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Performance management and audit & feedback to support learning and innovation : Theoretical review and implications for Swedish primary care

Anell, Anders LU (2019) In Papers in Innovation Studies
Abstract
Health care professionals frequently describe performance management and monitoring of efficiency and quality measures for external accountability as an administrative burden with limited benefits. Professionals argue that they are subject to too tight control that signals distrust, limits professional autonomy and ultimately decreases their motivation to perform. At worst, poorly incentivized indicators influence the behavior of providers in directions that undermine patient benefits. Against this background, policy interest has recently turned towards new governance and managerial approaches in Swedish health care services, allowing for a higher degree of professional autonomy, participatory processes and use of... (More)
Health care professionals frequently describe performance management and monitoring of efficiency and quality measures for external accountability as an administrative burden with limited benefits. Professionals argue that they are subject to too tight control that signals distrust, limits professional autonomy and ultimately decreases their motivation to perform. At worst, poorly incentivized indicators influence the behavior of providers in directions that undermine patient benefits. Against this background, policy interest has recently turned towards new governance and managerial approaches in Swedish health care services, allowing for a higher degree of professional autonomy, participatory processes and use of non-financial incentives. This change will undoubtedly have implications for performance management. Inspired by current changes in Swedish primary care, this article explores the design of audit & feedback elements through a review of the empirical evidence and theories about motivation and incentives. Audit & feedback interventions have so far taken a “diffusion of innovation” perspective focusing on implementation of evidence and targets into practice. More complex changes in the delivery of services is likely to require experience-based DUI (Doing, Using, Interacting) modes of innovation, which in turn calls for a more formative and enabling approach to performance management and audit & feedback. A key question is how an appeal to social determinants of professional identity and reputation mechanisms can motivate professionals to change their behavior. Practical implications and research opportunities that follow from the theoretical propositions are discussed using Swedish primary care as an illustrative case. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Working paper/Preprint
publication status
published
subject
in
Papers in Innovation Studies
issue
2019:11
pages
20 pages
publisher
CIRCLE, Lund University
project
Public Management Research
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
98a67cbd-2b45-41db-a1f2-b0318d3efad5
alternative location
http://wp.circle.lu.se/upload/CIRCLE/workingpapers/201911_anell.pdf
date added to LUP
2020-02-22 16:19:16
date last changed
2020-02-25 15:41:42
@misc{98a67cbd-2b45-41db-a1f2-b0318d3efad5,
  abstract     = {{Health  care  professionals  frequently  describe  performance  management  and monitoring of efficiency and quality measures for external accountability as an administrative burden with limited benefits. Professionals argue that they are subject to too tight control that signals distrust, limits professional autonomy and ultimately decreases their motivation to perform.  At  worst,  poorly  incentivized  indicators  influence  the  behavior  of  providers  in directions that undermine patient benefits. Against this background, policy interest has recently turned towards new governance and managerial approaches in Swedish health care services, allowing for a higher degree of professional autonomy, participatory processes and use of non-financial  incentives.  This  change  will  undoubtedly  have  implications  for  performance management. Inspired by current changes in Swedish primary care, this article explores the design of audit & feedback elements through a review of the empirical evidence and theories about motivation and incentives. Audit & feedback interventions have so far taken a “diffusion of innovation” perspective focusing on implementation of evidence and targets into practice. More complex changes in the delivery of services is likely to require experience-based DUI (Doing, Using, Interacting) modes of innovation, which in turn calls for a more formative and enabling approach to performance management and audit & feedback. A key question is how an appeal to social determinants of professional identity and reputation mechanisms can motivate  professionals  to  change  their  behavior.  Practical  implications  and  research opportunities that follow from the theoretical propositions are discussed using Swedish primary care as an illustrative case.}},
  author       = {{Anell, Anders}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Working Paper}},
  number       = {{2019:11}},
  publisher    = {{CIRCLE, Lund University}},
  series       = {{Papers in Innovation Studies}},
  title        = {{Performance management and audit & feedback to support learning and innovation : Theoretical review and implications for Swedish primary care}},
  url          = {{http://wp.circle.lu.se/upload/CIRCLE/workingpapers/201911_anell.pdf}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}