On the efficiency of public, welfare and private hospitals in Germany over time: a sectoral data envelopment analysis study.

This paper examines the efficiency of the German hospital sector over time and the relative efficiency of public, welfare (both nonprofit) and private (for-profit) hospital sectors using data from the Federal Statistics Office of German hospitals. Efficiency scores were computed using data envelopment analysis. The absolute efficiency of the hospital sector as a whole was found to have improved between 1991 and 1996. In this comparison, the empirical results showed that the hospitals in the public and welfare sector are relatively more efficient than private hospitals. Our results suggest that public, welfare and private hospital sectors have different best-practice frontiers; and that public and welfare hospital sectors appear to use relatively fewer resources than private hospitals. These results suggest differences in quality of care arising from ownership.     

Ownership and technical efficiency of hospitals: evidence from Ghana using data envelopment analysis

Background

In order to measure and analyse the technical efficiency of district hospitals in Ghana, the specific objectives of this study were to (a) estimate the relative technical and scale efficiency of government, mission, private and quasi-government district hospitals in Ghana in 2005; (b) estimate the magnitudes of output increases and/or input reductions that would have been required to make relatively inefficient hospitals more efficient; and (c) use Tobit regression analysis to estimate the impact of ownership on hospital efficiency.

Methods

In the first stage, we used data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the efficiency of 128 hospitals comprising of 73 government hospitals, 42 mission hospitals, 7 quasi-government hospitals and 6 private hospitals. In the second stage, the estimated DEA efficiency scores are regressed against hospital ownership variable using a Tobit model. This was a retrospective study.

Results

In our DEA analysis, using the variable returns to scale model, out of 128 district hospitals, 31 (24.0%) were 100% efficient, 25 (19.5%) were very close to being efficient with efficiency scores ranging from 70% to 99.9% and 71 (56.2%) had efficiency scores below 50%. The lowest-performing hospitals had efficiency scores ranging from 21% to 30%.Quasi-government hospitals had the highest mean efficiency score (83.9%) followed by public hospitals (70.4%), mission hospitals (68.6%) and private hospitals (55.8%). However, public hospitals also got the lowest mean technical efficiency scores (27.4%), implying they have some of the most inefficient hospitals.Regarding regional performance, Northern region hospitals had the highest mean efficiency score (83.0%) and Volta Region hospitals had the lowest mean score (43.0%).From our Tobit regression, we found out that while quasi-government ownership is positively associated with hospital technical efficiency, private ownership negatively affects hospital efficiency.

Conclusions

It would be prudent for policy-makers to examine the least efficient hospitals to correct widespread inefficiency. This would include reconsidering the number of hospitals and their distribution, improving efficiency and reducing duplication by closing or scaling down hospitals with efficiency scores below a certain threshold. For private hospitals with inefficiency related to large size, there is a need to break down such hospitals into manageable sizes.

     

Hospital type and patient outcomes: an empirical examination using AMI readmission and mortality records

This paper investigates whether there are differences in patient outcomes across different types of hospitals using patient‐level data on readmission and mortality associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Hospitals are grouped according to their ownership type (private, public teaching, public non‐teaching) and their location (metropolitan, country and remote country). Using data collected from 130 Victorian hospitals on 19 000 patients admitted to a hospital with their first AMI between January 2001 and December 2003, we consider how the likelihood of unplanned re‐admission and mortality varies across hospital type. We find that there are significant differences across hospital types in the observed patient outcomes – private hospitals persistently outperform public hospitals. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cost and technical efficiency of German hospitals: does ownership matter?

This paper is the first to investigate both the technical and cost efficiency of more than 1500 German general hospitals. More specifically, it deals with the question how hospital efficiency varies with ownership, patient structure, and other exogenous factors, which are neither inputs to nor outputs of the production process. The empirical results for the years from 2001 to 2003 indicate that private and non-profit hospitals are on average less cost efficient and less technically efficient than publicly owned hospitals. The hospital rankings based on estimated efficiency scores turn out to be negatively correlated with average length of stay, which is highest in private hospitals. The results are derived by conducting a Stochastic Frontier Analysis assuming both Cobb-Douglas and translog production technologies and using a newly available and multifaceted administrative German data set.     

