Article ID: | iaor20031468 |
Country: | Netherlands |
Volume: | 4 |
Issue: | 3 |
Start Page Number: | 193 |
End Page Number: | 200 |
Publication Date: | Sep 2001 |
Journal: | Health Care Management Science |
Authors: | Bjrkgren Magnus A., Hkkinen Unto, Linna Miika |
Keywords: | measurement, statistics: data envelopment analysis |
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.