Measuring efficiency of long-term care units in Finland

TitleMeasuring efficiency of long-term care units in Finland
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2001
AuthorsBjorkgren M.A, Hakkinen U., Linna M.
JournalHealth Care Manag Sci
Volume4
Issue3
Pagination193-200
Date PublishedSep
Accession Number11519845
KeywordsCost-Benefit Analysis, Efficiency, Organizational/*statistics & numerical data, Finland, Health Care Rationing, Health Services Research, Human, Long-Term Care/*organization & administration, Nursing Homes/organization & administration, Nursing Services/*organization & administration, Programming, Linear/*statistics & numerical data, Statistics, Nonparametric
Abstract

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to measure the nursing care efficiency of 64 long-term care units in Finland. New approaches introduced for evaluating efficiency were unit/ward level analysis, and the case-mix classification Resource Utilization Groups (RUG-III). Efficiency determinations were based on four DEA measures: cost, technical, allocative, and scale efficiency. The results indicated considerable variation in efficiency between units, suggesting that efficiency could be improved through better management and allocation of resources. Larger units seemingly operated more efficiently than smaller units. Allocative inefficiency resulted from using too many registered nurses and aides, and too few licensed practical nurses.

Link

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&dop...