Rules are evaluated automatically when cases are validated. Changes to rules take effect on the next validated case — they don’t retroactively flag or unflag existing cases.
Rule table
Rules are displayed in a table with inline editing. Use the category filter tabs to view rules by type: Timing, Efficiency, Anesthesia, Recovery, Financial, Quality, and Archived.Inline editing
Each row provides inline controls:| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Toggle | Enable or disable the rule |
| Severity pill | Click to cycle: Critical (red) → Warning (amber) → Info (blue) |
| Threshold type | Dropdown: Absolute, Percentage, MAD, Median, Minutes |
| Operator | Greater than, Less than, Between, Outside |
| Value inputs | Debounced number inputs (saves after 500ms of inactivity) |
| Scope | Facility-wide or Personal (surgeon’s own history) |
Two rule types
Built-in rules
Standard operational rules that come with every facility. Cannot be deleted, but can be toggled on/off and adjusted (severity, threshold, scope).Custom rules
Rules you create for your specific needs. Can be created, edited, archived, and restored.Custom rule builder
Click Add Custom Rule to open the builder drawer:Select metric
Search the metric catalog across six categories. Includes dynamic metrics auto-generated from your cost categories (e.g., “Implants Cost”).
Threshold types
| Type | How it works |
|---|---|
| Absolute | Direct threshold value (e.g., turnover > 45 minutes) |
| Percentage | Percentage of the median (e.g., > 150% of median) |
| MAD | Median ± N × Median Absolute Deviation |
| Median | Median ± fixed offset in minutes |
| Minutes | Direct minute threshold |
Severity levels
| Level | Color | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Red | Severe issues requiring immediate attention |
| Warning | Amber | Moderate issues worth monitoring |
| Info | Blue | Informational flags for awareness |
Comparison scopes
| Scope | Description |
|---|---|
| Facility | Compare against facility-wide baselines |
| Personal | Compare against the surgeon’s own historical performance |
Best practices
Start with built-in rules
Start with built-in rules
ORbit ships with sensible built-in rules for common timing and efficiency metrics. Start by enabling these and adjusting thresholds to match your facility’s norms before creating custom rules.
Avoid over-flagging
Avoid over-flagging
If more than 30–40% of cases are being flagged, your thresholds are likely too tight. Loosen thresholds or use MAD-based thresholds that automatically adapt to your facility’s data distribution.
Use severity levels strategically
Use severity levels strategically
Reserve Critical for issues that genuinely need same-day attention. Use Warning for patterns worth monitoring. Use Info for awareness items. This helps teams prioritize without alert fatigue.
Next steps
Flag analytics
See how your rules perform in practice.
Flag engine
Technical deep-dive into the evaluation pipeline.