Performance management of the public healthcare services in Ireland: a review
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
ISSN: 0952-6862
Article publication date: 14 March 2016
Abstract
Purpose
Performance Management (PM) processes have become a potent part of strategic and service quality decisions in healthcare organisations. In 2005, the management of public healthcare in Ireland was amalgamated into a single integrated management body, named the Health Service Executive (HSE). Since then, the HSE has come up with a range of strategies for healthcare developments and reforms, and has developed a PM system as part of its strategic planning. The purpose of this paper is to review the application of PM in the Irish Healthcare system, with a particular focus on Irish Hospitals and Emergency Services.
Design/methodology/approach
An extensive review of relevant HSE’s publications from 2005 to 2013 is conducted. Studies of the relevant literature related to the application of PM and of international best practices in healthcare performance systems are also presented.
Findings
PM and performance measurement systems used by the HSE include many performance reports designed to monitor performance trends and strategic goals. Issues in the current PM system include inconsistency of measures and performance reporting, unclear strategy alignment, and deficiencies in reporting (e.g. feedback and corrective actions). Furthermore, PM processes have not been linked adequately into Irish public hospitals’ management systems.
Research limitations/implications
The HSE delivers several services such as mental health, social inclusion, etc. This study focuses on the HSE’s PM framework, with a particular interest in acute hospitals and emergency services.
Originality/value
This is the first comprehensive review of Irish healthcare PM since the introduction of the HSE. A critical analysis of the HSE reports identifies the shortcomings in its current PM system.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank their former colleague in the group Khaled Ismail for his contribution and help at the early stages of this study.
Citation
Mesabbah, M. and Arisha, A. (2016), "Performance management of the public healthcare services in Ireland: a review", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 209-235. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-07-2014-0079
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited