PA-GAP

PA-GAP (Patient Associations - Gap Analysis Platform), to improve the institutional and strategic capacities of patient associations through a scientific is an assessment tool that identifies development needs by measuring them with an approach. This one tool, not only in the financial or only in the advocacy framework of associations, in a multidimensional structure (e.g. internal governance, patient representation, funding collection, transparency, etc.). BSC (Balanced Scorecard) and AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) techniques, PA-GAP integrates a customized roadmap by identifying their strengths and weaknesses

What Does It Provide in Brief?

• Multidimensional analysis: Evaluates organizational and financial indicators together with patient representation and communication capacities.

• Scientific method: The data is analyzed using BSC-AHP logic, which reveals the areas in which associations need improvement in an evidence-based manner.

• Roadmap: The results obtained prepare a strategic plan to guide associations in implementation.

Multi-disciplinary perspective

Promoting Healthy Living and the Health Policy Association's Patient and Relatives Development Academy will provide a scientific and academics, lawyers, lawyers, financial experts with contributions from consultants, communication experts and patient representatives shows. The PA-GAP tool is also thanks to this multidisciplinary structure of the academy, combining the practical needs of civil society with scientific methods of analysis has been developed with the goal of

Basic Approach: BSC and AHP Integration

1. BSC (Balanced Scorecard - Balanced Scorecard)

It is important to note that associations long-term strategic goals and patient outcomes, rather than long-term financial results. satisfaction.

Components

o  Financial Perspective: Diversity of sources, sustainability, financial reporting.

o  Customer (Patient) Perspective: Patient satisfaction, quality of services provided by the association, communication.

o  Interior Processes Perspective: Corporate functioning, project management, decision-making mechanisms.

o  Learning and Development Perspective: Volunteer management, training programs, processes that increase institutional capacity.

2. AHP (Analytical Hierarchy Process)

Various and often where there are conflicting criteria, such as important-critical-unimportant allows systematic scoring of assessments.

• Pairwise Comparisons:

• Compares each axis and sub-criteria with each other in terms of "importance".

• Consistency ratio (CR) is calculated to measure how reliable the data is.

The combination of these two techniques use together, associations, associations objective, evidence-based and multidimensional assessment of how much it lacks in which area in a way that reveals it.

Evaluation Axes and Definitions

PA-GAP tool, associations assesses its multifaceted capacityon five main axes. But additional gains and techniques are also integrated into the process.

1. Corporate Governance (Corporate Governance)

• Scope: Board structure, decision book and procedures, ethical codes, conflict of interest policies.

• Why is it important?The effective functioning, credibility and financial transparency of patient associations depends on a sound corporate governance framework.

• Sample Questions: Frequency of board meetings, strategic planning, general assembly processes?

2. Engagement Capacity"

• Scope: Engagement with government agencies, media, academic institutions and patient communities.

• Why is it important?The success of advocacy activities depends on building healthy relationships with stakeholders.

• Sample Questions: How often are decision makers reached, what is the level of interaction with the media, are there projects with specialty associations?

3. Patient Representation

• Scope:The association's ability to comprehensively represent the patient groups it serves, its level of diversity and inclusiveness.

• Why is it important?The real need of patient initiatives is for the association to effectively reflect patient experiences in decision-making.

• Sample Questions: Are relatives and patients included in decision-making processes? Are feedback mechanisms adequate?

4. Sustainability Sustainability and Fundraising)

• Scope: Diversity of income sources, long-term funding strategies, volunteer support, financial transparency.

• Why is it important? The continuity of the association's activities can only be ensured by a strong financial foundation and resource management.

• Sample Questions: Are donations and grants diverse, how active are volunteers, what are the standards for financial reporting?

5. Transparency (Transparency)

• Scope: Publication of annual reports, accessibility of financial statements, openness of decision processes.

• Why is it important?

• Sample Questions: Are annual activity reports shared regularly, are donations and expenditures publicly available?

 

Benefits and Application Results

1. Evidence-Based Development: Associations move forward based on measured and analyzed data, rather than on what they "feel" or "assume" is missing.

2. Multidimensional Overview: Organizational governance, financial structure, patient representation and interaction with external stakeholders are assessed simultaneously.

3. Customized Action Plan:Financial sustainability may be a priority for one association, while advocacy messages may be more critical for another.

4. Opportunity for Continuous Improvement: As the PA-GAP is repeated, associations have the opportunity to measure their progress and update their strategic plans.

5. Academic and Applied Balance: Since it was developed under the umbrella of the Healthy Life Promotion and Health Policy Association's Patient and Relatives Development Academy, it is compatible with both academic research standards and the needs of civil society.

 

Sources

What Does It Provide in Brief?

• Multidimensional analysis: It evaluates institutional and financial indicators together with patient representation and communication capacities.

• Scientific method: The data are examined through the BSC-AHP approach, revealing on an evidence-based basis the areas in which the associations need improvement.

• Roadmap: The results obtained provide a strategic plan that will guide the associations in practice.

With a multidisciplinary perspective

The Health Promotion and Health Policy Association's Patient and Relatives Development Academy operates with the contributions of academics, legal experts, financial advisors, communication specialists and patient representatives in order to conduct scientific and applied studies for patient associations. Owing to this multidisciplinary structure of the academy, the PA-GAP tool has likewise been developed with the aim of combining the practical needs of civil society with scientific methods of analysis.

Basic Approach: Integration of BSC and AHP

1. BSC (Balanced Scorecard)

It ensures that associations take into account not only short-term financial results, but also their long-term strategic objectives and patient satisfaction.

