The healthcare industry is experiencing increasingly loud calls for wide scale change. In addition to concerns over access to care in certain geographies, patients are asking for improved service experience, legislators are exploring the need for price transparency and healthcare executives are identifying ways to lead the industry in a shift from volume to value-based care. As the industry evolves and adapts to these changes, administrators now recognize that the measures of success from previous years don’t necessarily apply. For a healthcare organization to define success in today’s market, they must consider today’s new challenges, while considering all future possibilities.
Why it is Important to Measure Success
In business terms, you cannot measure what you do not monitor. This standard explains the importance of utilizing meaningful reporting to track progress toward care-based, financial and operational goals within a healthcare organization. However, as the industry moves toward a more patient-centered dynamic of care, the data and analysis provided by tracking new programs will shape the structure of our health system in a new era. In addition to the traditional reporting metrics necessary for health providers, new metrics will come into play, including:
- Total cost of care
- Patterns of care
- Health outcomes
- Patterns of utilization
- Population health identifiers
- Patient satisfaction
- Provider satisfaction
- Cost per procedure
- Population health patterns
- Market prices
Establishing New Goals in a New Era
As the healthcare industry shifts, tracking the right metrics and setting the right goals will be key to finding success. For the forward-thinking executives, it doesn’t end at simply selecting the correct key performance indicators (KPIs). They will institute KPIs that not only identify priorities and track goals, but that inspire action and commitment among their team members. Goals and metrics which excite and energize the workforce will create financial opportunities, as well as the ability to improve standards of service, quality of care and the overall patient and employee experience. To design metrics that track progress and inspire action:
Remember the patient perspective
Metrics should not only reflect the goals of the healthcare organization, they should also measure the needs of the patients. In an environment that promotes value over volume, while managing the ever-increasing impact of consumerism in healthcare, the patient perspective has never been more important. To best learn about and address your patient population’s top concerns, consider:
- Consulting with patient representatives on patient feedback
- Conducting patient surveys
- Ensuring your culture is supportive of diverse patient preferences and needs
Consider your organization’s cultural strengths and weaknesses
When identifying KPIs, you must consider your organization’s established mission, values and culture. These ideals are communicated to your employees, your patients and your community, and they need to provide a positive reflection of what you hope to accomplish for all three. To determine if your culture is presenting the right message, ensure:
- There are mechanisms for patients and the community to provide feedback
- Educational opportunities are available to help curb unconscious bias
- Accountability metrics are in place to ensure team members are upholding the organization’s values
Accept a new definition of success
Because of the complex and constantly changing expectations in healthcare today, it is important to avoid being too rigid with your metrics. While measuring and monitoring key performance indicators is invaluable to managing progress toward operational, financial and patient care goals, there is a human element to be considered as well. Defining levels of success will allow your team to track forward movement without creating a feeling of failure when progress is slow or when priorities have to shift to meet the changing market. To help align your metrics with this philosophy, remember:
- Understand how each metric impacts all levels of your team
- Do not only track success – also track progress
- Provide team members with regular feedback and consistent messaging
Driving Forward Through Uncertainty
While no one knows exactly what the next wave of change will bring, the next wave will certainly come. To set your organization and your team up for success, it is critical to have the right leaders in place. Executives with the right skills and expertise will be able to create a clear definition of success for your organization while driving operations forward and creating a culture of acceptance and accountability.
To learn more about the importance of hiring the right senior leaders, connect with the seasoned experts at Cejka Search here.
