Analysis of Efficiency and Resource Allocation at Different Wards in Shariati Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Hospitals are considered as the most important resource consuming units in health sector. They are also one of the main organizations providing health services. Hence, paying full attention to the efficiency of different wards of a hospital is of great importance. The aim of this study was to analyze the efficiency of different wards of Shariati Hospital, Isfahan, Iran, by the use of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). This study evaluated and analyzed the efficiency of clinical wards of Shariati Hospital (15 wards) in 2010 using DEA. For this purpose, input-oriented model of DEA based on variable return to scale was applied. Two inputs, i.e. number of beds and personnel, and three outputs, i.e. inpatient bed occupancy ratio, performance and activity of ward were considered. To analyze the data, "DEA-Solver" was used. The results obtained from DEA showed that different wards of Shariati Hospital had at least an 8% capacity for increasing efficiency without any increased costs. In other words, the existence of surplus production was clear in the hospital. In the process of study, efficient and inefficient wards have been recognized. Out of 15 wards, 7 wards were efficient and the others were inefficient. For inefficient wards, reference sets were appointed based on a combination of efficient units and some suggestions for reallocating the resources to these wards.