A SWOT analysis of the hospital performance management system in Hong Kong

Abstract

The existing financing model is not going to be sustainable for the ageing demographic in the future Hong Kong. In regards, Government suggested a voluntary and government-regulated health insurance scheme to provide more choices with better protection for those who are able and willing to pay for private healthcare services. However, performance of the Hong Kong health system is rarely discussed despite vast health expenditure has been spent. The objective of this project is to identify the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of the hospital performance management system in Hong Kong.

The project involves a literature search for key success factors for performance management systems in healthcare. The SWOT analysis of the hospital performance management systems in Hong Kong are then analyzed with reference to the findings. Findings: Six success factors could be identified: position in the policy process and defined objectives, process of development, indicator validity, reliability, responsiveness and feedbacks. The public hospital system has partially incorporated these factors in its system but a structured performance monitoring and management system is lacking for the private sector.

The current Hong Kong hospital performance systems are not able to provide adequate information for the payers to make the appropriate choice. There is an urging needs to develop a robust and transparent performance management system in Hong Kong in order to support healthcare reform.