course materials

1. Discussion: The Process of Benchmarking
Discussion: The Process of BenchmarkingDiscussion: The Process of BenchmarkingIn order
to be competitive in health care markets, organizations must ensure that the services they
provide are consistent in pricing and quality with other comparable organizations. In this
Discussion, you will examine how the process of benchmarking, or comparing
organizations, is important in financial decision making.CLICK HERE TO ORDER YOUR
ASSIGNMENTTo prepare:Review the information on benchmarking found in this week’s
Learning Resources.Search the Walden Library or other reliable resources on the Internet
and locate a journal article discussing how a health care organization has used the principle
of benchmarking.How could the concept of benchmarking be used in your own organization
(or one with which you are familiar), regardless of size?Consider how benchmarking could
be useful to you in decision making.A Baker, J. J., Baker, R. W., & Dworkin, N. R.
(2018). Health care finance: Basic tools for nonfinancial managers (5th ed.). Burlington, MA:
Jones and Bartlett Learning.Chapter 14, “Trend Analysis, Common Sizing, and Forecasted
Data” (pp. 149-160) The focus of this chapter is the use of trend analysis and forecasting to
develop future budgets and make financial decisions about capital purchases, programs,
and personnel.Chapter 15, “Using Comparative Data” (pp. 161-173) In this chapter, you are
introduced to the criteria for identifying other health care organizations that are
comparable to your own. Data from these organizations can then be used to evaluate your
own organizational performance.Chapter 19, “Estimates, Benchmarking, and Other
Measurement Tools” (pp. 223-231) In this chapter, you continue exploring the concept of
financial benchmarking. The chapter focuses on the importance of benchmarking for
identifying performance gaps.Zelman, W., McCue, M., & Glick, N. (2009). Financial
management of health care organizations: An introduction to fundamental tools, concepts,
and applications (3rd ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from the Walden Library
databases.Chapter 5, “Working Capital Management” (pp. 187–231) This chapter examines
the concept of working capital. The authors explore the specifics of current assets and the
management of the working capital cycle.Chapter 11, “Responsibility Accounting” (pp. 468–
497) Review: This chapter explores the trend toward the decentralization of health care
organizations and the challenges this presents. This chapter also describes responsibility
centers, or organizational units intended to achieve specific tasks.Mulva, S., & Dai, J. (2009)
Health care facility benchmarking. HERD, 3(1), 28–37.Reprinted by permission of Sage
Publications via the Copyright Clearance Center.This article describes a national health care
facility’s benchmarking program. It is designed to compare measures of capital project

2. performance.Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2013). Measuring and
benchmarking clinical performance. Retrieved from www.ahrq.govEttorchi-Tardy, A., Levif,
M., & Michel, P. (Analyze the potential risks of making a faulty comparison.