Assessing the Performance Value of the Baldrige Journey: A Comparison of Baldrige Applicants and Nonapplicants.

Goal: The national Baldrige program has supported performance excellence in healthcare since 1999. Previous studies have compared the performance of Baldrige hospital recipients to nonrecipients. This study, however, sought to address the question of whether the mere pursuit of the Baldrige award provides value.

Methods: This study used propensity score matching with linear and quantile regression techniques to understand the impact of hospitals applying the Baldrige Excellence Framework across a comprehensive set of standardized industry performance measures, regardless of award recognition.

Principal findings: The analysis demonstrated that Baldrige applicants outperformed non-Baldrige applicants in select operational measures of efficiency (such as inpatient average length of stay), patient experience, and financial measures (including return on net assets, days in accounts receivable, and expenses as a percentage of patient revenues). However, there was no statistically significant difference in clinical performance between Baldrige applicants and nonapplicants.

Practical applications: The findings from this study suggest that hospital leaders can realize significant gains with select operational and financial measures without compromising clinical outcomes when applying the Baldrige Excellence Framework to their organizations.