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Measuring the
Performance of the IT Function in the UK Health Service Using a Balanced
Scorecard Approach
Maurice Atkinson, Southern Health and Social Services Board, Northern
Ireland, pp 1-10,
mauricat@shssb.n-i.nhs.uk |
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Abstract:
This
paper explores how the Balanced Scorecard approach might be applied to
measuring the performance of the IT function within the context of the
UK Health Service. The importance of ICT in supporting the core business
of an improved healthcare system and realising the targets and vision of
the NHS Plan are beginning to be increasingly recognised. The priority
which attaches to the contribution of ICT to the work of the NHS raises
issues of how best to link ICT targets with business objectives and in
turn determining how well the IT function is performing. One potential
solution is the use of Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard as a
conceptual and pragmatic model for the development of performance
measures for an IT Department. Critical success factors together with
sample financial and non-financial performance measures have been
developed for each dimension of the scorecard for two key IT functions
i.e. Project Management and the IT Help Desk. A performance measurement
record sheet has been developed to show how these measures would work in
practice and in order to ensure that they are of practical value. The
performance measurement record sheet provides a formal framework which
explicitly links measures to objectives, further defines the measures
and how they will be evaluated, assigns responsibilities, and ensures
that performance improvement is integrated as part of the overall
process. Potential approaches to implementing, monitoring and reviewing
these measures are suggested as a basis for actively identifying and
achieving improvements in the performance of an IT Department.
Furthermore the concrete benefits for an IT Department of fully
implementing the proposed performance management system and process have
been identified.
Keywords:
Information Technology, Balanced Scorecard, Performance Measurement,
Health Service |
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