Performance management through balanced scorecard in healthcare: Czech hospital case study

Abstract

The article is based on the interest of authors to implement the Balanced Scorecard into organizations operating in a specific market of medical services. Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a popular method of creating links between operational activities and strategic objectives set by the company. The method is applied in particular areas with regard to performance measurement. This method is widely used within many types of businesses and brings positive results to management. Currently, this method is being applied even in less commercial environment such as health, social services, or spa. In the first part of the article, the authors summarized the main international research dealing with the issue of BSC in health care. A separate chapter presents key performance indicators in healthcare as a tools of measurement of quality for four Balanced scorecard perspectives – financial perspective, customer perspective, learning and growth perspective and internal business perspective. The main part of this article is a case study that represent the application of BSC method for increasing the performance of hospital. The study includes a strategic map illustrating the development of fulfilling the vision of a hospital, and setting key criteria for controlling each perspective of the Balanced Scorecard. In the concluding part, the authors introduce general methodology by applying the BSC to the direction of medical organizations.