Types of Performance Management
Healthcare organization need to consider their patients’ needs and implement evidence-based practices to deliver results. Performance management (PM) refers to the process of formulating objectives, improving accountability and responsibility, and implementing the relevance governance structures to maximize service delivery (Spurling et al., 2017). Some of the areas capable of benefiting from coordinated PM include data management, cost management, and increased patient-centered care. A wide range of PM tools exist for medical institutions to choose from. For instance, key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics with defined areas that help leaders measure, analyze, observe, optimize, and eventually improve the existing processes (Ndanyi, 2019). Hospitals can use of financial management tools to process budgets, identify the needed expenses, and consider new ways to make the financial requirements sustainable. Some common approaches could include working capital, investment, and medical equipment decisions.
Health outcomes data are useful tools medical institutions could apply to monitor performance and make timely improvements. Some of the areas to consider include quality of patient lives, length of stay, premature deaths, mental health outcomes, and birth-weights. The adopted mechanisms should be pursued in an effort to improve outcomes and transform patients’ experiences. Benchmarking processes could contribute to improved performance whereby hospitals identify metrics and compare or contrast them with those of the competitors in the region (Spurling et al., 2017). The hospital could also consider existing institutions that could offer evidence-based practices or have attained Magnet Status (Lasater et al., 2019). Real-time data also offer meaningful insights for knowing where gaps exist and how additional gains could be recorded. Hospital wait times offer inferences for identifying key challenges or delays that could be considered to improve care delivery and reduce the period patients need to wait before getting the intended support.
Importance of Managing this Performance
The selected area for change and improved performance is that of hospital operations. The concept of operations management focuses on the best approaches to transform activities and ensure that they resonate with the experiences of the targeted patients and the organization’s objectives. The professionals in a given health facility would need to implement the best change to improve operations (Amos et al., 2020). The proposed transformation would be necessary when specific gaps exist, such as ineffective administrative and financial processes (McDonald et al., 2017). The organization could use each of the tools or models outlined above to deliver results. The adoption of Kurt Lewin’s theory of change could empower the involved participants to improve operations. Specifically, they will liaise with the financial department to acquire additional machinery and resources to support the change (Ravish & Gautam, 2018). Benchmarking and KPIs would help the participants make comparisons between the current situation and the anticipated outcomes. The hospital could consider additional administrative approaches to learn more about the existing patient needs.
Without challenging the status quo, the operations in the facility would remain ineffective and incapable of meeting patients’ demands. The identified change theory would guide participants to consider the need for transformation. The professionals will then have their needs addressed and eventually improve the existing operations (Mata et al., 2019). The process would also have to be in tandem with the deficiencies or gaps observed after applying the tools in the above section (Smith et al., 2018). After the successful implementation of this change, the existing operations will be upgraded, thereby resulting in sustainable financial, administrative, and care delivery practices.
Methodologies for Change in Health
On top of Kurt Lewin’s change model, the selected medical organization can rely on the concept of continuous quality improvement to transform the original operations. The philosophy will allow the involved professionals to focus on the best ways to improve operations continuously (Saleem et al., 2019). The facility will evaluate all the processes and how they could be improved in a timely manner. The team intended to improve performance will rely on the best approaches to redesign the existing systems (McDonald & Lawson, 2017). They will avail the relevant resources by partnering with the relevant departments. The redesign approach will enable the members to improve the nature of available services.
The CQI model offers powerful approaches that can deliver desirable results. The team members will identify new operations design that can meet stakeholders’ demands. They will then monitor the existing metrics and consider how the current efforts could be improved continuously (D’Lima et al., 2017). The professionals will liaise with staff members and guide them to appreciate the outlined metrics. The institution could consider some of the relevant technologies, systems, and evidence-based standards that resonate with the intended operations. From this analysis, it is evident that the CQI model will empower the team to analyze and understand the gaps in the existing operations. This will be followed by an analysis of additional efforts that can deliver the best changes in care provision. Subsequent adjustments in some of the operations could be done by applying an adaptive or real-time feedback strategy (Williams & Best, 2022). With these gains, the possible outcome is that the institutions will have the right mechanisms, improved processes, and strategies that will result in the desired practices that resonate with the demands of the patients.
Case Study: Process of Change Due to Performance Management Measure
The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) stands out as one of the institutions to have changed their operations to improve service delivery. In 2017, the RAH decided to relocate to its present location. Such a process was characterized by numerous management strategies to make the move successful (Sale et al., 2019). At the hospital, continuous development and innovation strategies exist that encourage followers to have a complete understanding of the intended goals. For instance, Sale et al. (2019) indicate that the successful transformation of operations at the Australian medical facility has “made it possible for the radiation oncology department to successfully navigate rapid change” (p. 212). The initiative has led to new ideas aimed at improving the nature of systems put in place.
The hospital went further to acquire additional resources and merged them with the presented insights to identify new ways for pursuing the concept of operations management at the new location. The institution is presently applying the idea of continuous change that focuses on the attributes of quality improvement (QI). The emerging insights have helped organizational leaders to identify the existing gaps emerging after the relocation and improve care delivery processes (McGowan et al., 2019). The professionals have gone further to collaborate with financial experts for timely budgeting and acquisition of the relevant machines or equipment. The geriatric department has also considered the best ways to integrate the existing aged care standards to provide proper support to the elderly. The medical center is also borrowing best practices from the country and beyond (Vainieri et al., 2020). The implementation of the National Safety and Quality Health Services (NSQHS) hospital standards have made RAH a leading provider of timely, personalized, and patient-centered medical standards.
Conclusion
Performance management remains an evidence-based concepts that can help medical facilities achieve their goals. Health professionals need to be aware of performance measures, methodologies, and tactics to implement changes. The above analysis has identified RAH as a leading facility that have benefited from effective continuous quality improvement approach after relocating to the current location. The existence of gaps, poor performance, and challenges could compel leaders to implement new transformations that can help improve most of the operations and systems put in place. The use of the ideas outlined above can help deliver change and make the facility more efficient and effective, thereby providing accountable and patient-centered services.
References
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D’Lima, D., Arnold, G., Brett, S. J., Bottle, A., Smith, A., & Benn, J. (2017). Continuous monitoring and feedback of quality of recovery indicators for anaesthetists: A qualitative investigation of reported effects on professional behaviour. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 119(1), 115-124.
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Sale, C., Page, D., & Penniment, M. (2019). Change management for radiation therapists – Transitioning to the new Royal Adelaide Hospital. Journal of Medical Radiation Sciences, 66(3), 212-217.
Saleem, S., Sehar, S., Afzal, M., Jamil, A., & Gilani, S. A. (2019). Accreditation: Application of Kurt Lewin’s theory on private health care organizationanl change. Saudi Journal of Nursing and Health Care, 2(12), 412-415.
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Vainieri, M., Noto, G., Ferre, F., & Rosella, L. (2020). A performance management system in healthcare for all seasons? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(15), 5590-5599.
Williams, S. J., & Best, S. (2022). What does a systems approach to quality improvement look like in practice? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(2), 747-761.