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Health care efficiency measures compare delivery system outputs, such as physician visits, RVU's, or health outcomes, with inputs like cost, time, or material. Efficiency can be reported then as a ratio of outputs to inputs or a comparison to optimal productivity using stochastic frontier analysis or data envelopment analysis.
One difficulty in creating a generalized efficiency measure is comparability of outputs. For example, if hospital A discharges 100 people at an average cost of $8000, while hospital B discharges 100 at $7000, the presumption may be that B is more efficient, but hospital B may be discharging patients with poorer health that will require readmission and net higher costs to treat.
Outputs
Commercial efficiency measure outputs can be put into two broad categories: episodes of care, or population based care.
References
- Hussey, Peter S.; de Vries, Han; Romley, John; Wang, Margaret C.; Chen, Susan S.; Shekelle, Paul G.; McGlynn, Elizabeth A. (2009). "A Systematic Review of Health Care Efficiency Measures". Health Services Research. 44 (3). Wiley-Blackwell: 784–805. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6773.2008.00942.x. ISSN 0017-9124. PMC 2699907. PMID 19187184.