Last update:
02-Mar-2020

OBJECTIVE Implementation of the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) in the outpatient practices (OP) of a general hospital of the 2nd Regional Healthcare Administration of Pireus and the Aegean, in order to evaluate the administrative function and business performance of the CAF.

METHOD A quantitative study was conducted from May to October 2018 in the OP of the study hospital, based on the CAF implementation guide, using the revised version of the CAF questionnaire in Greek. For each of the 9 CAF criteria (1: leadership, 2: strategy and planning, 3: human resources management, 4: partnerships and resources, 5: processes, 6: citizen-oriented results, 7: people results, 8: social responsibility results, 9: key performance results) the scores of the OP personnel and of the users were measured, along with observations of the project team, based on available documentation.

RESULTS Based on the scores of the personnel and the users, the mean score of all the CAF criteria was 2.1, indicating a moderate level of competence and effectiveness, while the score based on the observations of the project team was 3.2, corresponding to a good level of competence and effectiveness. The OP personnel assigned the lowest score to the criterion "processes" (2.1) and the highest to the criterion "key performance results" (2.9). The project team assigned the lowest score to the criterion "human resources management" (2.9) and the highest to the criterion "partnerships and resources" (3.35).

CONCLUSIONS The CAF constitutes an anthropocentric approach to evaluation of the structure and management of a public organization. Concerning the OP of the specific hospital studied here, the administration needs to interpret the relevant results and take appropriate actions in order to improve the quality of the services provided.

Key words: Common assessment framework, Hospital, Out-patient practices, Self-assessment.