Components

o Financial Perspective: Diversity of funding sources, sustainability, financial reporting.

o Customer (Patient) Perspective: Patient satisfaction, the quality of the services provided by the association, communication.

o Internal Processes Perspective: Institutional operations, project management, decision-making mechanisms.

o Learning and Development Perspective: Volunteer management, training programs, processes that enhance institutional capacity.

2. AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process)

In situations involving numerous and often conflicting criteria, it enables the systematic scoring of assessments such as important–critical–unimportant.

• Pairwise Comparisons:

• Each axis and sub-criterion is compared with one another in terms of “degree of importance”.

• By calculating the consistency ratio (CR), the soundness of the data is measured.

The combined use of these two techniques reveals, in an objective, evidence-based and multidimensional manner, in which areas and to what extent associations have shortcomings.

Assessment Axes and Definitions

The PA-GAP tool assesses the multidimensional capacity of associations across five main axes. However, additional gains and techniques have also been integrated into the process.

1. Corporate Governance

• Scope: Board structure, decision book and procedures, codes of ethics, conflict of interest policies.

• Why Is It Important? The effective functioning, credibility and financial transparency of patient associations are possible only with a sound corporate governance framework.

• Sample Questions: How frequently does the board meet, is strategic planning carried out, how do general assembly processes work?

2. Engagement Capacity

• Scope: Engagement with public institutions, the media, academic organizations and patient communities.

• Why Is It Important? The success of advocacy activities depends on the ability to establish sound relationships with stakeholders.

• Sample Questions: How frequently are decision-makers reached, what is the level of engagement with the media, are there any projects with professional associations?

3. Representation of the Patient Pool (Patient Representation)

• Scope: The association's ability to comprehensively represent the patient groups it serves, and its level of diversity and inclusiveness.

• Why Is It Important? The genuine requirement of patient initiatives is the association's capacity to effectively reflect patient experiences in decision-making mechanisms.

• Sample Questions: Are patients and their relatives included in decision-making processes? Are feedback mechanisms adequate?

4. Sustainability and Fundraising

• Scope: Diversity of income sources, long-term funding strategies, volunteer support, financial transparency.

• Why Is It Important? The continuity of the association's activities can only be ensured through a strong financial foundation and sound resource management.

• Sample Questions: Is there diversity in donations and grants, how active are the volunteers, and what standards are applied in financial reporting?

5. Şeffaflık (Transparency)

• Scope: Publication of activity reports, accessibility of financial statements, openness of decision-making processes.

• Why Is It Important? The trust of the public and stakeholders in the association is directly related to transparency.

• Sample Questions: Are annual activity reports shared regularly; are donations and expenditures open to the public?

Benefits and Implementation Results

1. Evidence-Based Development: Associations proceed with measured and analyzed data rather than the gaps they “feel” or “assume”.

2. Multidimensional Perspective: Corporate governance, financial structure, patient representation capacity and interaction with external stakeholders are assessed together at the same time.

3. Customized Action Plan: While financial sustainability may be the priority for one association, advocacy messages may be more critical for another.

4. Opportunity for Continuous Improvement: As PA-GAP is repeated, the opportunity arises to measure the development of associations and to update their strategic plans.

5. Balance of Academic and Applied Approaches: As it was developed under the umbrella of the Health Promotion and Health Policy Association Patient and Relatives Development Academy, it is aligned both with academic research standards and with the needs of civil society.

References

• Karra, E., & Papadopoulos, D. (2005). Measuring performance of Theagenion Hospital of Thessaloniki, Greece through a Balanced Scorecard. Operational Research, 5, 289-304.
• Urrutia, I. and Eriksen, S.D. (2005). Application of the Balanced Scorecard in Spanish private health‐care management, Measuring Business Excellence, 9(4), 16-26.
• Groene, O., Brandt, E., Schmidt, W., & Moeller, J. (2009). The Balanced Scorecard of acute settings: definition of 20 strategic objectives, Int. Journal for Quality in Health Care, 21(4), 259–271.
• Oliveira J. (2001). The balanced scorecard: an integrative approach to performance evaluation. Healthcare financial management, 55(5), 42–46.
• Inamdar, N., Kaplan, R., & Bower, M. (2002). Applying the Balanced Scorecard in Healthcare Provider Organizations. Journal of healthcare management.
• Castañeda-Méndez, K., Mangan, K., & Lavery, A. M. (1998). The role of the balanced scorecard in healthcare quality management. Journal for healthcare quality, 20(1), 10–13.
• Figge, F., Hahn, T., Schaltegger, S., & Wagner, M. (2002). The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard – linking sustainability management to business strategy, Business Strategy and the Environment, 11, 269-284.
• Gordon, D. B. et al. (1995). The electronic patient record: a strategic planning framework, Medinfo.
• Chow, C. W., Ganulin, D., Teknika, O., Haddad, K., & Williamson, J. (1998). The balanced scorecard: a potent tool for energizing and focusing healthcare organization management. Journal of healthcare management.
• Hwa, M., Sharpe, B. A., & Wachter, R. M. (2013). Development of a balanced scorecard in an academic hospitalist group. Journal of hospital medicine, 8(3), 148–153.

PA-GAP, using this entire scientific framework, identifies the needs of patient associations through evidence-based methods within the Health Promotion and Health Policy Association's Patient and Relatives Development Academy. In this way, it provides the basis for designing, in the most efficient manner, the training and mentorship processes aimed at developing the corporate and strategic capacities of these associations.