The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a strategic management tool that helps organizations track and measure the effectiveness of their operations. It is designed to provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s performance by considering four different perspectives: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth. In the healthcare industry, the BSC can be particularly useful in helping organizations improve patient care and satisfaction, as well as reducing costs and increasing efficiency.
One key aspect of the BSC in healthcare is the use of dashboards to present data in a visual format. Dashboards allow managers and decision-makers to quickly and easily see how their organization is performing in various areas, such as patient satisfaction, clinical quality, financial performance, and employee engagement. This allows them to identify areas for improvement and take action to address any issues that arise.
One way that the BSC and dashboards have been used in healthcare is to measure patient satisfaction. Research has shown that patient satisfaction is an important predictor of healthcare quality and outcomes (Hays et al., 2001). By tracking patient satisfaction scores and presenting them on a dashboard, healthcare organizations can see how they compare to other organizations and identify areas for improvement.
Another area where the BSC and dashboards have been used in healthcare is in the measurement of clinical quality. This can include tracking metrics such as infection rates, readmission rates, and patient safety incidents. By using these metrics and presenting them on a dashboard, healthcare organizations can identify areas where they may be underperforming and take steps to improve.
Financial performance is another important aspect of the BSC in healthcare. This can include tracking metrics such as revenue, costs, and profitability. By presenting this data on a dashboard, healthcare organizations can see how they compare to other organizations and identify areas for cost savings or revenue growth.
The BSC and dashboards can be used to measure learning and growth within an organization. This can include tracking metrics such as employee engagement, training participation, and retention rates. By using these metrics and presenting them on a dashboard, healthcare organizations can see how they are doing in terms of employee development and identify areas for improvement.
The potential objectives and measures for a scorecard in the healthcare industry are numerous and varied, as the field is vast and complex. However, some common themes emerge when considering what goals and metrics might be most important to track.
One potential objective could be improving patient outcomes. This could be measured through various metrics such as patient satisfaction scores, readmission rates, and mortality rates. Scientific studies have shown that higher patient satisfaction is associated with improved outcomes (e.g., Hays et al., 1998), and reducing readmission rates can lead to cost savings for the healthcare system (e.g., Jencks et al., 2009).
Another objective could be increasing efficiency and reducing costs. This could be measured through metrics such as length of stay, medication errors, and use of unnecessary tests or procedures. Research has shown that reducing length of stay can lead to cost savings (e.g., Gross et al., 2015), and minimizing medication errors can improve patient safety (e.g., Wong et al., 2010).
A third potential objective could be promoting patient safety and reducing medical errors. This could be measured through metrics such as incident reporting rates, staff hand hygiene compliance, and adverse event rates. Studies have demonstrated that increasing incident reporting rates can lead to improved patient safety (e.g., Vincent et al., 2001), and higher hand hygiene compliance can reduce the spread of infections (e.g., Boyce et al., 2007).
Finally, another objective could be promoting a positive work environment for healthcare staff. This could be measured through metrics such as employee satisfaction, turnover rates, and absenteeism. Research has shown that a positive work environment can lead to improved employee satisfaction and retention (e.g., Lindell & Whitney, 2001), and lower absenteeism can improve the efficiency of the healthcare system (e.g., Ostergren et al., 2006).
