Table 7 Success factors benchmarking projects specialty hospitals and pathways

1. Voluntary participation

2. Anonymous participation

3. Internal stakeholders must be convinced that others might have developed solutions for problems of the underlying processes that can be translated to their own settings.

4. Verify homogeneity participant group to ensure the comparability of benchmarking partners

5. Ensure commitment of the management and secure resources

6. Limit the scope of the project to a well-defined problem

7. Involve stakeholders to gain consensus about the indicators

8. Develop indicators that are specific, measurable, acceptable, achievable, realistic, relevant, and timely (SMART)

9. Use simple indicators so that enough time can be spent on the analysis

10. Measure both qualitative and quantitative data

11. Stratify survey into minimum data set and additional extra’s

12. For indicators showing a large annual variation in outcomes, measurement over a number of years should be considered

13. Feed benchmarking data back to clinical staff to maintain their motivation to the project

14. Organize forums and workshops for participants to discuss performance of their organization and learn from other organizations

15. Convert data into measurable quantities

16. Homogeneity in language, reimbursement systems, and administrations

17. Interpretation of results should be guided by a culture of organisational learning rather than individual blame.