The numbers that tell you whether the practice is working

What a medical KPI system is for

A medical KPI is a management system that helps clinics and doctors assess performance relative to the operation. Most organisations implement some form of management system for inventory, sales or accounting. In healthcare, consistency has to be observed to achieve optimum care quality.

The system used in clinics is usually incorporated into the management system as a software application. There are generally four areas in medical service where KPIs are drawn: clinical, patient satisfaction, accident and emergency services, and financial.

The four areas

In the clinical area, indicators include reduction of harm caused by clinical negligence, reduction or elimination of harm following surgery, and reduction in readmissions caused by gaps in care quality. These measures look small against the overall goal of the organisation, but the only way to reach that goal is to evaluate the quality of care being delivered.

In patient satisfaction, the emphasis shifts from quality to relationship. If becoming the clinic of choice in your area is the goal, credibility has to be built deliberately. Indicators include response and attention to enquiries, prompt resolution of complaints, immediate access to services and improvement in survey ratings.

In accident and emergency services, the test is readiness: how staff attend to a trauma-oriented situation, and whether materials and equipment are available when they are needed.

Financial indicators are not the last area so much as the first of many factors that affect performance. Return on investment is managed by the administrative side rather than the front line, but everyone in the organisation needs to be practical about resources. Purchase orders for medicines and supplies should be approved by the person in charge to avoid excessive inventory.

Cleanliness, accreditation and the paperwork nobody owns

Cleanliness and accreditation are legitimate performance indicators. If the goal is to be the clinic of choice in your market, you have to comply with health agency hygiene standards, and accreditation typically requires annual renewal of membership in a practitioner network — which means someone has to own the paperwork and the dates.

A KPI system only works when each indicator has an owner, a definition and a reporting date. That is the part we build first.

Quality cannot be measured by volume

As standards in medical practice rise, so should the performance of medical organisations. Quality care cannot be measured by the sheer volume of patients a clinic handles in a day. Performance can be measured, and a medical KPI system is an indispensable management tool for doing it.