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Kaiser Permanente's performance improvement system, Part 1: From benchmarking to executing on strategic priorities
Lisa Schilling1, Alide Chase, Sommer Kehrli
1National Health Care Performance Improvement and Execution Strategy, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., Oakland, California, USA. lisa.schilling@kp.org
Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
|November 25, 2010
Summary
Kaiser Permanente implemented a performance improvement (PI) system to enhance healthcare quality. This system led to measurable improvements across all medical centers within a year.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Quality Improvement Science
- Organizational Performance
Background:
- Kaiser Permanente initiated a performance improvement (PI) system in 2004 to address variations in quality, safety, service, and efficiency.
- A web-based data dashboard, 'Big Q,' was developed in 2005 to track medical center performance against benchmarks and goals.
- In 2007, leaders benchmarked high-performing organizations to identify key capabilities for achieving best-in-class performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development and implementation of a comprehensive performance improvement (PI) system within Kaiser Permanente.
- To outline the core capabilities and strategies employed in the PI system.
- To assess the impact of the PI system on organizational performance metrics.
Main Methods:
- Development of a multi-faceted PI system addressing leadership, systems approach, measurement, learning, capacity, and culture.
- Creation of a system-wide data dashboard ('Big Q') for performance monitoring.
- Training of over 500 improvement advisors to manage short-term improvement initiatives.
Main Results:
- Performance across all Kaiser Permanente medical centers improved on the 'Big Q' metrics between Q2 2008 and Q1 2009.
- The PI system demonstrated effectiveness in driving system-wide performance gains.
Conclusions:
- The implemented PI system successfully enhanced performance across Kaiser Permanente's medical centers.
- Lessons learned from this implementation are transferable to other healthcare systems seeking to improve quality and efficiency.
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