Culture and market share among metrics periop leaders are tracking

Editor's Note

Six health system strategic leaders recently shared the key performance indicators they are paying closest attention to when assessing system performance, according to a December 12 news story in Becker’s Hospital Review.

For example, culture of safety is the signal that a chief administrative officer in Seattle, Washington watches most closely. Specifically, the level of psychological safety of staff when they engage with senior leadership. The leader’s rationale is that no other metric will “tell the full story” if staff don’t feel safe speaking honestly and raising concerns.
For a chief operating officer of a hospital in New Mexico, “simple” metrics like trending gross revenue and patient volume can indicate problems to watch for. If gross revenue and patient volume are not consistent, this could be a problem with revenue cycle and department processes to investigate.

Another metric noted in the article is market share, tracked by a strategy officer at a health system in Georgia, because it can identify several key trends, including access to care, patient preference, and competition. In outpatient care, market share is especially valuable to watch for trends in market behavior.

Care transition efficiency is the top metric that a chief operating officer in a rural health center is evaluating to track system-level performance. Tracking how efficient patient care transitions are can also indicate important performance measures such as communication quality, efficiency in care coordination and effective workflows across care areas. Looking at care transition efficiency is also an important way to track and improve patient safety, which has important implications for strengthening overall operational and financial performance, the leader shared.