Evaluation of Economic Efficiency in Radiology Wards: A Case Study in Kerman Province

Radiology department is one of the important and costly units in general hospitals. The present study aimed to evaluate the economic efficiency of radiology wards of general hospitals located in Kerman province.
In the present cross-sectional, analytical study, information about model inputs and outputs was collected from 15 general hospitals affiliated to Kerman University of Medical Sciences. The input variables included number of personnel, technicians, and radiology equipment. On the other hand, the output variables were radiology clichés and number of patients admitted at radiology departments. Information about price, including staff’s monthly income and cost of medical equipment, was also collected. After all, the data were analyzed using Deap software, version 2.
The results showed that the mean score of economic efficiency was 0.49, which is lower than the mean score of technical and allocative efficiency. Additionally, 20% of the radiology wards in the studied hospitals showed economic efficiency. However, economic efficiency of about 66% of the studied units was below 0.5. Moreover, the mean scores of the units’ technical and allocative efficiency were 0.70 and 0.701, respectively.
According to the results, 80% of radiology wards under study suffered from economic inefficiency. Hence, hospitals’ authorities should develop appropriate action plans to improve economic efficiency. Managers can also help improve efficiency by considering clinical standards and using cost-effective medical equipment.