[Analysis of hospital technical efficiency during 2011]

Efficiency in the use of resources in health systems and hospitals has been a matter of interest for administrators as well as for policy makers. The growing costs due to higher levels of demand from the population require a better use and allocation of such costs.

To assess the technical efficiency in 28 hospitals in Chile, considering the period from May to October, 2011.

The average number of available beds, the number of staff and the expenses on consumer and service goods were used as production inputs and, on the other hand, the expenditures adjusted by the Diagnosis-Related Groups (IR-DRG) were used as producís. To assess the technical efficiency, the Data Envelopment Analysis technique was used.

The levéis of inefficiency fluctuóte from 20 to 23.3%. In other words, with a 20% increase in hospital discharges and maintaining fixed inputs, hospitals could become efficient.

The incorporation of methodologies to determine efficiency allows gathering new knowledge for people who manage resources as well as for policy makers by optimizing practices and having better allocation criteria.