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Benchmarking in healthcare, as in any industry, is important for continual improvement. There are four types of benchmarking; competitive; internal; functional; and generic. The first step in the process is to identify the goals (or key performance indicators) most important to the clinic. Next, the healthcare organization must determine where it is in relation to these goals. Once the current situation is accounted for, then a benchmark (internal or external) can be set. Lastly, an action plan is created to move the clinic forward toward the set goal. In this new age focused on value, organizations must continually look for ways to improve. Use of these benchmarking steps can help a clinic aim for improvement in any area of the organization, from financial to human resources, patient care to clinical decision-making.
KEY WORDS: Benchmarking; competitive; internal; generic; functional; gap analysis; action plans.
The online Business Dictionary defines benchmarking as:
A measurement of the quality of an organization's policies, products, programs, strategies, etc., and their comparison with standard measurements, or similar measurements of its peers. The objectives of benchmarking are (1) to determine what and where improvements are called for, (2) to analyze how other organizations achieve their high-performance levels, and (3) to use this information to improve performance.1
Fundamentally, this means that benchmarking is used to evaluate or check by comparing with a standard. One prominent sales management consulting organization, The Alexander Group, simplifies the goals in the Business Dictionary definition as follows: First, to diagnose and solve issues. Second, to define the future of the organization. Third, to continually improve.2 Another company specifically aimed at helping healthcare organizations, Intalere (formally Amerinet), notes in a white paper on benchmarking that benchmarks are necessary, not just to determine how an organization is doing compared with its goals, but also compared with other healthcare organizations.3
In this process, the best way to reach any such goals is to understand the different methods of benchmarking, assure benchmarking of relevant measures, and create action plans.
BENCHMARKING METHODS
When most companies think of comparing their business with others, they think only of comparing it with competitors and peers. This competitive benchmarking-the most widely recognized type of benchmarking-is easily used. Most industry associations have databases that house information on which...