
reopen it on the main course page, and download it ‐ see the links under the “Important” subheading
in bold/red font.)
 This file represents the survey data from coding professionals (self‐identified), which we will use
to assist us to make decisions concerning our fictional coder pool.
 Enable editing by clicking on the button option in the center above the spreadsheet. (Note that
this step may not be necessary if you are using an older version of Excel.)
 In the event you need to access the original, save a new version of the spreadsheet by selecting
File, then Save As.
 Choose a folder location, then append the filename with your initials and a date, then click or
tap Save.
Step 2: Review the data collected on the spreadsheet.
 Scroll across the top row of the spreadsheet, making note of the types of questions/information
collected on the survey.

 For example, note that Question 5 asks “How do you measure coding productivity?” (You can
see the full question in the formula bar as shown below.)
 Notice that some questions span multiple columns, with potential answers listed on the second
row and responses recorded within the corresponding column. For example, note the response
in Row 4, Column I to the question concerning how productivity is calculated by the facility:

 Review all eighteen (18) questions presented in the survey data, as well as their possible
responses.

DEVELOP PROJECT STRATEGY AND OUTCOMES

Step 1: Determine scope of the project scenario.
 We will start to work with this complete data set with the end goal in mind of answering the
following questions:
o How can this project data be utilized to determine increases and/or decreases in
productivity related to the implementation of ICD‐10?
o Does educational background affect productivity?
o Do years of experience in coding affect productivity?
o How does coder certification affect perception of productivity in the workplace?
o Can this productivity data be utilized to assess quality increases/decreases due to the
implementation of ICD‐10?
o How can this data be utilized to evaluate staffing and create benchmarks for our
fictional coding pool?
Step 2: Prepare the spreadsheet for focused analysis and upload into
Tableau.
 Preparing the spreadsheet to identify measurable (quantifiable) information is necessary for
Tableau software to display data points.
 Delete all columns related to the following fields/questions (You may wish to review the
location of these columns prior to deleting them):
o Survey Number (Sr.No.) current Column A
o Response Number (Response No) current Column B
o 2. Do you apply code assignments on a daily basis? Current column D
o 3. In which setting do you work? Current Column E
o 4. How many beds are in your hospital? Current Column F
o 5. How do you measure coding productivity? Current Column G
Page 3 Copyright © 2022 by The American Health Information Management Association. All Rights Reserved.
o 8. If productivity is calculated with a weighted formula, please indicate
which type.
(Delete all columns that apply to item 8.) Current column I
o 13. If CAC is currently not used, does your organization plan to
implement CAC in
2018? Current column U
o 14. Do you have a clinical documentation improvement (CDI) program?
Current
column V
o 15. If not, does your organization plan to implement a CDI program in
2018? Current
column W
o 17. Are you reimbursed for continuing education or certification
activities? (Delete all
columns that apply to item 17.) Current Column AG
 Check your spreadsheet to ensure that columns pertaining to questions 1, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16
and 18 remain.
Save your progress with the spreadsheet (but do not close the file).
 Select Rows 3 through 820 (all rows with survey data) by selecting Row 3, holding Shift key,
scrolling down then select row 820.
 Once you have Rows 3 through 820 selected, use the Sort & Filter button on your Home menu
ribbon to sort alphabetically.
 Delete all rows of data for which the response to the first column question (which of the
following best describes your job title?) is NOT “Coder”. In other words, delete all rows where
the response is Other, Coding director, CDI director, Vendor, Consultant, etc.
 Save your work.

END OF PART 1
You have completed Part 1 of the “Coding Productivity” activity. You are now ready to begin Part 2.

Coding Productivity ‐ Tableau ‐ Part 2

The directions below will lead you through Part 2 of the “Coding Productivity” activity.

UPLOADING THE DATA TO TABLEAU

Step 1: Open the Coder Productivity Perceptions file in Tableau.
 Imagine that we have already calculated numerical responses and aggregate data from the
survey results we saved in Part 1 of this exercise. (Keep in mind that the data file previously
explored contained individual survey responses, not aggregate data).
 This new data format is shown in the “Coder Productivity Perceptions” file you downloaded
from the Introduction.
 Connect to that file in Tableau by clicking on Microsoft Excel in the blue menu bar in Tableau as
identified below.

Browse for and select the “Coder_Productivity_Perceptions” Excel file.

 Click or tap on Open in the file selection dialogue box; the file will then open as a Connection in
Tableau.
 As you did in Part 1 of this activity, you need to prepare the spreadsheet to enable Tableau to
appropriately display data points.

Step 2: Prepare the spreadsheet for focused analysis and upload into
Tableau.
 Note that columns D and E have no data entered. The column heading shows that two cells D1
and E1 (D1:E1) are merged so those need to be unmerged first.
 Select cells D1 and E1.
 Select the Merge & Center drop down arrow.
 Select Unmerge Cells.
Repeat these steps for G1:H1, J1:K1, and M1:N1.
 Delete the following columns which contain null values:
o Current columns B and C
o Current columns E and F
o Current columns H and I
o Current columns K and L
 Compare your spreadsheet with the screenshot below to ensure they match.
Step 3: Build Sheet 1, which will create a presentation illustrating the
relationship between coder
characteristics and perceptions of decreased accuracy and productivity
when using ICD‐10.
 Click or tap on Sheet 1 (Go to Worksheet) found in the bottom/left of the Tableau interface.
Drag and drop Coder Characteristic under Tables (the fields appearing above the gray line) to
the Rows field.
 Drag and drop Decreased Accuracy from the fields appearing below the gray line to the
Columns
field.

