7 Essential KPI Metrics for Home Healthcare

Introduction

Home healthcare is a complex and rapidly growing industry that requires efficiency and transparency. Knowing the right KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to measure and maintain is essential to maintaining success and accountability in the healthcare industry. Keep track of metrics such as patient health outcomes, employee retention, customer satisfaction, average time to resolve service requests, cost per patient visit, referral rate, and expense management can help healthcare organizations make informed decisions. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the seven home healthcare KPI metrics and offer tips for tracking and calculating each of these metrics.

Patient Health Outcomes

Definition

Patient health outcomes are a measure of how a patient’s health is improving or decreasing over time, based on their health data. This KPI is particularly important in home healthcare, as it can provide insight into the effectiveness of patient care and can be used to identify areas where improvement is needed.

Benefits of Tracking

• It can be used to identify areas for improvement in patient care.
• It can help ensure that patients receive the care they need to improve their health.
• It can help identify trends in patient health outcomes.

Industry Benchmarks

The industry benchmark for patient health outcomes is generally determined by the type of care provided and the patient population served. For example, home health care providers may have different benchmarks for patient health outcomes than hospitals or nursing homes.

How to calculate

Patient health outcomes are measured by tracking changes in patient health data over time. This can be done by collecting data on the patient’s health status and measuring changes in their symptoms, medical conditions, and other health-related indicators.

Calculation example

For example, if a patient’s current health status is rated as 4 out of 10 and their previous health status was rated as 2 out of 10, their patient health score would be calculated as follows:

Tips and tricks

• Track changes in patient health data over time to get an accurate picture of their health.
• Compare the patient’s current health status to their baseline health status to get an accurate assessment of their health outcomes.
• Use the Patient Health Outcome KPI to identify areas for improvement in patient care.

Employee retention

Definition

Employee retention is a key performance indicator (KPI) used to measure the average length of time an employee stays with an organization. It is a measure of employee satisfaction, engagement and commitment to the organization. It also gives employers an indication of the level of job satisfaction and safety of their employees.

Benefits of Tracking

Tracking employee retention rate provides insight into the employee experience and helps employers understand the factors that contribute to their employees’ job satisfaction and commitment to the organization. It also helps employers identify areas for improvement to create a more positive workplace and reduce turnover.

• Increases employee engagement
• Reduces costs associated with recruiting, onboarding and training new employees
• Improves job satisfaction and morale
• Provides insight into areas for improvement

Industry Benchmarks

The average employee retention rate for the United States is around 68%. This rate may vary depending on industry, company size and other factors. The National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) reports that the average employee retention rate for home health care is around 75%, while the rate for palliative care is slightly lower at around 72%.

How to calculate

The employee retention rate is calculated by dividing the number of employees at the end of the period by the number of employees at the beginning of the period, multiplied by 100. The formula for calculating the employee retention rate is:

Calculation example

For example, if a home health care organization had 25 employees at the start of the year and 22 employees at the end of the year, their employee retention rate would be:

Tips and tricks

• Focus on providing a positive work environment for employees
• Provide competitive salaries and benefits
• Encourage employee feedback and act on it
• Recognize and reward high performing employees
• Provide ongoing training and development
• Implement flexible working arrangements

Client satisfaction

Definition

Customer satisfaction is a KPI used in home healthcare to measure the level of happiness and loyalty of a patient towards a particular service provided. This metric is important to measure because it directly reflects the quality of care the patient receives.

Benefits of Tracking

Tracking customer satisfaction is beneficial for home healthcare organizations as it will help them identify areas for improvement and areas where they are excelling. It also allows them to identify any potential issues with customer service and resolve them quickly.

• Improves the customer experience
• Identifies areas for improvement
• Provides feedback for better customer service

Industry Benchmarks

The industry benchmark for customer satisfaction in home healthcare is generally set at 90%. This means that 90% of patients must be satisfied with the service they receive and be willing to recommend it to others. Anything less than a 90% satisfaction rate is considered unsatisfactory.

How to calculate

Customer satisfaction can be calculated by taking the total number of satisfied customers and dividing it by the total number of customers. The resulting percentage is the customer satisfaction rate.

Calculation example

For example, if a home health care organization served 100 patients and 90 of them were satisfied, the customer satisfaction rate would be 90%.

Tips and tricks

• Use customer surveys to gather patient feedback and measure customer satisfaction.
• Be sure to ask the right questions in the survey to get accurate feedback.
• Use customer feedback to improve service and increase customer satisfaction.
• Encourage employees to provide exceptional customer service to ensure high customer satisfaction.

Average time to resolve service requests

Definition

Average time to resolve service requests (ATRSR) is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the average time it takes to resolve a customer service request. This metric provides insight into how well customer service teams are performing and how quickly inquiries are answered.

