What big questions remain unanswered?

An article that really stood out to me this week was "Balanced Scorecards Revealed". At my workplace, we utilize scorecards for every department, so this topic was of great interest to me. Although balanced scorecards are a simple concept, many organizations struggle to implement them effectively. According to Regan 92011), the main goal of a balanced scorecard is to increase an organization's focus on execution and results by measuring the things that truly matter. However, some scorecards become so overwhelmed with data that they lose their meaning.

The internal business processes category of a balanced scorecard is all about key performance indicators (KPIs). A KPI is a metric associated with a critical business process. To be included in a balanced scorecard, a KPI must help answer the question, "What must we excel at?" At my workplace, customer service satisfaction is one of the most important metrics. For hospitals and healthcare providers, the customer category is often the most critical in a balanced scorecard, especially in relation to physicians. The hospital's ability to attract quality medical staff and create referrals from primary care providers is often the economic engine (Ginthotavidana & Waidyasekara, 2022).

One of our challenges with scorecards is finding the correct way and platform to measure the captured information. Healthcare IT leaders tend to debate which tool is best for measuring and sustaining outcomes improvement goals healthcare dashboards or scorecards. However, using both tools is the most effective approach. The scorecard should clearly show if the organization is improving from month to month. The size and simplicity of the scorecard must allow any hospital leader, physician, or staff member to instantly know if they are "winning" at their improvement efforts. I personally prefer scorecards because I can add comments, edit, and prepare an improvement plan on the same tab. For organizational and monthly meetings I prefer the dashboard so that I can have a more visual presentation to present to the board.

References:

Ginthotavidana, S. S. C., & Waidyasekara, K. G. A. S. (2022).A performance measurement model for the housekeeping services in healthcare facilities.Facilities,40(1/2), 56-75.https://doi.org/10.1108/F-03-2020-0020

Regan, S.(2011).Balanced Scorecard Revealed.Becker's Hospital Review, 1(1).https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/strategic-planning/balanced-scorecards-revealed.html