‘KPIs’ have little relevance in managing our health system. There is an old saying that for every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong. The modern delusion that the creation of simple “key performance indicators” can solve complex problems like the management of the health system, the performance of our education system or the effectiveness of our police is a case in point. While it is inexcusable for a public servant to deliberately falsify records, it is inexplicable why politicians think that simplistic KPIs are a useful tool for guaranteeing service, especially after 20 years of evidence to the contrary.
Related documents
Between the Lines Newsletter
The biggest stories and the best analysis from the team at the Australia Institute, delivered to your inbox every fortnight.
You might also like
Labor’s pledge to depoliticise the public service is undermined by the government only hearing what it wants to hear on climate change
While last year’s robodebt royal commission exposed a shocking lack of ethics among senior ranks of the Australian public service, the systemic condition still largely seems to be regarded as an aberration.
Private health insurance is a dud. That’s why a majority of Australians don’t have it
Right now, final submissions are being made by private health insurers to the government for an increase in insurance premiums next year.
The Cruelty Is The Point: Australia and the Politics of Empire
Watch Dr Emma Shortis’ address to ‘Night Falls In The Evening Lands: The Assange Epic’ at RMIT University, Melbourne, on 9th March 2024.