Evaluation of Learning in Performance of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences Hospitals by Using European Foundation for Quality Management Criteria in Setting Balanced Scorecard Indicators

Balanced scorecard (BSC) is one of the best and most used models for evaluating the performance in hospitals, which deals with four evaluation points and learning is one of them. To use this model, a conceptual model should be provided to develop a set of performance indicators in line with the hospital strategy goals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of learning in assessing the performance of Shahroud hospitals by using the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) criteria in the regulation of BSC indices.  A simple random sampling method was used for this survey. The statistical population includes all employed and admitted patients in Imam Hossein and Bahar hospitals in the year 2018. Sample size in Imam Hussein Hospital was 700 and in the Bahar hospital was 200 people. To collect data, four separate questionnaires were used based on the four criteria of BSC, the EFQM criteria, and the standard SERVQUAL questionnaire. Content validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by 11 experts in the treatment and accreditation group of hospitals (professors and senior management experts). By reviewing the BSC sights and the relationship between their goals, the perspective of the squadrons was at the best level and in the order of progress, financial and growth and learning was at the lowest level. Increasing employee satisfaction and encouraging innovation as the most basic goal and patient satisfaction from the physical environment was at the highest level of the strategy map.  This method, in addition to providing a new aspect for determining the BSC indices, accurately revealed that investment in the field of growth and learning is very important. This is important as they ultimately are the members that affect the processes and outcomes of the organization and achieve the goals of other landscapes and reach the outlook of the hospital. Furthermore, it is recommended that hospital managers use common indicators between BSC and EFQM to facilitate the implementation of accreditation in hospitals.