Performance measurement in a radiology department at a Danish non-profit hospital

The purpose of this article is to describe a Lean and dynamic model to measure the performance in the health care area. The empiric work has been done at an X-ray department with 85 employees and daily treatment of about 145 patients. The present case is based on a Master Thesis where the goal was to develop a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI), which could portray the X-ray department of Hospital of Southern Jutland in Denmark, performance relation to patients, employees and the government The upper management has created a vision for the year 2010 and a strategic plan for the hospital.

This vision and strategic plan was the underlying basis of the work in the Master Thesis. The strategic plan consists of 4 strategic perspectives 1) Satisfied patients, 2) Creative development, 3) Healthy economy and finally 4) Good colleagues, which each of the hospitals departments should work against.

The X-ray department subdivided perspectives into 14 strategic goals, which where more operational minded. First step in the development of KPI´s was to relate the competence areas with the 14 strategic goals. The developed measures are assumed to reflect the organizations performance towards the 14 strategic goals.

The way the performance is presented is through a web based interactive version, where employees will have access to through the hospitals internal IT system. By displaying all KPI´s in an interactive environment, the individuals have the option of choosing exactly those indicators witch catches the interest.

Each one is not bound to look through all indicators, but should only click his or hers way right to the nerve. The same is the case for the department management could use this interactive tool, as a way of increasing efficiency of meetings, because they could just click onto those indicators of interest.

Instead of printing out 25 indicators and going through each of them, it is possible to take a look at the 15 indicators of highest interest. The model where it stands today is not ready for implementation, because there still are a series of problem connected to implementing the model at the X-ray department at the Hospital of Southern Jutland.

In the summer of 2008, the X-ray department is starting up a pilot project where the objective is to implement the first prototype based on the work in the Master thesis.