Measuring efficiency of secondary healthcare providers in Slovenia

Abstract

The chief aim of this study was to analyze secondary healthcare providers' efficiency, focusing on the efficiency analysis of Slovene general hospitals. We intended to present a complete picture of technical, allocative, and cost or economic efficiency of general hospitals. We researched the aspects of efficiency with two econometric methods. First, we calculated the necessary quotients of efficiency with the stochastic frontier analyze (SFA), which are realized by econometric evaluation of stochastic frontier functions; then, with the data envelopment analyze (DEA), we calculated the necessary quotients that are based on the linear programming method. Results on measures of efficiency showed that the two chosen methods produced two different conclusions. The SFA method concluded Celje General Hospital is the most efficient general hospital, whereas the DEA method concluded Breice General Hospital was the hospital to be declared as the most efficient hospital. Our results are a useful tool that can aid managers, payers, and designers of healthcare policy to better understand how general hospitals operate. The participants can accordingly decide with less difficulty on any further business operations of general hospitals, having the best practices of general hospitals at their disposal.