The impact of individual and social factors in improving the performance of provincial health care

Subject Areas : Applied Economics

تیمور محمدی ¹ ( ندارد )
بهنوش سادات آقایان ² ( مسئول مکاتبات )

Received: 2012-09-30 Accepted : 2012-11-14 Published : 2012-09-22

Keywords: Health Data envelopment analys, Super Efficiency, personal and social factors,

Abstract :

This paper focuses on the efficiency measurement of health care system for Iran's provinces during the years 1383-86.The methodology is DEA (input and output oriented).Results indicate that there is so much room for increasing this efficiency. In order to determine factors affecting this low efficiency, by using panel data techniques, efficiency scores are regressed on variables which reflect both personal and social status of the provinces. Bad nutritional habits and individual health care expenditures are personal variables which have a negative effect on efficiency. On the other hand social variables such as per capita GDP and literacy rate move directly with efficiency. Per capita GDP has positive threshold effect. Noticeably, health care insurance expenditure as a social variable has a negative effect on efficiency which invokes attention of policy-makers in this area. As a result restructuring this industry, pave the way for higher efficiency