Date of Award

Spring 4-15-2024

Embargo Period

4-23-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Health Administration

Department

Health Administration

College

College of Health Professions

First Advisor

Jami Jones

Second Advisor

Dunc Williams

Third Advisor

Zahi Jurdi

Abstract

Healthcare systems in the United States are unique structures where compassion for the care of others meets the science of medicine. It is a business, but it is a business with passionate professionals who care about the health of its customers, or patients. While most businesses have one structured financial system, health care contains finance for both the business and the patient.

KPIs or Key Performance Indicators, reported by finance are usually created for revenue driven initiatives with little contact and communication with the clinical teams. KPIs are a prominent driver utilized by health systems and reimbursement agencies to measure efficiency and cost (hfma.org, 2023). They indicate the state of important measurements within the hospital (hfma.org, 2023). They measure the health of the facility through a series of patient-related and financial related targets (hfma.org, 2023). KPIs are considered best practice and are recognized at a national level (hfma.org, 2023). It is unclear which KPIs are perceived as most important to an organization, and if there is a difference between clinical leaders and financial leaders. The goal of this study is to review what is perceived as the most important KPIs and why by both clinical and financial leadership in a health organization.

A small nominal group survey study was performed, and the survey was sent to clinical physician and nurse leaders and non-clinical financial leaders who reviewed and selected KPIs that are the most important. Participants were asked their rankings and reasoning for those rankings. Participants were asked to choose their top 5 most important, then to rank the top 5 in level of importance with 5 being the most important.

The results indicate that the most important KPIs to both revenue cycle and operational leaders are similar and hold high values within the organization as they are directly related to revenue. Although treating patients is the most important aspect for all healthcare leaders, understanding the bottom line is a large contributor to an organization’s success. The participant group understands the metrics needed to maintain quality of care, employment, and critical ancillary needs for the hospital. The study results indicate the understanding of KPIs is equal among revenue cycle and operational leaders.

Rights

Copyright is held by the author. All rights reserved.

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