Here are practical measures many teams can use. You do not need all of them. Start with a few and expand later.

1) Accounts with a clear next action

This is the first measure because it drives everything else.

If an account has no next action, it will stall.
A simple target is that most 90+ accounts always have a next action and due date.

2) Touches that create progress

Not every touch matters. You want to track meaningful touches.

A meaningful touch is one that changes the account’s position, such as
claim corrected and resubmitted
appeal submitted
payer confirmed receipt
reprocess requested and confirmed
internal blocker assigned with due date
escalation completed with a decision

This measure helps reduce busy work.

3) Time to escalation

Many accounts age because escalation happens too late.

Track how long it takes for an account to move from first touch to escalation when needed.
If this number is high, the ladder is unclear or people hesitate to escalate.

4) Blockers by category

This is where prevention begins.

Track the top blockers that show up each week, such as
missing authorization
missing documentation
coding correction needed
payer requested item not included
appeal requirement unclear
no payer response

When the same blocker appears often, it is a system issue, not a one time issue.

5) Repeat denial patterns

A repeat denial is a signal.

If the same denial category keeps returning, the fix is usually upstream.
The scoreboard helps you see which patterns are creating rework.

6) Backlog that refills

Some teams see progress in the moment, but the backlog refills fast.

Track how many accounts move into 90+ each week.
If the inflow stays high, the organization is not fixing root causes.