Benchmarking Health Care
Abstract
The health care delivery system is becoming more price sensitive with each
passing day. Much of this results from an oversupply of hospital beds and physicians
as well as an increased penetration of managed care into marketplaces nationwide.
With these changes come new pressures which force organizations to reduce
expenses or be left behind. In this kind of world, a tool which provides insight to
better one's performance would be indispensable: Benchmarking is just that type of
tool.
The following paper will attempt to interpret the health care delivery system.
Once a basic understanding of health care is established, the general technique of
benchmarking will be described. Finally, a study of the University Health System
Consortium ties benchmarking to the health care marketplace through their highly
successful benchmarking studies involving academic medical centers.
By understanding the health care marketplace as it stands today, it is apparent
that benchmarking could play a major role in the redesign of this market as managed
care places new demands on the existing infrastructure.