Techniques for measuring efficiency in health services

Staff working paper

This paper by Chris Chan, Dale Johansen, Mel Mangolini and Stuart Peacock was released in July 2001. The paper reviews a range of techniques that have been applied for measuring efficiency in health services. It aims to investigate the state of knowledge about efficiency measurement in the health sector both in Australia and abroad, show how features specific to health and health services affect the suitable methodology for measuring efficiency, and subject to the use of appropriate evaluation methods, point to areas where better data and modelling are needed to enhance efficiency analysis.

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Contents

Preliminaries
Cover, Copyright, Contents, Preface, Glossary

Overview
Purpose of the paper
An economic framework for measuring efficiency
Complicating characteristics of health services
The need to apply complementary measurement techniques
Economic evaluation
Benchmarking analysis
Lessons from the paper

1   Measuring efficiency
1.1   Scope of the paper
1.2   Organisation of the paper

2   Production of health and health services
2.1   Concept of efficiency
2.2   A model of health production
2.3   An application of the ‘top-down’ approach
2.4   An application of the ‘bottom-up’ approach

3   Economic evaluation of health programs
3.1   Basic principles
3.2   Key features
3.3   Evaluation techniques

4   Benchmarking analysis of service providers: illustrated by hospital studies
4.1   Benchmarking techniques
4.2   Relating hospital efficiency to treatment outcomes
4.3   Other issues in specifying hospital services
4.4 Benchmarking studies of hospitals in Australia

5   Towards an integrated approach
5.1   Linkages between measurement techniques
5.2   Key findings of the study

A Role of health care

B Link between planning and clinical decisions

C Different assessments of efficiency in the health sectors of selected OECD countries

D Selected studies of hospital efficiency

References