ABSTRACT
Benchmarking is an invaluable means of enhancing understanding of the people service’s performance achieved through making comparisons with other organisations. Initially the tool included a wide range of specialties, but following piloting and advice received from heads of AHP services and clinicians, the authors decreased the number of categories included to facilitate ease of completion and opportunity for comparisons to be made. The purpose of these briefing notes is to ensure-as far as possible-a consistent and accurate methodology for collecting the data between the provider services participating in benchmarking exercises. The more generic categories that are chosen to describe the service, the more likely it will be to find a comparator to benchmark with. Community services are those therapy services that are provided away from hospital premises and are neither inpatient services nor outpatient.
