Brazilian hospitals’ performance: an assessment of the unified health system (SUS)

This paper assesses the economic efficiency of Brazilian general hospitals that provide inpatient care for the Unified Health System (SUS). We combined data envelopment analysis (DEA) and spatial analysis to identify predominant clusters, measure hospital inefficiency and analyze the spatial pattern...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health care management science 2020-09, Vol.23 (3), p.443-452
Main Authors: de Almeida Botega, Laura, Andrade, Mônica Viegas, Guedes, Gilvan Ramalho
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brazil
Business and Management
Data envelopment analysis
Econometrics
Efficiency, Organizational - economics
Health Administration
Health Care Costs - statistics & numerical data
Health Informatics
Hospital Bed Capacity - statistics & numerical data
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Hospitals, General - economics
Hospitals, General - organization & administration
Hospitals, General - standards
Humans
Management
Operations Research/Decision Theory
Personnel, Hospital - statistics & numerical data
Universal Health Care
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Summary:This paper assesses the economic efficiency of Brazilian general hospitals that provide inpatient care for the Unified Health System (SUS). We combined data envelopment analysis (DEA) and spatial analysis to identify predominant clusters, measure hospital inefficiency and analyze the spatial pattern of inefficiency throughout the country. Our findings pointed to a high level of hospital inefficiency, mostly associated with small size and distributed across all Brazilian states. Many of these hospitals could increase production and reduce inputs to achieve higher efficiency standards. These findings suggest room for optimization, but inequalities in access and the matching of demand and supply must be carefully considered in any attempt to reorganize the hospital system in Brazil.
ISSN:1386-9620
1572-9389
DOI:10.1007/s10729-020-09505-5