Now drag and drop Decreased Productivity to the Columns row; you should then see side‐
byside
graphs.
 If not already selected, we want the graphs to display horizontal bars; open the Show Me panel
to the right of the page (it should be open by default settings already), then select the
horizontal bars icon to produce the graphs shown below. (As you scroll over the graph icons in
Show Me panel, descriptive titles will display below the icons as indicated below with an arrow.
Depending on how/when Tableau was last used, the “horizontal bars” option may already be
selected in the main viewing area.)

Rename the sheet “Compare Perceptions of Accuracy and Productivity” by double‐

clicking on
“Sheet 1” where it appears within the tab in the bottom, left‐hand corner. (After double clicking
the title becomes editable.)
Step 4: Build Sheet 2 of the project presentation to create a presentation
illustrating Coder
Characteristics and their relationship to other duties that are performed
as a part of their position.
 Add Sheet 2 by clicking/tapping on the add sheet button found to the right of the first sheet
title:

Drag and drop Coder Characteristic to the Columns field on Sheet 2.

 Then drag and drop Perform Other Duties to the Rows field.

Rename Sheet 2 “Performing Other Activities than Coding”.

Step 5: Build Sheet 3 for the project presentation illustrating the effect of
Computer Assisted Coding.
 Click/tap on the add sheet button to add Sheet 3.
 Drag and drop Coder Characteristic to the Columns field.
 Drag and drop Uses CAC to the Rows field.
 Select the highlight tables icon from the Show Me menu on the right to build the following
visual display. (Recall that as you scroll over the icons in Show Me panel, descriptive titles will
display below the icons.)
Rename Sheet 3 “Number of Coders Using CAC”.
Step 6: Complete the final worksheet for the project, which will provide a
summary of many of the
data collection points.
 Click/tap on the add sheet button to add Sheet 4.
 Drag and drop Coder Characteristic to the Columns field.
 Drag and drop all four measures to the Rows field: Decreased Accuracy, Decreased
Productivity, Perform Other Duties and Uses CAC).

Select side‐by‐side bars from the Show Me icon menu.

 Hover over the blue Coder Characteristic oval in the Columns field, then access the pull‐down
menu using the drop down arrow that will appear on the right side of the oval. This reveals the
available options for the display.
 Select Filter.
In the Filter dialog box that opens, uncheck all the boxes EXCEPT 6‐10 years of experience,
CCS
certification, and inpatient. (You may have to scroll down to see all the options that need to be
unchecked). Select OK.

Hover your cursor over each portion of the chart/bars to reveal the numerical counts.
 Rename Sheet 4 “ Coder Profile”.
CREATING THE PRESENTATION DASHBOARD FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS
Step 1: Create an interactive data dashboard.
 Create a dashboard by either accessing the Dashboard menu at the top of the Tableau interface
and then selecting New Dashboard in the menu options, or clicking on the dashboard icon in the
bottom row of icons.

 On the left side of the Dashboard menu you will see all the sheets available to build the project.

Building a Dashboard generally requires a lot of thought to the design and display of the data.
There are many options available to manipulate the dashboard view a user may want to
present.

Hovering over each sheet title in the dashboard menu will preview the image to be used in the
dashboard (you may need to click/tap once on one of the sheet titles for the hover‐preview
feature to work).
 Drag and drop Number of Coders Using CAC from the Dashboard menu to the open
Dashboard
workspace open on the right. The first image you drop will always fill the entire dashboard page.
 Next, drag and drop the Vlab Coder Profile to the Dashboard. As you are dragging the image,
grey areas will show on the dashboard page to indicate spaces/shapes where the image may be
dropped. Drag this image to the bottom half of the dashboard page. As you are dragging the
image over to the right, keep going until you see the shaded area appear on the bottom of the
page.
Note the scroll bar that appeared with the data concerning Number of Coders Using CAC. We
would like all our data from these two images to show on the dashboard.
 Click/tap in the white space of the top image in the Dashboard, Number of Coders Using
CAC, to
select it.
 Click/tap on the down arrow visible in the upper right‐hand corner as shown in the images on
the next page (two example images are offered as what each user sees exactly will depend on
operating system and screen width).
 Select Fit.
 Select Entire View.

Notice that the dashboard has now adjusted to look like the image below, displaying all the data
from both images for easy analysis.

Note the legend to the right of the dashboard.

Rename the dashboard “Assessing Coder Perception of Productivity” on the bottom
tabs.
 Check the box entitled “Show dashboard title” in the Objects menu on the bottom, left‐hand
side of the page.

of coding productivity.
 Build an additional dashboard display to present data related to coding professionals who
perform other duties and their perceptions of productivity.
 As you answer the assessment questions, you may want to build additional dashboards to allow
you to consider comparisons of data collected in this survey.
 Save your project by selecting File, Save and then naming this Tableau file set Perceptions of
Coding Productivity. Save the file to a location you will have easy access to.
 Your data displays and dashboard files are now available for further study and review.
 Change the file to a PDF and submit it to the class.

END OF PART 2
You have completed Part 2 of the “Coding Productivity” activity.