Benchmarking older persons mental health organizations

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Mental Health Services Research
• Healthcare Quality Improvement

Background:

• The National Mental Health Benchmarking Project (NMHBP) aimed to assess performance in older persons mental health services.
• Benchmarking forums were established as a key component of the NMHBP to facilitate peer learning and performance evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To reflect on the outcomes and utility of benchmarking forums for older persons mental health organizations.
• To understand how participation in benchmarking forums influences organizational performance assessment and quality improvement initiatives.

Main Methods:

• Seven older persons mental health organizations participated in the NMHBP.
• Representatives engaged in eight benchmarking forums, documenting performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Contextual data, including organizational, catchment area, and consumer profiles, were collected to explain performance variations.

Main Results:

• Average performance on some KPIs remained stable, while others fluctuated over time.
• Substantial inter-organization variability was observed across most performance indicators.
• The forums provided insights into the reasons behind differential organizational performance.

Conclusions:

• Benchmarking forums enabled organizations to assess their performance against KPIs.
• Participants gained understanding of performance drivers, both internal and external.
• The forums highlighted opportunities for targeted quality improvement within older persons mental health services.