Importance of KPI’s in Healthcare
Analytics
What are health care KPIs?
Health care KPIs are
well-defined performance measures or metrics with which you can observe,
analyse, optimize and transform health care facility services. They measure the
progress of the facility and show how successful it is. You can use these KPIs
to compare the performance of the facility with that of others to find areas of
improvement. Typically, administrators track KPIs over time to understand the
facility's past development and predict future trends. These KPIs can come from
any aspect of the business, including finances, patient care, workplace
satisfaction and equipment use.
Why are health care KPIs important?
Health care KPIs are
important for managing the entire data spectrum of a facility, including
patient care, hospital performance and costs. They can identify ways to improve
patient care services, ensure optimal and sustained hospital performance and
manage costs effectively. Most facilities maintain digital records. You can
extract and transform patient data into KPIs, which you can then consolidate
and structure to generate comprehensive reports. You can monitor these reports
on a dashboard. Tracking health care KPIs can help you set attainable targets
for an organization's growth or improvement and monitor your progress toward
your goals. It can help you understand the change in factors over time as the
health care industry and market change. Many administrators and practice
directors use KPI tracking to make hiring and facility decisions, adjust
budgets and implement plans to improve patient success.
16 health care KPIs
The size and type of the
medical facility might determine your specific KPIs, but there are many key
performance indicators that are useful throughout the health care industry.
Here are 16 health care KPIs to assess a facility's financial and operational
status and implement growth plans:
1. Net profit margin
The net profit margin is
the percent of the facility's revenue that translates into a profit. It helps
determine the amount of revenue generated after subtracting expenses toward
lease payments, labour costs, medical supplies and payrolls from the total
revenue. Tracking the facility's net profit margin and comparing it to
historical trends can identify the profitability and growth of the business.
You can use this information to set profit goals and recover revenue from
operational expenses, if necessary.
2. Operating expense
Operating expense is the
money required to run the facility, including payroll, facility rentals and
inventory costs. Tracking operating expenses over time can show the impact of
economic forces and inflation on business costs. It can help implement
cost-saving plans and monitor revenues and expenses, which can improve the net
profit margin. This helps deliver more affordable care while reducing total
expenditures.
3. Usage of key medical equipment
Measuring how much time
staff members spend using specialized medical equipment like X-ray machines and
computed tomography scanners can help determine if the current equipment stock
is sufficient for the patient load. You might monitor the number of times staff
members use the equipment every week or implement a time sheet to track wait
times to prevent delays. You can use this data to make equipment-purchasing
decisions to optimize your budget and reduce excessive costs toward equipment
maintenance while ensuring the facility has the appropriate stock of medical
equipment. This data is also useful for creating better asset management
processes.
4. Average length of patient stay
You can track the average
length of a patient's stay by monitoring this metric for the entire facility or
for a specific department or ward. You can also track the average length of
patient stay by the type of treatment they receive. For example, patients
recovering from surgery might have a longer stay than those receiving treatment
for a sprain. Comparing the facility's average patient stay to industry
standards can help determine the facility’s efficiency. Determining the average
length of a patient's stay can help you create plans for staffing or
facilities, as you may need more staff and a larger office to accommodate
longer patient stays and to plan for emergencies.
5. Average wait time
The average wait time
shows how long most patients stay in the waiting area or examination rooms
before the staff sees them. This KPI is an important indicator of patient
satisfaction. You can measure overall wait time or monitor the average wait
time during different times of the day and days of the week. It’s useful to
measure the average patient wait time in emergency rooms to determine the
efficiency of service delivery. Keeping wait times low might ensure that
patients wait to see a medical professional, which can improve their overall
satisfaction. It can also help you identify the facility’s busy hours. Knowing
when the staff experiences higher patient volume can help leadership make
hiring or scheduling decisions to reduce wait time, more efficiently manage
patient volume and ensure the budget remains optimal.
6. Occupancy rate
Occupancy rate refers to
the average percent of beds or rooms used at any given time. This KPI can also
determine how quickly the business is growing and how well the facility can
accommodate its patient load. This metric can help set goals to increase the
occupancy rate, which can increase profits. It can also enable decisions about
opening a satellite office or seeking a new facility with more space.
