What Is Healthcare Benchmarking?

Healthcare benchmarking refers to companies in the healthcare industry using the performance of industry leaders as standards for their own performance. By identifying the finest performers in the industry, companies in the healthcare field can determine the areas in which their own operations may be lacking. This can also help them determine their best practices, which are the techniques that will deliver optimum performance and results. There are many different methods of healthcare benchmarking, all dependent on the type of healthcare being provided, and it can be used to cut costs, provide better service, and improve operations as a whole.

The variety of services provided by the healthcare industry is matched only by the amount of competitors in the field. Companies serve their societies by partaking in this industry, but they must also be concerned about their bottom line to stay afloat in the field. One way to do this is for a company to find out how its rivals are conducting their operations, especially if those rivals are at the top of the industry. This is a process known as healthcare benchmarking.

In many cases, healthcare companies use a third-party consulting firm to provide their healthcare benchmarking needs. These consultants identify the best performers in the industry in different areas of operations where the company using the consultants feels it needs improvement. A company may specify the different areas in which it wants to find benchmarks, or it might seek a complete overview so that all aspects of its operations may improve.

It is difficult to pinpoint methods of healthcare benchmarking because they will vary with the type of company and the aspect of operations being studied. For example, a research company looking to cut costs might want to find an industry leader in cost efficiency. A hospital looking to improve its speed of service in the emergency room might find another hospital that has a particularly rapid turnover and see how the two hospitals differ in terms of the way that patients are processed and given care.

Once benchmarks are identified, the company must find out the ways in which it is lacking. If it is at all possible given the resources and circumstances of the company in question, the gap must be narrowed between the company and its competitors. It is then up to the company, with the healthcare benchmarking information at its fingertips, to determine what its best practices should be to approach the industry standards.