Objectives

To develop and test a Mental Health Departments performance’ Dashboard, defining possible improvement and optimization’ areas, and considering economic, managerial, organizational, and efficiency indicators.

Methods

Starting from a Systematic Literature Review, and elaborating hospital data flows, a specific Dashboard was created, composed by three main areas: a)human resources, b)organizational and c)structural dimensions, divided into three main areas of activities: i)territorial activities, ii)in-patient activities, iii)out-patient activities. The proposed Dashboard was tested in 5 Italian Mental Health Departments, in Lombardy Region. Data and information related to year 2018 were collected, to feed the KPIs Dashboard. Structured interviews were conducted, to focus attention on specific processes. Assuming a benchmarking approach, the best performer for each dimension and indicator was identified. A final SWOT Analysis reporting strengths, weaknesses, and key variables, was developed, considering KPIs tested.

Results

The average hospitalisation period of the Departments was around a value of 14.53 days, while the percentage of bed occupancy was always more than 85%. The number of involuntary psychiatric treatments represented about 7-9% of admissions for all Departments. Hospitalizations between 0 and 1 day represented 6.11% of the total, while those longer than 1 day constituted the remaining 93.98%. The results showed the existence of different organizational models for Mental Health Departments, and the importance to create a benchmark of reference, not possible, without activating the comparison of different structures. Mental Departments need to optimize their own care pathways, with particular reference to the evaluation of the types of services to be provided.

Conclusions

The Dashboard proposed was able to monitor organizational, human resources, productivity and structural performance, shading light on Mental Health Departments characteristics. Adding benchmarking approach and final SWOT analysis, the KPIs Dashboard plays a strategic role, to define priorities and activities for future optimizations.