Importance of Productivity
Healthcare plays a considerable role in maintaining and improving the well-being of individuals all over the globe. Therefore, it may be critical to introduce comprehensive frameworks designed to improve the efficiency of the healthcare system. However, it may be highly challenging to identify dimensions that require improvement. Furthermore, sufficient analysis is required to develop concrete measures. Hence, it may be rational to introduce different methods in order to adequately measure the effectiveness of healthcare. Productivity represents one of the most important and broadly utilized measures of performance. It traditionally relies on several indicators, including the number of patients and the speed of recovery (Jacqueline & Brown, 2021). Nonetheless, such an approach does not provide sufficient attention to the quality of care. It may also be beneficial to assess productivity in other dimensions, such as financial productivity.
As medicine develops and new frameworks emerge, productivity assessment methods transform. It may be essential to address a wide variety of indicators in order to measure productivity adequately. For instance, spending more time on each patient may reduce cost-efficiency yet improve customer satisfaction. Both of these two criteria play a critical role in assessing productivity. Furthermore, it may be essential to utilize both soft and hard metrics. Productivity plays a considerable role in healthcare as it may reduce the probability of hospital readmissions, mitigate clinician burnout, and improve patient outcomes. Consequentially, the internal productivity of healthcare is closely linked with financial productivity. Higher productivity rates may allow reducing medical expenditures without harming the quality of patient care. Furthermore, it may allow flexible management and redistribution of resources to support the most vulnerable elements of the healthcare system. Finally, as human life is of the highest value, it may be essential to introduce effective and accessible medical services. Productivity evaluations are the key to understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the healthcare system, which can be used as a basis for patient outcome improvements.
Measures of Performance
Even though the concept of productivity expands the number of indicators and critical elements, it may not always serve as a sufficient measurement. Productivity is traditionally based on the amount of work completed within a limited period of time. It also relies on the quality of work and the value that work provides for the organization and the customers. Hence, to some extent, it may be interpreted as a value for the working hours’ ratio. Productivity is closely linked with other measurements of performance as it may be possible to improve productivity by monitoring and adjusting performance.
However, there are several considerable differences that explain the need to utilize both productivity assessments and performance measurements. First, productivity is usually quantitative, whereas performance relies on qualitative indicators. Performance is frequently related to worker behaviors and attitudes that may not influence productivity directly yet play an essential role in healthcare provision. Some sources state that performance measure is a technique that allows evaluating the degree to which the provider delivers adequate medical services with respect to safety and quality (Hemphill et al., 2018). Performance measurements may rely on such indicators as treatment costs, patient satisfaction, patient safety, patient follow-up rate, hospital readmission rates, and costs by the payer. Although some of these indicators may be used to assess productivity, performance provides a more comprehensive analysis as it focuses more on soft metrics.
References
Hemphill, J. C., Adeoye, O. M., Alexander, D. N., Alexandrov, A. W., Amin-Hanjani, S., Cushman, M., George, M. G., LeRoux, P. D., Mayer, S. A., Qureshi, A. I., Saver, J. L., Schwamm, L. H., Sheth, K. N., & Tirschwell, D. (2018). Clinical performance measures for adults hospitalized with intracerebral hemorrhage: Performance measures for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. Stroke, 49(7).
Jacqueline, C., & Brown, J. (2021). Improving productivity in health care. CRC PRESS.