Research Article
Technical Efficiency Analysis of Korean General Hospitals Using Meta-Stochastic Frontier Analysis
Inje University
Published: January 2013 · Vol. 42, No. 4 · pp. 825-847
Full Text
Abstract
Some general hospitals are in managerial troubles suffering from insufficient demand, which is mainly caused by overlapping function among general hospitals. It is necessary for general hospitals to differentiate functionally further so that they are efficiently utilized by the medical consumers. This study try to analyze the efficiencies of advanced general hospitals, large-size general hospitals, medium-size hospitals, and small-size hospitals with meta stochastic frontier approach, in order to provide a basis for functional differentiation of general hospitals for the balanced growth of general hospitals in the medical industry. That is, this study uses a meta frontier method in evaluating efficiencies of hospitals and compares their competitiveness with groupspecific technical efficiencies, meta technical efficiencies, and their meta technology gaps among four hospital groups. This study is the first study in Korea using meta stochastic frontier analysis to analyzetechnical efficiencies of hospitals. We find that advanced general hospitals lead medical technology and large-size general hospitals follow them closely, while the competitiveness of medium-size and small-size general hospitals is relatively weak. We pinpoint the differences of technical efficiencies among various general hospital groups. The gaps in the technical efficiencies and technology among general hospital groups imply that advanced general hospitals concentrate on highly difficult and complicated diseases, large and medium general hospitals focus on most diseases, and small general hospitals focus on limited special diseases. This study has some limitations. The period of sample is 5 years long and 164 out of 318 general hospitals were covered, so it has some limitation in generalizing the result.