Benefits of Tracking

ATRSR tracking has many advantages. It helps identify areas where customer service teams can improve their performance and efficiency. Additionally, it provides a way to measure customer service experience, which can give feedback on how to serve customers better.

Industry Benchmarks

The industry benchmark for ATRSR varies by industry and type of service requests. Generally speaking, the average time to resolve service requests should be less than an hour. This is the goal that most customer service teams aim for.

How to calculate

ATRSR is calculated by taking the total number of service requests, dividing it by the total number of minutes spent resolving those requests, and then dividing that number by the total number of service requests.

Calculation example

For example, if a customer service team handled 500 service requests in a month and spent a total of 3,000 minutes resolving those requests, the ATRSR would be:

Tips and tricks

• Set a goal for the ATRSR metric and track progress towards it.
• Analyze customer service processes and identify areas for improvement.
• Encourage customer service teams to work quickly and efficiently.
• Look for ways to automate the customer service process.

Cost per patient visit

Definition

Cost per patient visit (CPPV) is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the total cost associated with a single visit from a home healthcare provider to a patient. It is used to help assess the overall effectiveness of an organization’s home health care services.

Benefits of Tracking

Tracking the Visit KPI cost per patient can help an organization assess the cost-effectiveness of its home healthcare services. This metric can be used to identify areas for improvement to reduce costs and increase profitability. Additionally, CPPV monitoring can also provide insight into how well the organization is delivering quality services.

Industry Benchmarks

The industry benchmark for cost per patient visit varies depending on the type of home health services provided. Generally, organizations should aim to keep their CPPV as low as possible. Some of the most successful organizations have a CPPV that is significantly lower than the industry average.

How to calculate

The cost per patient visit KPI can be calculated by dividing the total cost of home health services provided by the number of patient visits. The formula for CPPV is as follows:

Calculation example

For example, if the total cost of an organization’s home health care services was ,000 and it experienced 500 patient visits, the CPPV would be:

Tips and tricks for calculating the KPI

• Make sure that all costs associated with a patient visit are included in the calculation.
• Accurately track the number of patient visits.
• Track CPPV over time to look for areas of improvement.

Reference rate

Definition

The referral rate is a key performance indicator (KPI) that measures the referral rate for a home health care agency. This is the number of referrals the agency receives divided by the total number of potential referral sources. A referral rate of 1.0 indicates that the agency receives a referral for each potential referral source.

Benefits of Tracking

Tracking the referral rate is important for home healthcare agencies because it can provide valuable insight into the effectiveness of their marketing and outreach efforts. It can also help identify areas for improvement and set goals to increase the number of referrals received.

Industry Benchmarks

The average referral rate for home health care agencies is 0.75. This means that on average, home health care agencies receive 75% of the referrals they could potentially receive.

How to calculate

The reference rate can be calculated using the following formula:

Calculation example

For example, if a home health care agency receives 10 referrals from 10 potential referral sources, its referral rate would be 1.0.

Tips and tricks

• Make sure all referral sources are tracked accurately.
• Use a customer relationship management (CRM) system to track referrals.
• Create an incentive program to encourage more referrals.
• Monitor benchmark rate trends over time.

Expense Management

Definition

Expense management is a key performance indicator (KPI) used to measure the effectiveness of a home healthcare provider’s ability to manage their costs. It is a measure of how well the supplier is able to keep expenses within budget and ensure that the organization’s financial resources are used efficiently.

Benefits of Tracking

Tracking spend management KPIs helps home healthcare providers identify areas where they can improve financial efficiency. This can help them reduce costs and make more informed decisions about how to allocate their resources. Additionally, tracking spend management KPIs can help suppliers identify trends in their spend and make adjustments accordingly.

Industry Benchmarks

For home healthcare providers, a reasonable expense management KPI would be to keep expenses below 90% of the total budget. This referral allows providers to maintain a healthy financial margin while providing needed services to their patients.

How to calculate

Calculation example

For example, if a home health care provider’s total budget is ,000 and total expenses are ,000, the expense management KPI would be:

Tips and tricks

• Regularly create a budget and track expenses against it.
• Regularly review all expenses to identify areas where costs can be reduced.
• Review industry benchmarks to ensure your organization meets the standard.

Conclusion

Monitoring and tracking the right home healthcare KPIs is a critical part of success in the industry. Tracking metrics such as patient health outcomes, employee retention, customer satisfaction, average time to resolve service requests, cost per patient visit, referral rate, and expense management establish accountability and help organizations make informed decisions. The home healthcare KPIs discussed in this blog post are the most important measures of success and should be considered when evaluating the performance of home healthcare organizations.

By leveraging the power of data, businesses can create powerful deeper insights and stay competitive. Whether you are a home healthcare service provider or a business that serves the home healthcare industry, by monitoring these KPIs you can better understand your business performance, establish accountability and take better decisions.