30 Best Healthcare KPIs and Metric Examples

The world of healthcare is dynamic. With this, the system goes through changes from time to time. Now, with the latest updates in healthcare policies, healthcare providers and organizations need to adhere to them. This has made them look into healthcare KPIs and metrics as well to ensure if they are aligned with the new policies. 

There are many questions that come from this, like “what are healthcare KPIs?” “Why is it important to track KPIs and metrics?” and much more. If you are getting confused with them, worry not! This blog will answer all your questions and give you the best healthcare KPIs and metric examples. But before we go on to these examples, let’s understand what KPIs and metrics are and why they are important.

What are Healthcare KPIs and Metrics?

KPIs or key performance indicators in healthcare and metrics can be termed as measurements that are used by healthcare organizations to measure their performance in numbers, monitor their progress, and make decisions based on the same. These metrics cover various aspects of the healthcare organization’s operations, financial health, patient care, and much more. It is an important part of an organization’s healthcare revenue cycle management. 

By tracking and analyzing these key performance indicators in healthcare and metrics, healthcare providers can identify areas of improvement, implement best practices, and ensure that they are delivering high-quality care and services.

Why is it Important to Track KPIs and Metrics?

There are many reasons why it is important to track key performance indicators in healthcare. The major ones are as follows:

• Performance Assessment 

Key performance indicators in healthcare are the conventional way to assess the performance of various departments of healthcare organizations. This helps them to identify their strengths and weaknesses and help them improve in the required areas.

• Goal Alignment 

While KPIs help assess strengths and weaknesses in various areas of healthcare organizations, metrics help to get a framework that aligns with the goal of the healthcare organization to get the desired results. They also ensure that the organization’s efforts are directed towards the goal.

• Data-Driven Decisions 

Tracking key performance indicators in healthcare helps to make decisions based on the calculated data. This helps healthcare organizations to make decisions based on evident information about their current performance instead of assuming them.

• Operational Efficiency 

Key performance indicators in healthcare and metrics help understand the inefficiencies in the healthcare organization’s workflow and help them streamline their operations and improve allocation of resources. They also help enhance healthcare revenue cycle management.

• Patient Care Enhancement 

Key performance indicators in healthcare and metrics not only help healthcare organizations streamline their work to achieve the desired goal but also monitor patient-centric KPIs that help improve patient care and safety.

• Quality Improvement 

Metrics related to clinical outcomes, patient safety, and infection rates drive continuous quality improvement efforts, promoting excellence in care delivery.

• Resource Optimization 

By analyzing financial and operational KPIs, organizations can optimize resource allocation, reduce waste, and control costs effectively.

• Staff Performance 

Employee-related KPIs assist in evaluating staff performance, training needs, and satisfaction, contributing to a motivated and skilled workforce.

• Patient Satisfaction 

Tracking patient experience metrics helps healthcare providers tailor services to meet patient expectations, leading to higher patient satisfaction and loyalty.

• Benchmarking and Comparison 

KPIs allow organizations to benchmark their performance against industry standards and competitors, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence.

30 Best Healthcare KPIs and Metric Examples

There are various areas of healthcare organizations that are assessed with the help of key performance indicators in healthcare and metrics. Here are the best healthcare KPIs and metric examples:

Finance 

1. Operating Margin 

This is an important metric in finance that helps healthcare organizations to assess the profitability of their core operations. Herein, the operating income is divided by the total revenue and a percentage is calculated. If the operating margin percentage is positive, it means that the healthcare organization is generating profits from its core operations. On the other hand, a negative operating margin means that the healthcare organization is facing financial issues.

Operating Margin = (Total revenue – Total expenses) / Total revenue

2. Days in Accounts Receivable (AR) 

This metric helps calculate the average number of days it takes for the healthcare organization to collect payment after providing healthcare services. If the accounts receivable value is lower, it means that there is efficient revenue collection. On the other hand, if the accounts receivable value is higher, it means that there are issues in the collection process or billing, which could affect the organization’s healthcare revenue cycle management. 

3. Cost per Patient Day 

This metric helps calculate the average cost incurred by the healthcare organization to provide care to a patient for one day. With this, it helps understand if there is efficient resource utilization and proper operations expenses are being done. Tracking these key performance indicators in healthcare and metrics help the healthcare organization to identify ways to save on costs and improve patient care.

4. Revenue Cycle Length 

This metric helps calculate the time taken from the beginning of a healthcare service to the collection of the payment for the same. Tracking this metric helps identify issues in the process of healthcare revenue cycle management and helps the organization’s finance department streamline the process.

5. Bad Debt Percentage 

This metric helps calculate the effectiveness of the healthcare organization’s collection procedure and billing as a part of the healthcare revenue cycle management. It basically calculates the percentage of billed charges that are unlikely to be paid by the patient due to their inability to do so. A high bad debt means that improvisation is required in patient payment processes or financial assistance programs.

Operations

6. Bed Occupancy Rate 

This metric keeps the healthcare organization’s bed utilization in check. It calculates the percentage of occupied beds against the total available beds in the facility. It calculates the efficiency of bed utilization and helps ensure that resources are optimally allocated to patients in need of care.

7. Patient Turnaround Time 

Patient turnaround time calculates the time taken from patient admission to discharge or transfer. It indicates the efficiency of patient flow through the healthcare facility, helping identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement in the care process.

