How do you measure health system performance?

2 Why is health system performance important?

Health system performance is important because it reflects the value and impact of health services on the population and the society. By measuring health system performance, healthcare managers can identify the strengths and weaknesses of their health system, compare their performance with other health systems, and prioritize areas for improvement. Measuring health system performance can also help healthcare managers to align their strategies and actions with the needs and expectations of their stakeholders, and to demonstrate their accountability and transparency.

3 How do you measure health system performance?

Measuring health system performance is a complex task, as it depends on the context, purpose, and scope of the assessment. Generally, it involves defining goals and objectives of the health system, collecting and analyzing data on the related indicators, comparing results with benchmarks or targets, and reporting and communicating findings and recommendations. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) defines four core goals for health systems, such as health (level and distribution), responsiveness (to people's expectations), financial protection (against the cost of illness), and fairness of financing (across income groups). Data can be collected from surveys, administrative records, registries, or audits, while benchmarks can be derived from best practices, historical trends, or international comparisons. Furthermore, findings and recommendations can be presented in reports, dashboards, scorecards, or feedback loops to inform decision-making and action.

4 What are some challenges and limitations of measuring health system performance?

Measuring health system performance is not without its challenges and limitations, as it involves many technical, methodological, and practical issues. Data on health system performance may be incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, or incomparable due to gaps in data collection, reporting, or standardization. Additionally, the selection of indicators may be too many, too few, or too vague and may not capture the complexity, diversity, or dynamics of health systems. It can also be difficult to attribute changes in health system performance to specific interventions and policies and to establish causal relationships between inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes of health systems. Furthermore, there may be trade-offs or synergies between different aspects or dimensions of health system performance such as quality, cost, or equity as well as between short-term and long-term effects of health system performance.

5 How can you improve your health system performance measurement skills?

As a healthcare manager, you can improve your health system performance measurement skills by staying up to date with the latest theories, frameworks, and tools and applying them to your own context and purpose. Additionally, you can learn from the experiences and best practices of other health systems and adapt them to your own situation and needs. Engaging with stakeholders, such as providers, payers, users, or regulators, is also important for designing, implementing, and using health system performance measurement. Lastly, you should evaluate and reflect on your own performance measurement practices and seek feedback and improvement opportunities.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?