Benchmarking for Organizational
Excellence in Addiction Treatment
Paul M. Lefkovitz, Ph.D.
President, Behavioral Pathway Systems
The Measurement of
Organizational Performance
• Performance is measured in all
addiction treatment settings
• How helpful is performance data?
• Does data drive organizational vision?
• Does data drive organizational decision-
making?
The Limitations
of Outcomes
• A thermometer
reading would be
of no value as a
measure of your
health…
• If you didn't know
that 98.6 is the
“average”
temperature!
The Limitations of
Outcomes in Your Organization
• Similarly, knowing
that your missed
appointment rate is
27% is of little value
in evaluating the
health of your
agency…if you don’t
know how others are
performing
Data without Meaning
• We are deluged
with data without
meaning
• Data without a
context is just a
bunch of numbers
• What is the
answer?
The Role of Benchmarking
• Benchmarks
provide the vital
external context for
understanding your
outcomes
Benchmarking Defined
• Gift and Mosel (1994) define benchmarking
as “the continual and collaborative discipline
of measuring and comparing the results of
key work processes”
Gift, R. and Mosel, D. (1994). Benchmarking in Health Care, American Hospital Association
A Tiered Model
of Benchmarking
• Descriptive Benchmarking
• Comparative Benchmarking
• Process Benchmarking
• Each builds on the preceding type
Descriptive Benchmarking
• Most common form of benchmarking
• Industry overviews, government reports
• Static snapshot of industry performance
• No formal or statistical comparisons
between an organization’s performance
and industry norms
• “Eyeball analysis” can be misleading
Comparative Benchmarking
• Formal comparison of an organization’s
performance against a descriptive
benchmark
• Typically reported as percentile
rankings but can be reported in graph
form also
The Importance of Formal
Comparative Benchmarks
100
80
60
40
20
0
Raw Scores Percentile A Percentile B
Group Average 50 50 50
Organization 55 51 99
The Limitations
of Benchmarking
40 • Benchmarks profile
35 your organization
30 against others and
25 help identify
20 opportunities for
15 improvement
10
5
0
Improve? How?
• Benchmarks do
not give any
indication as to
how to improve
The “How”:
Process Benchmarking
• Based on a simple premise: The
methods of top performers differ from
those of others
• Process benchmarking systematically
compares tactics of top performers with
those of others
• Methods that distinguish between top
performers and others may be regarded
as potential best practices
Benchmarks:
Where are They?
• Readily
accessible,
relevant and
affordable
comparative
benchmarking
data is hard to
come by
Benchmarking for Organizational
Excellence in Addiction Treatment
• SAAS, NIATx, and Behavioral Pathway
Systems are partnering to sponsor an
addiction-specific national
benchmarking initiative
• BPS specializes in behavioral health
and human services benchmarking and
has numerous state and national
benchmarking initiatives underway
Objectives of
Benchmarking Initiative
• Provide SAAS with information it needs to
advocate for its members
• Provide participating organizations with
individualized comparative benchmark data
that can serve as a vital context for
understanding measured outcomes
• Provide a powerful vehicle for the identification
of best practices and organizational
improvement through process benchmarking
and the application of NIATx principles
Benchmark
Selection Process
• National interest survey conducted
• Interest
• Availability of Data
• 354 respondents
• Survey findings guided Steering
Committee decisions
Scope of Benchmarks
• Comprehensive range of benchmarks
• Operational, clinical, organizational
climate, and financial domains of
performance
• 21 benchmark dimensions
• Approximately 150 input metrics
Operational Benchmarks
• Initial Access
• Length of Stay/Utilization, by Level of Care
• Subsequent Access (Number of days from
intake to first treatment appt)
• Average Caseload Size of Clinician, by
Level of Care
• Outpatient Productivity
• Average Group Size
Clinical Benchmarks
• Engagement/Retention, by Level of Care
• Outpatient No-Show/Cancellation Rates
• Client Satisfaction/Perceptions of Care
• Degree of Engagement with Recovery
Support Services
• Involvement of Significant Others
Organizational Climate
• Staff Morale/Satisfaction (25 Item
Measure and automated administration
and scoring to be provided)
• Staff Retention/Turn-Over
• Percent of Staff Position Vacancies
(Counselors)
Financial Benchmarks
• Cost per Unit of Service, by Level of Care
• Salaries, by Role
• Administrative Overhead as a Percent of
Total Expenses
• Payer Mix
• Current Ratio (Assets Divided by
Liabilities)
• Net Days in Accounts Receivable
• Days of Cash on Hand
Data
Submission
• On-line benchmarking survey
• Aggregated anonymous data-no
complicated encounter-level data
• No software needed
• User-friendly, encrypted and secure
• Available 24/7
• Submit relevant and available data--no
reporting requirements
• State-of-the-art on-line data validation
Benchmarking
Reports
• Standard Report
• Executive Summary Report
• Organizational Climate Report
• Run Charts
Standard
Benchmarking Report
• Normative Data
– Sample Size
– Mean
– Median
– Standard Deviation
• Comparative Data
– Overall Percentile Rankings
– Peer Group Comparisons (budget size,
geographic area, setting) “Apples to Apples”
– Maine Norms
• Previous Scores
Standard Benchmarking Report
Executive Summary Report
• Designed for busy senior leaders and
boards
• Graphic representation of scores
• Brief, key highlights
Executive Summary Report
Executive Summary Report II
Run Charts
• Track your data over time
• Trend analysis
• Examine interplay among different
benchmarking dimensions
Accommodations
for Multiple Locations
• Satellite locations easily accommodated
• Each location can be benchmarked
independently to produce a separate
report
• No limit to number of additional
locations
Moving Beyond
“the Numbers”
• Benchmarking is not just about data
• When data is generated, real fun begins
• Identify potential best practices through
process benchmarking and other vehicles
• Enhance organizational performance
through NIATx principles
• Emphasis on shared learning from one
another and from “top performers”
• A learning community
Shared Activities and
Available Resources
• Monthly audio-conferences/user support
meetings
• Monthly newsletter to educate and
inform
• Telephonic and E-Mail user support
• Free telephonic consultation in
interpreting your data and developing
improvement strategies
• Articles and other resources
One Year Subscription Fee
• Annual Subscription Fee: $1,000
• Includes all benefits described
• Brochure/Order form available through
SAAS
Questions?
Contact:
Paul M. Lefkovitz, Ph.D.
President, Behavioral Pathway Systems
877-330-9870 (Toll-Free)
plefk@bpsys.org
www.bpsys.org