Measuring Efficiency in Hospitals

Measuring efficiency in hospitals has become a major topic in health policy and applied economics in the past three decades. Efficiency in hospitals refers to the correct level of consumption of resources to achieve a better health status for the patient, and it has been analyzed at the country level, as well as in cross-country analyses. Faced with an increase in the complexity and number of population healthcare needs resulting from a gradual aging of the population and an increase in social inequality, the sustainability of the structure of the provision of health services is an increasingly central problem. The aim of the healthcare systems should be to ensure an adequate level of quality of the healthcare provided to citizens using the least resources possible.