Frequently Asked Questions - Ideas

 Back to Ideas

Where collaboration meets innovation through
community-powered insights.

Ideas is where community insight turns into action. Submit ideas, join the conversation, and vote on enhancements that matter most. Your feedback helps guide product improvements and shape what we build next. Click on a topic below to learn more about the process.

Frequently Asked Questions

OverviewStatusesBest PracticesWhat to ExpectOther

Overview

What is the Ideas Page in Community?
  • Ideas is a feature of the HealthStream Community that enables community members to submit, discuss, and vote on ideas and enhancement requests. This collaborative space gives you the opportunity to share insights, suggestions, and feedback, helping us identify areas to optimize and prioritize new features. By participating in Ideas, you’ll help to shape the future development of our products and contribute to the professional development of millions of healthcare professionals.
How are Ideas Reviewed and Prioritized?
  • HealthStream has many teams to support our various products, each of them has adopted their own unique review and prioritization process to determine which enhancements and idea requests are added to the product roadmap.

    Complexity, current commitments, available resources are criteria leveraged in the review process Various team members including product leadership, development and others weigh in on this decision-making process.

    Product team members and subject matter experts regularly review submitted ideas based upon their own internal road mapping processes. Due to the breath of our offerings, there is not a specific timeframe nor are community submitted ideas guaranteed to be implemented.

How do I submit a new idea or enhancement request?

    • Before submitting a new idea or enhancement request, it's important to check if someone else has already submitted the idea.

      To submit a new idea or enhancement request, please follow these steps:

      1. Once you've confirmed that your idea is unique, Navigate to the Ideas and Enhancement Request Page.
      2. Click the Add button.

      3. Add a Title and Description based on best practices.
      4. Select a Category from the drop down. These categories align with the solution in which your product resides.
      5. Use Upload file add any supplemental screenshots.
      6. Select Save.

       

How can I vote, like (thumbs-up) or support an existing idea?
  • First, locate the idea you’d like to vote for. To do this, you can utilize the search and filtering functions.
  • After you’ve located the idea, click the Thumbs Up icon to show your support. Add any additional use cases, screenshots, or thoughts in a comment.

  • Make sure to also follow the idea to be notified whenever there is an update!

Statuses

What do the different statuses mean?

    • Submitted – This idea is now posted and ready for community feedback! To increase visibility, share it with other administrators via HUG groups, emails, or other channels. Although a large number of votes doesn’t guarantee implementation, they do help with highlighting trending opportunities. Product teams review ideas at different intervals, so there’s no predetermined duration for this status. Keep voting and commenting!
    • Under Review – We appreciate this idea and have carefully reviewed it. Although it may align with our mission and vision, we're unable to commit to it at this time due to several factors. The duration in this status varies, and ideas may be reviewed periodically. Please note that ideas in this status have a lower likelihood of implementation but remain open to votes and comments.
    • Feedback Requested– Let your voice be heard! We're considering it for development or as part of a larger product update. Ideas in this status have a higher likelihood of being implemented. To help us better prioritize, continue to vote and comment. Ideas in this status are at the forefront and your feedback is instrumental.
    • Planned – Great news! This idea is on our product roadmap. While timelines vary and we typically don't provide specific release dates, we usually place ideas in this status when the work is expected to start soon.
    • In Progress – How exciting! Your idea is now in the hands of our development team, and they're actively working to make it a reality.
    • Released – Congratulations! Ideas in this status have been implemented and are now live. Thanks for your valuable contribution!
    • Resolved - Some ideas can be addressed without development. When ideas are marked as Resolved, it's usually because of existing functionality, additional training, or assistance from our amazing customer support, operations, or success teams.
    • Declined – On rare occasions, we're unable to implement an idea due to complexity or misalignment with HealthStream's vision and mission. If that's the case, we'll mark an idea as declined and provide a detailed explanation after thorough review by multiple teams.

