Technical Efficiency of Mexico's Public Health System in the Delivery of Obstetric Care, during 2012-2018

The objective of this study was to evaluate the technical efficiency of Mexico's public health system in the delivery of obstetric care from 2012 to 2018. A multi-stage quantitative study of the public health institutions responsible for 95% of the system's obstetric services was conducted using data envelopment analysis. The efficiency of state-level productive units (decision-making units, or DMUs) was calculated and juxtaposed with the DMUs' maximum (0.82) and minimum (0.22) scores. Using the outcomes of the initial stage, the average technical efficiency of each institution at the national level was estimated and compared. The results were also utilized to estimate and compare the average efficiency of each state-level health system based on economic characteristics (state GDP per capita). Outputs included prenatal visits and deliveries, while inputs comprised gynecologists, exam rooms, and delivery rooms. Institutional efficiency ranged from 0.16 to 0.82, with an average of 0.417. The Ministry of Health (0.82) and the Mexican Social Security Institute (0.747) exhibited the highest efficiency scores, while the remaining institutions (Institute for Social Security and Services for State Workers [ISSSTE]; Mexican Petroleum [PEMEX]; the Secretary of National Defense [SEDENA]; and the Navy [SEMAR]) scored below the health system average. Of the 153 DMUs, 20% surpassed the maximum (0.82) and 40.6% fell below the minimum (0.22). These findings indicate that 80% of DMUs have unused operational capacity that could be utilized to enhance technical efficiency. No relationship was found between efficiency and the GDP of Mexico's 32 politico-administrative divisions. The efficiency gap between institutions (0.66) shows that while some DMUs are saturated (exhibiting high efficiency scores), the majority have unused operational capacity. Leveraging this untapped capacity could address the needs of vulnerable populations facing restricted access due to health system fragmentation.