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Ownership and technical efficiency of hospitals.
1Department of Health Systems Management, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112.
Medical Care
|June 1, 1990
Summary
Public hospitals demonstrate higher efficiency than nonprofit hospitals, likely due to governmental resource control. Despite lower efficiency, nonprofit hospitals offer more diverse medical services, highlighting sector differences in productivity.
Area of Science:
- Health Services Research
- Healthcare Management
- Health Economics
Background:
- Public and nonprofit hospitals operate under different resource allocation and management structures.
- Assessing the relative efficiency and service diversity between these sectors is crucial for healthcare policy.
- Nonprofit (NFP) hospitals often provide a broader range of specialized medical services compared to public counterparts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the technical efficiency of public hospitals versus nonprofit hospitals.
- To evaluate the applicability of nonparametric techniques for measuring hospital productivity.
- To understand how differing operational models impact hospital performance.
Main Methods:
- Utilized nonparametric techniques to measure relative technical efficiency.
- Analyzed input and output measures for both public and NFP hospital samples.
- Assessed the scope of services offered by each hospital type.
Main Results:
- Sample public hospitals exhibited higher efficiency than sample NFP hospitals.
- NFP hospitals, while less efficient, provided more diversified and sophisticated medical services.
- Significant differences in productivity levels were observed between the nonprofit and public sectors.
Conclusions:
- Governmental control may contribute to the higher efficiency observed in public hospitals.
- Despite efficiency variations, both sectors play distinct roles in healthcare service provision.
- The nonparametric methodology shows promise for future hospital efficiency analysis and policy development.