THE DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH CARE EXPENDITURE TOWARD THE END OF LIFE: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

This paper empirically investigates the relationship between the health care expenditure of end‐of‐life patients and hospital characteristics in Taiwan where (i) hospitals of different ownership differ in their financial incentives; (ii) patients are free to choose their providers; and (iii) health care services are paid for by a single public payer on a fee‐for‐services basis with a global budget cap. Utilizing insurance claims for 11 863 individuals who died during 2005–2007, we trace their hospital expenditures over the last 24 months of their lives. We find that end‐of‐life patients who are treated by private hospitals in general are associated with higher inpatient expenditures than those treated by public hospitals, while there is no significant difference in days of hospital stay. This finding is consistent with the difference in financial incentives between public and private hospitals in Taiwan. Nevertheless, we also find that the public–private differences vary across accreditation levels. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

山东省民营与公立医院医疗质量管理典型调查比较分析

目的 通过对民营医院与公立医院的医疗质量管理情况进行比较分析,找出2类医院存在的不足及它们之间的差别,并提出改进建议。方法 采用方差分析及Kruskal-Wallis H检验、SNK法及Games-Howell法,对民营医院、公立二级医院和公立三级医院之间的典型调查数据进行比较分析。结果 民营医院与公立二级医院相比,除2个方面单项得分无统计学差异外,其余6个方面单项得分及总得分均有统计学差异;民营医院与公立三级医院相比,8个方面单项得分及总得分均有统计学差异;公立二级医院与公立三级医院相比,只有“各医院总得分”1项有统计学差异,8个方面单项得分均无统计学差异。结论 民营和公立医院在医疗质量管理方面都存在不足,但民营医院总体上差于公立医院;民营医院管理水平参差不齐,也有部分民营医院管理较规范。应加强对医院,特别是民营医院的监管,继续完善医院监督检查制度,建立完善医疗质量管理信息公开制度。     

基于DEA模型的湖北省公立医院和民营医院运营效率分析

目的：比较和评价2015—2019年湖北省公立医院和民营医院运营效率,并探析不同级别及类型医院效率变动的异质性。方法：利用超效率SBM-DEA模型对两种性质的医院进行静态效率分析,并用DEA-Malmquist模型进行动态分析。结果：从静态效率来看,2015—2019年,民营医院效率排名情况较好,公立二、三级医院和中医医院效率情况较民营医院好,民营一级医院和专科医院效率情况较公立医院好。2015—2019年公立医院和民营医院全要素生产率变动均值分别为0.992、0.993。在不同级别和类型的医院中,公立未定级医院、民营中医医院全要素生产率变动大于1。结论：湖北省公立医院和民营医院差距较大,公立二、三级和中医医院以及民营中医、专科和一级医院获得较好发展,民营医院应向提供多样化多层次医疗服务方面转变。两类机构应在不同等级和类别的医疗机构中充分发挥自身优势。各级各类医院应以技术进步为推动器,逐步提高运行效率。     

Behavioral differences between public and private not-for-profit hospitals in the Italian National Health Service

In this paper we attempt to identify behavioral differences between public and private not-for-profit hospitals, by exploiting the introduction of the DRG-based payment system in the Italian NHS during the second half of the 1990s. We estimate the technical efficiency of a sample of hospitals for the period 1995-2000 considering an output distance function, and adopting both parametric (COLS and SF) and nonparametric (DEA) approaches. Our results show a convergence of mean efficiency scores between not-for-profit and public hospitals, and seem to suggest that differences in economic performances between competing ownership forms are more the result of the institutional settings in which they operate than the effect of the incentive structures embedded in the different proprietary forms. We also observe a decline in technical efficiency, probably due to policies aimed at reducing hospitalization rates.     

