Box 1.

Questionnaire.

Undertaking performance evaluation of hospital specialists
Hospital-based specialists are increasingly being scrutinised for the productivity and quality of their clinical performance, and it is proposed that these data are released publically. However, there is very little published evidence on how such evaluation should be undertaken, what are the potential dangers and advantages of such a process and what doctors’ opinions are on this. This anonymous short questionnaire is intended to evaluate specialists’ opinions on undergoing individual evaluation of their clinical performance in order to understand their attitudes to if and how this could be used for improving practices in departments.
Delete as applicable: consultant/speciality doctor/associate specialist
Years in post: Department:
Please answer the following as best as you can
Performance can be described as ‘what doctors do’ and includes their activity and quality of their practice. Quality may include clinical competence (both specific to their specialty and overall) and patients’ satisfaction with their work; activity may include number of patients seen and, with respect to their case mix, the time and resources required.

  1. How do you think individual doctors’ performance is evaluated and managed in your department?

  2. Have you noticed any change in attitudes towards evaluating and managing specialists’ performance in the past three years? Please comment

  3. What stops specialists’ performance being evaluated and managed effectively?

  4. Do you consider evaluating and managing specialists’ performance to be part of the clinical directors’/clinical leaders’ role? In what way?

  5. Would you be, or have you been, prepared to address any perceived underperformance or overperformance issues with your colleagues? What would be your concerns?

  6. If you have received information on your own performance, did you find it useful and could it make you change your practice?

  7. Who should own performance data and what is your opinion of sharing the data with your colleagues, with the Trust or with the public?

  8. What could motivate you to work differently? For example, feedback on your performance, financial incentives, increased autonomy etc.

  9. Any other comments?