8. Emergency Department (ED) Wait Time 

ED wait time measures the average time patients spend waiting in the emergency department before receiving care. Tracking this metric helps enhance patient experience and assess the efficiency of emergency care delivery.

9. Operating Room Utilization 

This metric calculates the percentage of time operating rooms are in use. It reflects how efficiently surgical resources are managed and scheduled, ensuring that operating rooms are effectively utilized for patient procedures.

10. Appointment Wait Time 

Appointment wait time measures the average time patients wait for non-urgent appointments. It indicates the accessibility of care and helps manage patient expectations while optimizing scheduling processes.

Emergency

11. Average Length of Stay in ED 

This metric helps calculate the efficiency of the health organization’s care delivery and the patient flow in their emergency department. It calculates the average time spent by a patient in the emergency department from their arrival to their admissions or discharge.

12. Door-to-Doctor Time 

This metric helps calculate the speed at which a patient is provided medical attention in the healthcare organization. It calculates the time taken to provide care to a patient after arriving in the emergency department. This helps improve the patient care efficiency of the healthcare organization.

13. Left Without Being Seen (LWBS) Rate 

This metric is important when it comes to understanding patient satisfaction. The left without being seen or LWBS rate calculates the percentage of patients who left the healthcare facility’s emergency department before getting medical care. It helps identify operational issues and improve patient satisfaction.

14. Patient Wait Time 

This metric helps calculate the time a patient spends waiting for medical treatment in the emergency department. It helps manage patient satisfaction and improve the process of care delivery.

15. Readmission Rate from ED 

This metric helps measure the rate of readmission of the discharged patients within a specific timeframe. It helps assess the quality of care provided initially.

Care

16. Patient Satisfaction Score (Care Quality) 

These metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare help calculate the patient satisfaction level with the healthcare organization’s care and healthcare services provided. The patient satisfaction surveys help understand the patient’s perspective on the services provided and help improve the required areas. 

17. Medication Adherence Rate 

While the healthcare organization prescribes medication to the patient, it is important to know if the patient is following the same. This is one of the most important metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare, as it helps understand the effectiveness of a patient’s communication, education, and understanding of the overall treatment plans. 

18. Pain Management Effectiveness 

This metric helps assess the effectiveness of pain management during the patient’s healthcare journey. It helps understand the quality of treatment and patient comfort.

19. Follow-up Compliance 

This metric helps calculate the percentage of patients who adhere to scheduled follow-up appointments or tests as recommended by healthcare providers. It helps ensure continuity of care and timely interventions.

20. Care Plan Adherence 

Care plan adherence measures how well patients adhere to their personalized care plans, including lifestyle changes, treatments, and recommended activities. It reflects patient engagement and the effectiveness of care plans.

Internal

21. Employee Turnover Rate 

This metric helps calculate the number of employees who leave the organization in a specified period. It helps understand the workforce stability, employee satisfaction, and the organization’s culture. 

22. Employee Mistake Events 

This metric helps calculate the number of mistakes made by employees in the organization. This helps understand the effectiveness of the employees.

23. Patient Confidentiality 

When patient information is collected by a healthcare organization, it remains confidential with them. If the same is compromised, the organization may have to bear certain consequences. This metric helps calculate the number of times a patient’s confidential information or medical records are compromised or seen by an unapproved party.

24. Training Completion Rate 

This metric calculates the percentage of the number of employees who complete required training and certifications. It ensures that staff members are well-trained and up-to-date on the latest practices and procedures.

25. Employee Engagement Score 

Employment engagement surveys are also important metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare. They help calculate the level of engagement and employee satisfaction. It also helps identify strengths and areas of improvement in the management practices, internal communication, and much more. 

Communication

26. Patient Communication Satisfaction 

This metric helps assess patient satisfaction with communication received from healthcare providers. It helps identify many areas of communication, like organization’s responsiveness, clarity of information, and the patient’s overall communication experience. 

27. Social Media Engagement 

This metric is very important as it measures the level of interaction via likes, comments, shares, and more on the social media account of the healthcare organization. It helps understand the effectiveness of the organization’s online presence and engagement strategies.

28. Website Traffic and Engagement 

Another one of the important metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare is website traffic and engagement. It helps calculate the number of page vows, time spent on the organization’s website, unique visitors, and so on. This helps assess the effectiveness of the healthcare organization’s online information dissemination and patient engagement efforts.

29. Media Coverage Impact 

This is yet another great example of metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare, as it helps analyze the audience sentiment by tracking media coverage and help in improving the organization’s public perception. If the media coverage is positive, it means that the audience trusts the organization.

30. Internal Communication Effectiveness 

This metric helps assess the effectiveness of international communication in the organization. It can be employee feedback on various areas, like timeliness, clarity, relevance, and much more.

Conclusion

With the constant changes in healthcare policies, it is important for the healthcare organizations to stay up-to-date and align with the same. In order to do so, it is important to understand and incorporate various metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare that help measure the organization’s performance in various aspects, improve healthcare revenue cycle management, and help the organization achieve the desired goal. 

There are metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare that help assess various areas of the healthcare organization, like finance, communication, care, emergency, and much more. These metrics and key performance indicators in healthcare help in managing claim denials, ultimately giving better results in healthcare revenue cycle management.

As data-driven decision-making becomes the norm, embracing these metrics empowers organizations to navigate the complexities of modern healthcare, ensuring that every patient receives optimal care and every process contributes to a healthier tomorrow.