Use of the DEA method to verify the performance model for hospitals

Abstract

This paper employs the method of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to compare the relative effi ciency of Polish hospitals in meso perspective. It means that the indicators selected to measure the performance of hospitals were aggregated at the regional level (a level of 16 Polish provinces). As the hospitals are a critical part of the healthcare system, they are increasingly the subject of analyses aimed at defi ning, measuring, and improving their performance. Therefore, in the methodology part, we present the DEA as the method for effi ciency measurement together with its advantages and limitations. The study attempts to fi nd out which provinces can be used as models and illustrated the areas where ineffi cient units need to be improved. The hospital input measures included are the Average time of hospitalisation (in days), Average costs of day hospital treatment. The output measures included are the Average number of patients per bed per year, the Share of accredited hospitals as a proportion of the number of all hospitals, net profi t per physician. The DEA models are solved using the computer program Frontier Analyst, Version 4. We found that fi ve provinces were effi cient and eleven were not, where the effi ciency score varied from 76.2% to 100%. Provinces such as Lower Silesia Province, Lublin Province, Lubuskie Province, Świętokrzyskie Province, and Warmia-Masuria Province were the best performers in that they maximised both quantitative and qualitative outcomes. The identifi cation of the strongest and the weakest within provinces could be benefi cial in improving the effi ciency and performance of the hospitals. The result identifi es the ineffi cient provinces that can improve their effi ciency by making the effi cient provinces as their role model. This paper is the fi rst published study that benchmarks the performance of healthcare services in Poland.

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“…Kocisova, K. et al [ 13 ] used the Data Envelopment Analysis Model to compare the degree of efficiency of Polish hospitals in the meso perspective. This means that indicators selected for the evaluation of hospital efficiency were aggregated on the regional level (Polish provinces).…”