Performance Management Strategy: Waiting Time in the English National Health Services

Abstract

The difficulty of measuring public services outcome results in governments adopting some quality performance measurements to oversee the standards and characteristics of the presented services. The study empirically tests the theory of performance management and the extent the waiting time policy would result in higher quality service and better health outcomes in 161 trusts in England from 2010/2011 to 2013/2014. The results show that higher waiting admission share has significant adverse effect on quality standards in terms of mortality rate. Moreover, the findings show that shorter range of waiting time is statistically associated with higher patients’ reported heath gains. However, the paper shows evidence of the presence of the output distortions effect of performance management strategy. The study shows that hospitals with lower mean waiting time have significantly higher readmission rate within 28 days of discharge.