Efficiency,ownership, and financing of hospitals: The case of Austria

While standard economic theory posits that privately owned hospitals are more efficient than their public counterparts, no clear conclusion can yet be drawn for Austria in this regard. As previous Austrian efficiency studies rely on data from the 1990s only and are based on small hospital samples, the generalizability of these results is questionable. To examine the impact of ownership type on efficiency, we apply a Data Envelopment Analysis which extends the existing literature in two respects: first, it evaluates the efficiency of the Austrian acute care sector, using data on 128 public and private non-profit hospitals from the year 2010; second, it additionally focusses on the inpatient sector alone, thus increasing the comparability between hospitals. Overall, the results show that in Austria, private non-profit hospitals outperform public hospitals in terms of technical efficiency. A multiple regression analysis confirms the significant association between efficiency and ownership type. This conclusive result contrasts some international evidence and can most likely be attributed to differences in financial incentives for public and private non-profit hospitals in Austria. Therefore, by drawing on the example of the Austrian acute care hospital sector and existing literature on the German acute care hospital sector, we also discuss the impact of hospital financing systems and their incentives on efficiency. This paper thus also aims at providing a proof of principle, pointing out the importance of the respective market conditions when internationally comparing hospital efficiency by ownership type.     

Análisis multinivel de la eficiencia técnica de los hospitales del Sistema Nacional de Salud español por tipo de propiedad y gestión

ObjectiveTo analyze technical efficiency by type of property and management of general hospitals in the Spanish National Health System (2010-2012) and identify hospital and regional explanatory variables.Method230 hospitals were analyzed combining data envelopment analysis and fixed effects multilevel linear models. Data envelopment analysis measured overall, technical and scale efficiency, and the analysis of explanatory factors was performed using multilevel models.ResultsThe average rate of overall technical efficiency of hospitals without legal personality is lower than hospitals with legal personality (0.691 and 0.876 in 2012). There is a significant variability in efficiency under variable returns (TE) by direct, indirect and mixed forms of management. The 29% of the variability in TE es attributable to the Region. Legal personality increased the TE of the hospitals by 11.14 points. On the other hand, most of the forms of management (different to those of the traditional hospitals) increased TE in varying percentages. At regional level, according to the model considered, insularity and average annual income per household are explanatory variables of TE.DiscussionHaving legal personality favours technical efficiency. The regulatory and management framework of hospitals, more than public or private ownership, seem to explain technical efficiency. Regional characteristics explain the variability in TE.     

浅论我国医院产权制度改革的发展方向

目前医院产权制度改革的主要模式是建立股份制，股份合作制，民营私立和中外合资医院。但占99％的国有公立医院仍难以突破产权制度改革的瓶颈。国有医院产权制度改革要以资产来源为产权界定为依据，从而建立产权清晰，责任明确，管理到位的现代医院管理制度。     

Changes in hospital efficiency after privatization

We investigated the effects of privatization on hospital efficiency in Germany. To do so, we obtained bootstrapped data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency scores in the first stage of our analysis and subsequently employed a difference-in-difference matching approach within a panel regression framework. Our findings show that conversions from public to private for-profit status were associated with an increase in efficiency of between 2.9 and 4.9%. We defined four alternative post-privatization periods and found that the increase in efficiency after a conversion to private for-profit status appeared to be permanent. We also observed an increase in efficiency for the first three years after hospitals were converted to private non-profit status, but our estimations suggest that this effect was rather transitory. Our findings also show that the efficiency gains after a conversion to private for-profit status were achieved through substantial decreases in staffing ratios in all analyzed staff categories with the exception of physicians and administrative staff. It was also striking that the efficiency gains of hospitals converted to for-profit status were significantly lower in the diagnosis-related groups (DRG) era than in the pre-DRG era. Altogether, our results suggest that converting hospitals to private for-profit status may be an effective way to ensure the scarce resources in the hospital sector are used more efficiently.     

中国民营医院发展现状与趋势研究

采用文献分析法对我国民营医院的发展现状和趋势进行分析,结果认为我国民营医院发展速度较快,但规模偏小、医疗市场份额低,整体水平还远不具备与公立医院分庭抗衡的实力;在发展和政策支持上民营医院地区间发展不平衡,东部优于中西部;民营医院的发展面临空前大好的政策环境,以公有制医疗机构为主体,多种所有制形式与经营方式并存,公平竞争、共同发展的医疗服务体系新格局开始逐步形成.     

