Collaborative benchmarking in a healthcare system.

Leading organizations outside of the healthcare industry have benefitted from benchmarking for more than a decade. In the last few years, healthcare organizations also have begun to use benchmarking to achieve breakthrough improvements in their performances. Most of these organizations have conducted their benchmarking studies independently, working one-on-one with outside benchmarking partners. More recently, some organizations have chosen to benchmark processes in conjunction with other healthcare organizations. This article discusses the application of a collaborative benchmarking project conducted by selected facilities within the Catholic Health Corporation (CHC). It reviews the rationale for implementing collaborative benchmarking efforts and the benefits such efforts bring to the organizations involved. Presentation of a work in process--a case study on workers' compensation--provides insights into collaborative benchmarking. The article focuses on the initial phases of the benchmarking process--selecting the project and establishing the benchmarking collaborative.