Concept
The project in general
The International Hospital Benchmarking Project was brought on its way by the Bertelsmann Foundation in 1998. The CKM, founded by the Foundation in 1994, was asked to develop a concept that on the one hand allows a comparison of hospitals in order to find out the critical success factors that are enabling hospital performance. On the other hand the concept had to facilitate a transfer of the identified parameters from one organization to another.
In this respect the CKM developed a methodology that devides the project into two categories: a comparison of procedural outcomes and cost structures of specified clinical processes, for example total hip replacement, CABG, hysterectomy and hernia repair; the other is learning about best practices at the participating hospital benchmarking partners. In the context of the project a best practice can be a clinical, care, or an administrative best practice.
The overall objective of the CKM/Bertelsmann international benchmarking project in healthcare is to establish an international circle of organisations that are not afraid of stepping outside of themselves to expose their own thinking open to the influence of others and thereby learning from others as well as gaining ideas and inspiration from the outside.
The international benchmarking project in healthcare is scheduled to run over a period of three years. Over that period the benchmarking team members (two delegates from each of the participating partner hospitals) are invited by courtesy of the Bertelsmann Foundation to participate in the bi-annual three day benchmarking forums held in Germany.
To date a total of 20 care provider organisations from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Poland, South Africa, Spain, USA and Germany are participating. Hospitals from further countries have already announced their interest of participation.
