The challenge of interpreting performance in health care: A study of intensive care units in Norwegian hospitals

Abstract

This paper presents a study which goes beyond the process of constructing performance measures in hospital Intensive Care Units (ICUs). The making of input-output measures in ICUs should be based on richer information than statistics normally found in the hospitals' patient administrative systems. A study of national sample of ICUs was conducted in Norwegian hospitals to analyse the relations between abstract and more concrete measures of unit performance. We found that there are not necessarily conflicts between abstract perceptional measures and more concrete efficiency measures in high-reliability organisations like ICUs. Reliable performance requires a well-developed collective mind to form an attentive, complex system tied together by trust. To improve health care management more attention should be directed towards the practical implications of the interrelationships between different elements of performance measures.

Citation

Johanne Pettersen, I. (2001), "The challenge of interpreting performance in health care: A study of intensive care units in Norwegian hospitals", Advances in Health Care Management (Advances in Health Care Management, Vol. 2), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 341-367. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-8231(01)02033-X