Best Practices

Are there guidelines for submitting ideas?
  • To increase the chances of your idea being adopted, create an engaging and detailed submission that captures your peers' interest and excites our product leadership team. Effective ideas typically include:
    • Title: A descriptive title featuring the product name and requested functionality (e.g., "Checklist - Make the Last Page Button Purple"). Avoid vague titles like "Reporting."
    • Description: Outline the challenge your team is facing, your proposed solution and include relevant context. Optimal descriptions are thorough and thoughtful and leverage a structured response format such as SBAR or similar.
    • Screenshots or Examples: Include supplemental screenshots of the area you’d like to see optimized, or detailed examples when screenshots aren't possible or appropriate.
How do I check if the idea I’m suggesting has already been submitted?
  • Use these four methods to find ideas:
    1. Start or join a discussion about the problem and share your proposed solution. This approach encourages peers to offer immediate solutions, direct you to similar ideas, or provide context for a more comprehensive idea. (Recommended)
    2. Use the site-search feature on the navigation's right side. Search for your problem or idea and apply filters on the results page to narrow down to ideas. (Recommended)
    3. Use the predictive search in the ideas section's on-page search box.
    4. Filter ideas by category, status, votes, and more, then scan for relevant ideas
How do I see ideas that have already been released?

  • Filter ideas by selecting "Released" and "Resolved" under the Status filter to view all implemented ideas.

What to Expect

What happens if my idea get the most votes?
  • Ideas with the most votes will help highlight opportunities that are trending. However, this doesn’t guarantee the idea will be implemented.
Why do some products get more ideas released than others?
  • This will vary based on several factors, including complexity of the idea, current commitments, and resources on each team.
Why wasn't my idea released exactly as I described it?
  • Planned ideas are added to the product roadmap for design and development. We aim to optimize the experience for all users, so a community inspired idea may be released differently than how submitted.
How can I track the progress of my submitted Idea? When can I expect to be notified about updates on my idea?
    • After you’ve submitted an idea, you will automatically follow it. Depending on your notification settings, you will be emailed any time a community member comments on your idea or the status changes. While there is no predetermined timeline for receiving an update, you can follow any idea, not just your own, to be notified.
    • Quick Links:
My idea's status was update to planned? When will it be released?
  • Timelines can vary depending on contributing factors . While we’re unable to provide an exact date, you can keep an eye on the idea's status and any updates that may be posted regarding its progress.
What does it mean if my idea stays in the submitted or under review status for a while?
  • When you submit an idea, it may go into the "Submitted" or "Under Review" status for an indefinite amount of time. We encourage you to continue to vote and comment, which can help it gain visibility and traction. While we can't guarantee that all submitted ideas will be implemented, we appreciate your contribution to making our products better! Rest assured that we are actively reviewing all submitted ideas and considering their potential value to the product.

Other

How many ideas can I submit?
  • There isn’t a limit on the number of ideas you can submit. However, we encourage you to be mindful of the ideas entered and only submit ones that you find most impactful for your organization as well as others using the application.
How do I get more traction for my ideas?
  • There are many ways to do this! When appropriate, you can encourage peers through HUG meetings, in the community, and other applicable channels to vote for your idea. Linking your idea in relevant discussions, tagging your peers to vote in the comments on your idea, and emailing the idea to colleagues are all great strategies.
Can someone at HealthStream submit an idea on my behalf?
  • To ensure we capture all the details regarding your proposed idea, we want to hear from you! Please submit and champion your own idea.
I found an idea that I'm interested in. How can I stay up to date on it's progress?
  • To follow an idea, click the Star icon in the top right corner. You’ll then be notified whenever there is a status update or a new comment.
What if I encounter a bug or a defect? Should I submit an idea to get it fixed?
  • If you encounter what appears to be a bug or a defect, do not post this under Ideas. To ensure a timely response, please reach out to Customer Support to escalate your case through the appropriate channels.

    Customer Support: (800) 521-0574

I see an idea that could negatively impact my experiencing using the product. What should I do?
  • Great question! When proposing changes to a product, it’s important to be aware of how other users might be affected. Whether you support the idea or not, we encourage you to respectfully share your thoughts and feedback via comments.
This idea was submitted a while ago. Is there any point in voting on it now?
  • Yes! As long as an idea has not been released, resolved, declined, votes and comments are encouraged.