Question

What are the advantages to a healthcare organization benchmarking its services and costs to accepted standards of the industry? Do you think organizations use these benchmarks effectively?

Answer 1

Benchmarking :- Benchmarking is a term used to describe a rule or guidelines by which other can be measured or judged . It's used as a point of reference from which an evaluation can be made.

Internal Benchmarking :- Internal Benchmarking occurs when an organisation compares function within its organisation, looking at each area and evaluating how they are meeting the standards and goals that have been set for them.

For example:- if a hospital wants to improve hand washing practices to prevent infection, they may use internal Benchmarking to evaluate current practices in each department and then set goals for 100% hand hygiene compliance throughout the hospital.

Competitive Benchmarking :- competitive Benchmarking occurs when an organisation analyze another organisation process or similar services and compares that organisation goals or outcomes against their own.

For example:- A hospital that wants to improve patient satisfaction may compare how long their patients wait in emergency room before seeing a doctor to the median amount of time patients wait at competing for hospital emergency rooms before seeing a doctor.

Advantage :- Benchmarking gives voices to quality standards in healthcare. Healthcare organizations that have adopted a benchmarking process have found a way to identifies strengths and weaknesses allowing a plan of action for improvement. Healthcare is made up of multiple stakeholders, through benchmarking each one can benefit from quality and safety projects for improvement.

* Yes, I think organisations use this benchmarking effectively. Anyone who taken part of benchmarking knows that it's critical but not simple. Internally, it's important to know that no part of your organisation is falling behind the rest. Externally, it's important to understand how those in the market around you are doing and from a functional and genetic perspective. It's important to looks past the similarities in company to see how you could learn from a particular process.