7. Patient bed or room turnover rate
You might measure how
long the staff takes to clean, disinfect and prepare a bed or room for a new
patient. You can also determine how long they take to change materials or
evaluate medical equipment. This KPI can help improve the operational
efficiency of the facility. Bed or room turnover rate can affect patient wait
times, particularly in high-volume periods, as it determines how fast patients
move in and out of the facility. Tracking this KPI can help a facility
implement policies to offer efficient services, with shortened time between
patients in each bed or room. In combination with average patient stay and wait
times, it determines how well the facility and staff manage the current patient
load and adjust for any planned growth. You can determine if the facility
doesn’t prematurely discharge patients. To improve this KPI, consider using
efficient cleaning services with high-quality standards and introduce a
tracking system to identify available beds.
8. Ratio of staff to patients
The ratio of staff to
patients shows how many patients there are per medical professional. You can
measure the overall staff-to-patient ratio or track the doctor-to-patient ratio
and the nurse-to-patient ratio separately. These numbers reflect how much
individual care the average patient receives and how much is from doctors or
nurses. It can help you make hiring and scheduling decisions to improve staff
performance and patient care.
9. Patient cost per visit
Tracking patient cost per
visit, either before or after insurance payouts, can help determine how the
cost of the facility's care compares to industry trends. It can also identify
how many patients the facility needs to treat to maintain current operating
expenses, reduce spending or meet growth targets. This KPI can help you set and
achieve cost-saving goals, which might help attract new patients.
10. Patient satisfaction
Patient satisfaction
should be a top priority for the facility to improve its reach. To track this
KPI, you can email or call current and past patients and conduct a survey.
Asking patients to rate their care on a numerical scale lets you input the data
into a KPI tracking software, which allows you to monitor average satisfaction
for many patients over time. Changes in average patient satisfaction numbers
can show a need for more staff training or procedures to improve patients’
experiences.
11. Appointment cancellation rate
Appointment cancellation
rate measures how often patients cancel their appointments, either within or
outside the allowed cancellation period. This is useful to track because
administration and scheduling systems might work more efficiently when more
patients attend their scheduled appointments. This KPI can help the facility
implement and monitor new procedures, like calling or texting appointment
reminders or adding a rescheduling button to the online patient portal, which
can help save time and resources.
Conclusion
healthcare Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) play a crucial role in healthcare analytics by
providing well-defined metrics to measure the performance and success of
healthcare facilities. These KPIs cover various aspects of the business,
including financial performance, patient care, operational efficiency, and
staff satisfaction. By tracking and analyzing these KPIs over time, administrators
and healthcare professionals can gain valuable insights into the facility's
progress, identify areas for improvement, and make data-driven decisions to
optimize patient care services. Some of the essential healthcare KPIs include
net profit margin, operating expenses, usage of key medical equipment, average
length of patient stay, average wait time, occupancy rate, patient bed or room
turnover rate, staff-to-patient ratio, patient cost per visit, patient
satisfaction, appointment cancellation rate, patient readmission rate, safety
compliance rate, average staff tenure, average annual training time, and
referral rate from patients and other medical professionals.
By diligently tracking
and analysing these KPIs, healthcare facilities can make informed decisions to
improve financial performance, enhance patient experience, optimize resource
allocation, reduce wait times, increase staff satisfaction, and foster growth.
Healthcare KPIs serve as valuable tools for healthcare administrators and
professionals to assess the effectiveness of their operations, drive continuous
improvement, and ultimately deliver high-quality care to patients.
ISME Student Doing internship with Hunnarvi
Technologies Pvt Ltd under guidance of Nanobi data and analytics. Views are
personal.
#HealthcareAnalytics
#KPIsInHealthcare #DataDrivenHealthcare #HealthcareMetrics
#HealthcarePerformance #ImprovingPatientCare #HealthcareManagement
#HealthcareEfficiency #HealthcareQuality #InternationalSchoolofManagementExcellence
#NanobiDataandAnalytics #hunnarvi
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