This part of the assignment will discuss the Balanced Scorecard that has been implemented by the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS), as well as how it has influenced and impacted the performance measures of this organization. “Since its launch in 1948, the NHS has become the largest publicly funded health service in the world. The NHS employs more than 1.7 million people and treats an average of 1 million patients every 36 hours. It is also one of the most effective, most egalitarian and most complete. Although NHS services in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are managed separately and each may have some system differences, they remain similar in many ways and belong to a single, unified system. The fundamental principle of the NHS is that good healthcare should be available to everyone, regardless of their wealth. (NHS, 2010) The success of the NHS depends on how well the organization balances quality and customer (patient) satisfaction with adequate funding and long-term goals. Healthcare organizations such as the NHS must contend with government oversight, managed care, new technologies and rising pharmaceutical prices. The NHS has adopted a performance measurement system based on the balanced scorecard concept to obtain a broader view of performance within the organization (Department of Health, 2001). Although measuring health system performance can be difficult, it can serve several purposes and help facilitate change and improvement in the efficiency and quality of health care. It seems strange to focus on performance measures in an organization like the NHS, but even the NHS faces increasing competitive pressures given an aging population, growing demand and improving treatments. ..... middle of paper ......t in public/ patient empowerment, service efficiency and staff involvement at a very important level. The government has developed a “star rating” system that monitors improvements in accountability measures. The Startings system's experience with service effectiveness indicates that it is prudent to act proactively rather than reactively. It is essential to consider that the government expects demonstrable improvements in health services rather than mere rhetoric (Radnor and Lovell, 2003). “Although it is complex to demonstrably prove in quantitative terms that the balanced scorecard can deliver efficiency improvements early on, after its implementation, it can be demonstrated in quantitative terms that a balanced scorecard system well-designed, fully cascaded forward-looking dashboard should meet the needs of a health system. » (Radnor and Lovell, 2003, p.. 105)