The efficiency of the healthcare sector: Evidence from Mongolia

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the efficiency level of Mongolia’s healthcare sector using statistical analysis. Based on previous research, the following three hypotheses are made: (i) The financing of the healthcare sector has no strong impact on healthcare sector efficiency; (ii) There is a statistically significant relation between the general indicators of the healthcare system; (iii) Compared to the healthcare systems of other countries that are based on unity, the operations of financial revenue collector and allocation organizations of Mongolia’s healthcare sector are inconsistent. In this research, the DEA method is used to determine the efficiency of Mongolia’s healthcare sector. The research results show that the efficiency rate of Mongolia’s healthcare sector is 94.55%, with the most influential factor being the number of doctors. The research determines the relation between 11 general indicators of the healthcare system. Total expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of GDP is not significantly related to the health sector’s general indicators. The health sector’s budget expenditure is insufficient. The analysis of the third hypothesis in the research shows no coherence in the activities of financial collector and allocation organizations of Mongolia’s healthcare sector. There is no independent accumulative entity and there is no unified system for allocating the multiple sources of funding. However, a comparative study on the healthcare systems of two countries, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh, shows that financial allocation done by a single organization is fundamental for increasing the efficiency of the healthcare sector. Therefore, a single buyer system is advised for Mongolia. Contribution of the authors: the authors contributed equally to this article. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.