Performance indicators: healthcare professionals' views.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Performance Measurement
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Assessing healthcare performance is crucial for effective hospital management.
• Developing a standardized set of key performance indicators (PIs) is essential for holistic hospital oversight.
• Understanding professional views on indicator usefulness informs the design of practical PIs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing professional perceptions of indicator usefulness in healthcare performance assessment.
• To determine key characteristics for designing limited PIs for holistic hospital management.
• To explore differences and similarities in manager and staff views on performance measures.

Main Methods:

• Two surveys utilized self-administered questionnaires to gather data from hospital managers and staff.
• Respondents rated the usefulness of 52 predefined PIs.
• Data from 228 managers and 894 staff members were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Eight core factors were identified, explaining 72% of the variance in performance measures.
• Both managers and staff recognized high utility in safety, operational efficiency, and patient/employee satisfaction.
• Managers exhibited more homogeneous and generally higher perceptions of indicator usefulness compared to staff.

Conclusions:

• A unified set of PIs for hospital management can be established due to consistent manager perceptions.
• Key areas for healthcare management include patient/employee safety, operational efficiency, financial effectiveness, and patient/employee satisfaction.
• The identified eight-dimensional factor structure and provider perceptions offer valuable insights for Japanese hospital management.