Since the early days of THRIVE there has been the option to write up notes against each individual procedure in a list. There are also formal ways to record late starts and cancellation reasons from structured drop-downs – these allow for more comparable reporting – however we know that there are also other notes that might need to be recorded to provide additional insights when reviewing data in the future. 

During early development the addition of overall List Notes was provided so that general notes could be recorded that apply to the whole session, rather than just against a specific procedure within the list. All this rich data, though small, is valuable to those reviewing the data captured so that best practices can be identified and improvements made throughout Endoscopy. 

Visual updates

A very minor change, when a note has been added to a list the Notes section header will change from black text to blue. Providing an ‘at a glance’ ability to acknowledge whether notes have been input or not. 

Image (top): An empty note section
Image (bottom): A notes section with three added notes

Always Available

Originally, List Notes would only be available to update while the list was open, then once it was fully closed all List Notes would be locked and no additional notes could be made. However, as the account making the note, date and time are logged against the note, these details allow identification of whether the note was made during or after list closure so there is clarification of whether a note was added in retrospect or during the active list. 

Developments have been  made to keep the ability to add List Notes open so they can be updated at any time. This can facilitate focus during the active session and allow additional admin like note taking to take place during turnaround or after the list is closed at the end of the session. 

Providing this information is important for those reviewing the overall and specific data, platform wide, both to check for specifics if they fall outside the reasons recorded in the official lists and in general if there are any trends. These notes could potentially lead to additional formal reasons in the Late Start list or other usability development. They also allow for reflection on current practices and have the potential to inform wider changes or training opportunities too.