If you have ever received a monthly IT report full of charts and still could not tell whether support was getting better, you are not alone. Many reports count tickets because tickets are easy to count. Administrators need something different: a clear view of whether staff can do their jobs, whether problems are fixed quickly and whether the same issues keep returning.
Here are metrics worth asking for, and how to read them.
This measures how long it takes for someone to acknowledge a request. It matters because silence breeds frustration. A staff member who hears back quickly feels heard, even if the fix takes longer.
Ask for it by priority. Urgent issues affecting resident care should get a much faster response than a request for a new monitor. Compare actual results to the targets in your service agreement.
This measures how long it takes to fully fix a problem. Averages can hide trouble, so also ask for the longest-running tickets. A handful of tickets open for weeks may point to a deeper issue.
Split it by category:
Account and login problems.
Hardware, such as computers and printers.
Network and Wi-Fi.
Application and EHR issues.
New requests and projects.
This is the share of issues solved on the first call or visit. A higher rate usually means technicians have the right skills and tools, and staff spend less time waiting. A low rate on simple issues like password resets suggests a process problem.
Volume by itself is neutral, but trends tell stories:
Rising tickets after a software update may point to a rollout problem.
Spikes at shift change might suggest login or Wi-Fi trouble.
Repeated tickets from one unit may reveal a failing device or poor training.
Look at the top recurring issues each month and ask what it would take to eliminate them. Fixing the root cause is usually cheaper than repeatedly handling the symptoms.
If tickets are closed and then reopened, the problem was not truly solved. A high reopen rate suggests rushed fixes or poor communication.
A brief survey after ticket closure, even a single question, gives staff a voice. Pay attention to comments, not just scores. Be aware that busy clinical staff respond less often, so low participation does not mean everyone is happy. Consider asking department heads for periodic feedback as well.
Care operates around the clock, so measure nights and weekends separately. Ask how often after-hours calls were answered by a person, how quickly a technician responded and how many issues waited until morning.
Track outages of key systems: the EHR, internet connection, phone system and Wi-Fi. Record how long they lasted and what caused them. This also supports your contingency planning under the HIPAA Security Rule and your emergency preparedness documentation.
A good IT report goes beyond tickets. Ask for:
The percentage of devices fully patched.
Whether backups succeeded and the date of the last restore test.
The number of phishing reports and any security incidents.
Accounts for former staff that were disabled and how quickly.
Equipment nearing end of life.
Ticket count alone: a quiet month could mean staff stopped reporting problems.
Average resolution time without priority breakdown: easy tickets can mask slow handling of serious ones.
Closing tickets fast: technicians pressured to close quickly may skip real fixes.
Hold a short monthly or quarterly review with your IT provider. Ask three questions:
What got better or worse, and why?
What are the top three recurring problems, and what is the plan to fix them?
What should leadership approve or budget for next?
Keep the report to one or two pages that nonspecialists can read.
Any metric is only useful if it is tied to expectations. Include targets in your service agreement, and revisit them annually as your operation changes.
UnityCare IT provides plain-language reporting to healthcare and senior-living clients, focused on what administrators need to see. If your current reports are hard to interpret, we can show you a different approach.
Call or text: 405-285-3845
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Existing customers: support@unitycareit.com
Address: UnityCare Technologies, 2524 N Broadway Ste 554, PMB 947974, Edmond, Oklahoma 73034-4172