Profit efficiency and ownership of German hospitals

This paper investigates the cost and profit efficiency of German hospitals and their variation with ownership type. It is motivated by the empirical finding that private (for-profit) hospitals - having been shown to be less cost efficient in the past - on average earn higher profits than public hospitals. We conduct a Stochastic Frontier Analysis on a multifaceted administrative German data set combined with the balance sheets of 541 hospitals of the years 2002-2006. The results show no significant differences in cost efficiency but higher profit efficiency of private than of publicly owned hospitals.     

Church ownership and hospital efficiency

Using a sample of California hospitals, the effect of church ownership was examined as it relates to nonprofit hospital efficiency. Efficiency scores were computed using a nonparametric method called data envelopment analysis (DEA). Controlling for hospital size, location, system membership, and type of church ownership, church-owned hospitals were found to be more frequently in the efficient category than their secular nonprofit counterparts. The outcomes have policy implications for reducing healthcare expenditures by focusing on increasing outputs or decreasing inputs, as appropriate, and bolstering the case for church-sponsored hospitals to retain the tax-exempt status due to their ability to manage their resources as efficiently as (or more efficiently than) secular hospitals.     

Managing for efficiency in health care: the case of Greek public hospitals

This paper evaluates the efficiency of public hospitals with two alternative conceptual models. One model targets resource usage directly to assess production efficiency, while the other model incorporates financial results to assess economic efficiency. Performance analysis of these models was conducted in two stages. In stage one, we utilized data envelopment analysis to obtain the efficiency score of each hospital, while in stage two we took into account the influence of the operational environment on efficiency by regressing those scores on explanatory variables that concern the performance of hospital services. We applied these methods to evaluate 96 general hospitals in the Greek national health system. The results indicate that, although the average efficiency scores in both models have remained relatively stable compared to past assessments, internal changes in hospital performances do exist. This study provides a clear framework for policy implications to increase the overall efficiency of general hospitals.     

数据包络分析在大型公立医院效率评价中的应用

护理工作量是护理工作的主要产出指标之一,对护理人力资源分配和成本核算具有十分重要的意义。本次研究通过测算护理工作量,对各病区工作量、等级护理时间、直接护理时间、间接护理时间、不同层级护理人员工作时间等进行分析,期望给护理管理工作以一定的启示。     

Hospital ownership and efficiency: a review of studies with particular focus on Germany

The German hospital market has been subject over the past two decades to a variety of healthcare reforms. Particularly the introduction of diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) in 2004 aimed to increase efficiency of hospitals. The objective of the paper is to review recent studies comparing the efficiency of German public, private non-profit and private for-profit hospitals. The results of the studies are quite mixed. However, in line with the evidence found in studies from other countries, especially the US, the evidence from Germany suggests that private ownership (i.e., private non-profit and private for-profit) is not necessarily associated with higher efficiency compared to public ownership. This may be a surprising result to many policy makers as private for-profit hospitals are often perceived the most efficient ownership type by the public.     

医院所有制与效率：以德国为关注重点的研究回顾

德国医院市场在过去20年里进行了一揽子医疗改革,特别是在2004年引进了疾病诊断相关分组——以期提高医院效率。本文旨在回顾近期就比较德国公立医院、私立非营利医院和私立营利医院效率所开展的研究。尽管研究结果错综复杂,但结合其他国家,特别是美国的研究证据,德国方面的研究结果表明:与公立医院相比,私立医院(私立非营利和私立营利医院)的运营效率并不一定就高。由于私立营利医院通常都会被认为是最有效率的所有制形式,因此本研究结果对很多决策者来说也许有些意外。     

Measuring cost efficiency in the Nordic Hospitals—a cross-sectional comparison of public hospitals in 2002

The aim of this study was to compare the performance of hospital care in four Nordic countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Using national discharge registries and cost data from hospitals, cost efficiency in the production of somatic hospital care was calculated for public hospitals. Data were collected using harmonised definitions of inputs and outputs for 184 hospitals and data envelopment analysis was used to calculate Farrell efficiency estimates for the year 2002. Results suggest that there were marked differences in the average hospital efficiency between Nordic countries. In 2002, average efficiency was markedly higher in Finland compared to Norway and Sweden. This study found differences in cost efficiency that cannot be explained by input prices or differences in coding practices. More analysis is needed to reveal the causes of large efficiency disparities between Nordic hospitals.